Virginity
Confessions
Comment of the Week: “In Sickness” Is a Scary Prospect

photo via Flickr When we published the latest installment of “The Virgin Diaries” by Katherine Chen, we suspected she’d take some flak in the comments section, since her position seems so extreme: basically “marriage will never be for me because I could never put someone before myself.” So we were kinda surprised when Jennifer wholeheartedly […]

Personal Essays
The Virgin Diaries: Why Marriage Is Not for Me

photo by jronaldlee.com Our contributor Katherine Chen, who is a junior English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), is penning a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her eighth installment: Around two years ago, just when I was about to go to college for the first […]

Personal Essays
The Virgin Diaries: Dating Downers

photo by Orin_Zebest Our contributor Katherine Chen, who is a junior English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), is penning a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her seventh installment: A few months ago, I was interviewing a relationship doctor for an online women’s magazine I […]

Pop Culture
Love & Sex in YA Lit: THE GOOD

Our friends, Em & Nora (who we like to call “Em & No”), recently launched a site for grown-ups about young adult literature called LoveYALit.com*, since (according to the New York Times) more and more people 18-and-over are enjoying books originally intended for the 18-and-under set. Of course, books about teens, the most hormonal among […]

Personal Essays
The Virgin Diaries: The Top 10 Cons of Virginity

Our contributor Katherine Chen, once an English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), penned a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her 9th installment. Her previous one is Top 10 PROS of Virginity: Giving the objective, outsider perspective on sex and relationships to friends also means being the […]

Personal Essays
The Virgin Diaries: The Top 10 Pros of Virginity

Our contributor Katherine Chen, once an English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), penned a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her eighth installment. Her ninth is Top 10 Cons of Virginity: If my period skips a month, it’s a cause for celebration, not despair. Living without the fear […]

Dear Em & Lo
Your Call: What’s the Best Way to Tell a Guy I’m a Virgin?

We get a lot of advice questions coming in at EMandLO.com, but sadly, we just can’t answer them all. Which is why, once a week, we turn to you to decide how best to advise a reader. Make your call by leaving your advice in the comments section below: Dear Em & Lo, I’m a […]

What's Up Doc?
Dear Dr. Vanessa, How Can I Make First-Time Sex Less Painful?

photo by Morning_theft Every few weeks, Dr. Vanessa Cullins, a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood® Federation of America, will be answering your questions here. To ask her your own question, click here. Dear Dr. Vanessa, I am a 34-year-old female virgin. There were times with one ex when I thought I […]

Websites
Virgin Dating Site Leaves Us Speechless… Almost

Browsing the dating site YouandMeArePure.com left us temporarily speechless, and then clutching for the right words to express our… awe? The top five things that boggled our minds: For grammar nerds who are bothered by the site’s name, the very first sentence at the top of the entire site helpfully explains, “YouAndMeArePure is NOT a […]

Personal Essays
The Virgin Diaries: My Complicated Relationship with Sex

photo by woodleywonderworks Our contributor Katherine Chen, who is a sophomore English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), is penning a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her sixth installment: When I first got my period, my mother wanted to avoid the dreaded “Talk” but still […]

Confessions
Comment of the Week: Virginity Has No Intrinsic Value

photo by Rafael Acorsi Madamoiselle L wrote an impassioned 1000-word essay on “The Cult of Perfect Pure Virginity” in response to the discussion of the post “Wise Guys: What’s the Big Deal with Virgins?” Here’s an abridged version: I think we are again putting value on something which has NO intrinsic value (“virginity”) and using […]

Personal Essays
The Virgin Diaries – How Video Games Taught Me What Sexy Is

Our contributor Katherine Chen, who is a sophomore English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), is penning a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her fourth installment: From the moment I spotted her sitting on a shelf at a local Best Buy, I knew I wanted […]

Personal Essays
Introducing "The Virgin Diaries"

photo by Rafael Acorsi Perhaps you’re familiar with our regular contributor, Katherine Chen, a sophomore English major at Princeton University. She’s written several thoughtful essays on topics like porn and puberty. What really sets apart her involvement with our site about sex, however, is the fact that she’s never had any. But just because one […]

Wise Guys
Wise Guys: What's the Big Deal with Virgins?

photo by Rafael Acorsi Advice from three of our guy friends. This week they answer the following: “Virgins — turn off or turn on? A challenge, or too much of a responsibility?” Gay Single Guy (Daniel): My best friend told me once that with the first virgin you deflower, you become a cherub; the second, […]

Confessions
Comments of the Week: Do It When Everyone's Ready

photo by (nutmeg) We got a TON of great comments on the “How Long Can a Virgin Make a Guy Wait?” post, from Spes, SS, Madamaoiselle L….it was so hard to choose one! So we picked two: Rhett Butler: Let me recast the question to illuminate it a bit more.  While the analogy isn’t perfect, […]

Your Call
How Long Can a Virgin Make a Guy Wait?

Dear Em & Lo, I’m a 26-year-old virgin and, while I’m not waiting for marriage, I am waiting for the right guy. You know, that guy that won’t pressure me for sex because it’s the 3rd date or break up with me after 3 months because I’m not ready. And yes, both of those situations […]