In Defense of Naked Women

Mr. Fish / Truthdig Mar 11, 2011 I used to be 11 Occasionally, I am 11 again I’m OK with that I have a theory that by the time people reach 13 they’ve experienced every age they will ever experience in their lifetimes; 14 does not exist. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Mixed Race Beauty Gets a Mainstream Makeover

Marcia Alesan Dawkins / Truthdig Mar 8, 2011 We need to remember that beauty and race are both social constructions—concepts societies create that may not actually exist in nature. As a result, beauty and race are associated with and impacted by class, immigration, gender, sexuality and marketing.Are mixed race faces considered the most beautiful? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Secret Tape Shows Tory Gay-Bashing

Staff / Truthdig Apr 4, 2010 A secretly made tape has brought the right-leaning Tory party of the U.K. into a row over gay rights, as the shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, was caught saying that he believed that bed-and-breakfast owners should "have the right" to reject homosexual couples from lodging. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Happy Valentine’s Day

Mr. Fish / Truthdig Feb 14, 2010 Dig deeper

A Bedroom Benediction for Married Catholics

Staff / Truthdig Sep 3, 2009 Ever wonder what the Roman Catholic Church might have to say about the proper way to prepare for the friskier side of holy matrimony? Well, here it is anyway: A Catholic organization in Britain has come up with a bedroom benediction for officially recognized (read: heterosexual) married couples to consult prior to consummation in its handy "Prayer Book for Spouses." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Court Overturns India’s Gay Sex Ban

Staff / Truthdig Jul 2, 2009 Homosexual relations between consenting adults are no longer considered criminal in India, thanks to a court ruling that overturned a long-standing federal law. The BBC rounded up some reactions from Indian citizens after news of the judgment broke around the country. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Retired Military Leaders Denounce ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Staff / Truthdig Nov 18, 2008 One-hundred-and-four retired admirals and generals have signed a statement calling on the military to allow gay soldiers to serve openly. "Don't ask, don't tell" has lost support since the Clinton administration originally negotiated the compromise, but Barack Obama will likely avoid resurrecting one of his predecessor's biggest headaches. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mexico City Unveils Bold ‘Free Viagra for Seniors’ Plan

Staff / Truthdig Nov 15, 2008 Now here's one way to win elections: Government officials in Mexico City are offering free medication to hombres of a certain age who suffer from erectile dysfunction. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Very Special Announcement From R.E.M.

Staff / Truthdig Mar 22, 2008 Veteran rocker and self-described "queer artist" Michael Stipe has made a startling announcement about his two bandmates, Peter Buck and Mike Mills, ending, as Stipe put it, "years of awkward speculation" about their sexual orientation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Why We ‘Do It’

Staff / Truthdig Jul 19, 2007 Granted, social science must always be consumed with caution. Still, papers about people's sex lives are entertaining if not always illuminating. Here, we've taken the 10 most frequent reasons cited by participants of a sex study conducted by the University of Texas psych department in which people were asked to select motivations for having sex from a list of 237 choices. The choices ranged from "I realized I was in love" to "I was slumming." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Transgender Sportswriter Surprised by Tolerance

Staff / Truthdig May 15, 2007 One would think the sports world would be the last place a transgender person could happily transition from one sex to another, but to Christine Daniels' surprise, the opposite has been true. Daniels tells Newsweek about the fallout -- or lack thereof -- from her decision to stop being Mike Penner, a popular sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and resume her career with confidence, a new wardrobe and no writer's block. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Retired NBA Player Comes Out

Staff / Truthdig Feb 8, 2007 John Amaechi has become the first current or former NBA player to come out of the closet, and only the sixth such professional athlete from the four major American sports to do so. The former center for Orlando, Utah and Cleveland has written a memoir in which he describes life in the NBA as he started to open up about his sexuality, including mixed reactions from his team's owner, coach and players. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )