The Difficulty of Self-Disclosure in Romantic Relationships

One of the most intimate experiences in a romantic relationship is the gradual process of revealing your more personal and vulnerable thoughts and feelings to another. While it can be frightening, it can form the basis of a beautiful, meaningful relationship based on trust and intimacy. But why do some people find it more difficult to self-disclose than others? This article tries to explore the meaning and difficulty of self-disclosure in the context of romantic relationships.

Keisha Amalia

Writer

From Boyhood to Manhood: Sexual Taboos Explored in Cinema

In this article, we’re going to cover two major sexual taboos explored in cinema revolving around the transition from boyhood to manhood. We will look at three famous movies!

Tasina Emma Westberg

Writer

Love, Sex & Robots: Is AI the New Way of Coping With Loneliness?

‍Have you seen the movie “HER”, a romantic science fiction from 2013 which depicts the love between a regular fellow Theodore and his AI personal assistant? The love between them begins with him upgrading his Operation System containing a virtual assistant with Artificial Intelligence. Shortly after several conversations with AI, Theodore falls in love with it. The film introduces us to a world of different ways to cope with loneliness, and new ways to love. I cannot help but wonder if this is actually fiction or if we are already at a point where this can become our reality. Have we reached a point along human evolution where we can also seek attention and love from a system, rather than a human? The following article aims to explore these questions and understand the implications of using AI to cope with loneliness.

Diana Birjac

Writer

The Stigma of "Virginity"

While scrolling in anonymous forums to read people’s opinions about issues that still pose taboos, my attention caught the topic of the stigma of virginity in adulthood. It seems that "prolonged virginity" is deeply stigmatised, perceived as something negative and unattractive. Not only do people feel ashamed of being virgins, but they are also afraid to date someone that does not have sexual experiences. Let’s take a closer look.

Georgia Lepenioti

Writer

Avoidant Attachment Styles and Romantic Relationships

Keisha Amalia

Writer

Emotional Risk-Taking in Romantic Relationships

Emotional risk-taking in romantic relationshipsWe might all have caught ourselves trying to avoid getting emotionally involved in a romantic/intimate relationships. By saying this, I mean that instead of being in the present moment, and feeling what we would naturally and normally feel, we try to avoid and get rid of those big sensations. We probably prefer to stay in our comfort zone than be emotionally exposed and vulnerable. And to justify this, we can easily come up with many excuses such as “people always hurt you”, “I have been hurt in the past”, “I should be careful this time”, “I should not seem weak” etc. So what is emotional risk-taking? Find out below!

Georgia Lepenioti

Writer

Expression & Suppression in Close and Romantic Relationships

Expression and suppression are two constructs that are often thought as the two sides of the same coin, even though they are found to be quite distinct in research. This means that in relationships, even close and romantic ones, both play a role in relationship satisfaction and feelings of relatedness. Expression, in particular, is really important because otherwise guilt may appear. Sacrifice is also connected with expression and suppression and is found that when it comes naturally in relationships it can even boost life satisfaction!

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

Consensual Non-Monogamy

Liberating ourselves from the traditional structures of marriage altogether, and/or transforming those structures to include all of us -- gay, feminist, career-focused, baby crazy, monogamous, non-monogamous, skeptical, romantic, and everyone in between -- is the challenge facing this generation.

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

Jealousy in romantic relationships

An article by Guardian titled "I can’t come to terms with my boyfriend’s female friendships" deals with a jealous girlfriend who is checking his boyfriend’s phone and feeling uncontrollably scared that he will cheat on her, without much proof at all. She explains that the fact that he had invited a female colleague to his place to eat after golfing, while there was also another man present was enough to make her feel terrified. I think we can all, at least to some extent, recognize that little stinging feeling in our chest when a person we are attracted to, be it our partner or a distant crush, expresses some interest in another person and we feel threatened. In this article, we are going to dive into what jealousy is, what evokes it, how it interacts with the binary genders, how it is related to attachment styles and how it is related to and different in non-monogamy.

Lilja Kanerva

Writer

Psychological effects of hormonal contraceptive methods: the pill and beyond

Hormonal contraception is available worldwide in many different forms. Fear of side effects and health concerns are among the main reasons for not using contraceptives or discontinuing their use. Although the safety and efficacy of contraceptives have been extensively examined, little is known about their impact on mental health and sexual functioning, and the evidence on the topic is controversial.

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

Vulva diversity: Genital appearance, satisfaction and sexual pleasure

“Western society considers itself free, liberal and nurturing of gender equality, yet genitalia remains a taboo subject. We rarely say the word "vulva", and instead, describe their external genitalia using a vast array of different terms, often using euphemisms (e.g. ‘down below’) or incorrectly calling it "vagina". How does this affect our body satisfaction and sexual pleasure?

Lilja Kanerva

Writer

Sex Education in Schools: What about ‘’wet dreams’’ and more

Sexuality in humans is a topic that starts concerning individuals from their early adolescence. It starts with pure curiosity about reproduction and the human organism and young people usually turn to their peers, parents or their school to gain this information. Friends as teens feel safer to ask friends than their family or schools. However, imagine the misconceptions and unclarity created between groups that derive conclusions but have very little knowledge considering their life stage. That is why it is important for sex education to be a topic broadly discussed in classrooms and for teachers to feel comfortable and at ease to open discussions about it. Sex education is not part of the official curriculum at school in many countries and in others it tries to be. In this article we will explore a bit where sex education lies as a course in schools all over the world and in what ways it is taught. Sit comfortably, grab your coffee and let’s start.

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

The shifting landscape of Porn

“Porn isn’t just porn, porn is actually a discourse, a discourse about sexuality, about masculinity and the roles we play” -Erika Lust

Lilja Kanerva

Writer

Polyamory

Polyamory is the act of being able to or desiring to be in a relationship with more than one person at once. The term “Polyamorous” describes both a relationship with more than two people, but also people who desire these types of relationships. Polyamorous relationships can be romantic, sexual or both. It can be used to describe an open relationship or it can be three or more people who are all in a relationship with each other. Polyamory is not a sexuality on its own, but it implies that polyamorous people can live their sexuality however they choose to.

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

The Attractiveness Halo Effect

Don’t judge a book by its cover… Everyone has heard this phrase at least once in their life, yet, many people do not live by this “rule”. In fact, attractive people are often considered “good” while unattractive people are considered “bad”. Just look at any teenage movie ever…the attractive people are popular and admired, while other less attractive ones are perceived as losers. But it’s not just movies and fiction, this happens in real life too! Society refers to this phenomenon as “pretty privilege”, and scholars call it the attractiveness Halo Effect. It affects your everyday life and you might not even notice... So, what exactly is the attractiveness halo effect? Why is it so prevalent? And what areas of life does it affect and how? Let’s find out!

Denisa Alfoldyova

Writer

Do opposites attract each other? Not in most cases...

Most of us grow up believing that people that are different from each other are more likely to fall for each other. However, many studies in psychology show opposing[6] dynamics. The more similar you are, the stronger your relationship is. In this article, we explore the existing evidence for the “opposites attract” statement and try to conclude whether this is a myth or a reality.

Birsu Obalar

Writer

The Human Orgasm: Re-thinking the basics

Many people who have experienced an orgasm say that it is the highest point of pleasure they have ever experienced. Yet when asked to describe it most of them can't seem to put it in words... so what is an orgasm? what is happening to our body and mind? How is research in this field? Maybe we should re-think the basics...

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

Emotional Abuse in Intimate Partner Relationships

You disgust me - You’re worthless - I’ll tell everyone you’re a liar - Tell me your password or I’ll break your phone… Most of today’s literature focuses on physical abuse, but emotional/psychological abuse is the most prevalent type of intimate partner violence, endorsed equally by men and women, and it is just as degrading. Let’s find out what it is.

Ludovica Arvigo

Co-Founder

Consent is Sexy

Sexual consent is a phrase that usually goes hand in hand with words like ‘’rape’’, ‘’sexual assault’’ and ‘’sexual violence’’. Its meaning is not, however, in any case limited to these concepts. So, while sexual consent is a term we use often in our everyday lives, do we truly know what we are referring to? 

Demi Anagnostouli

Head of Contents

Dynamics of the Lover and the Beloved

Perhaps you’ve seen, or experienced yourself, a relationship where the lovers cannot get enough of each other, are constantly together and have a hard time enjoying themselves outside the company of the other. On the other hand, you might’ve also come across a relationship in which people love each other endlessly but set individual boundaries of where one person ends and the other starts. Similarly, we know some people break-up after realising a change in the other person or within themselves, as opposed to those lovers who stick together through everything, without ever giving up. Have you ever found yourself in any of these situations? Below are some questions we can ask ourselves to reflect on the way we love!

Ludovica Arvigo

Co-Founder

Romantic Love: how do we label it?

You might be thinking this is an overly discussed topic, and that we all know what love is by now. It is indeed the most studied and depicted phenomenon, from Plato’s Symposium, to Klimt’s Kiss and to movies like Call Me By Your Name by Guadagnino. Thousands of years of research have undoubtedly uncovered the multi-faceted dynamics surrounding love, as well as formulated an infinite number of theories. But often, we forget the subjectivity of love: it’s something that we all share and seek, yet it is deeply personal and unique for each of us. This article shines upon a few theories of romantic love while inviting you to reflect about your personal views. Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong. You might relate to certain things, to everything or to nothing… 

Ludovica Arvigo

Co-Founder