I was too embarrassed to walk into the store

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I was too embarrassed to walk into the store

Even as a health educator, buying my first toy felt impossible. At age 20, I became a sexual health peer educator at Lehigh University, about 80 minutes from where I grew up in Pennsylvania. The program was run through the health and counseling center, and we were trained to go into dorms and classes to teach and facilitate conversations about safer sex. I started in the fall of 1993, when the focus was on something called Outercourse…

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Bob the Builder - The New Gen Z Dating Trend

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Bob the Builder - The New Gen Z Dating Trend

There is a trend on Hinge and other dating apps that is both new…but also kind of old, in the traditional sense. Forget dinner and drinks and getting dressed up. Some Gen Z women are using Hinge matches to help build their furniture. Bed frames, bookshelves, TVs mounted on the wall, all courtesy of a first date. The New York Post called it the “Bob the Builder” trend, and I was interviewed…

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60 Questions to Strengthen Your Relationship or Marriage

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60 Questions to Strengthen Your Relationship or Marriage

How often do you create intentional time to ask and answer questions like this in your relationship or marriage? (It really only needs to take 5 to 10 minutes!) What's a favorite memory of us that I may not know means a lot to you? What's something I do that makes you feel loved? What helps you feel more emotionally safe with me?

I love using questions like this when…

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Sex During Perimenopause & Menopause

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Sex During Perimenopause & Menopause

As a 52-year-old woman in the midst of perimenopause (the transitional years leading to menopause, when a woman’s hormones are fluctuating), the topics of sex, intimacy, and desire during perimenopause and menopause are not just professional topics for me, but also deeply personal ones. Along these lines, I was recently interviewed by Oprah Daily as the Resident Sex Educator for pjur lubricants…

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Setting New Year's Resolutions That Stick

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Setting New Year's Resolutions That Stick

"I'm the type of person who..." I zoomed into a Washington DC news station last week to discuss how to set New Year's goals or intentions that are sustainable and more likely to succeed. Here are some points to consider—especially if you're the "bah humbug" type about resolutions or if you've struggled to stick to them in the past…

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Uncomfortable Holiday Conversations with Family & Friends

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Uncomfortable Holiday Conversations with Family & Friends

Do you know how to be with family and friends for the holidays, and also be prepared for uncomfortable or confrontational social or political conversations? I spoke to Houston NBC news recently, giving advice on how best to navigate holiday conversations.

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