Sexuality

Figure skater Adam Rippon will be one of two openly gay Americans competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics, a first for the U.S.

A Brief History of Openly Gay Olympians

Americans Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy are the latest LGBTQ athletes to go for the gold

Bodo Mende (left) and Karl Kreile (right) are the first couple in Germany to celebrate a same-sex wedding.

Germany Celebrates Its First Same-Sex Marriages

The country’s marriage equality law, which was passed in June, went into effect on Sunday

Rock Hudson in 1954.

The Hollywood Star Who Confronted the AIDS 'Silent Epidemic'

Rock Hudson died of AIDS-related complications in 1985

This 1966 portrait of Hugh Hefner will go on display today in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

Hugh Hefner's Legacy as Told Through National Portrait Gallery Artifacts

Three objects explore the complicated and controversial life of the late founder of the Playboy empire

"The Room at the Top of the Stairs" by Fu-Sheng KU.

Asia’s First Major LGBTQ Exhibition to Launch in Taipei

The groundbreaking <i>Spectrosynthesis</i> is united by a single theme: the spectrum of light

Chas. Kendrick made this caricature of Oscar Wilde and sunflower.

LGBTQ History Comes Out of the Shadows in New U.K. Exhibition

<i>Gay UK</i> tells the stories of people once subject to oppressive anti-gay laws

Ona Louise has a tale to tell.

Drag Queens Are Public Libraries’ Newest Storytellers

Early reading just got a lot more glamorous

This App Could Bring Sex Ed To All Students

Real Talk helps middle schoolers access reliable sex ed information using storytelling, regardless of whether they have internet at home

In times of desperation, female sawtooth sharks have been known to reproduce sans males. For other species, solo reproduction is downright vanilla.

Meet Eight Species That Are Bending the Rules of Reproduction

Spice up your mating life with relationship tips from rock lizards, sharks and water fleas

These are actually tadpoles.

Now You Can Measure Male Fertility With a Smartphone App

A new device helps men monitor their sperm count from the comfort of their own home

From the same DNA, different genders can boast dramatically different characteristics. Dung beetles are helping scientists understand how.

What Dung Beetles Can Teach Us About Sexual Difference

When it comes to sex appeal, it's not all in your genes (it's also in your proteins!)

Ecologists tend to think of mobbing behavior as primarily a way that smaller birds protect their nests and chicks from larger predators. Shown here, a Willie wagtail attacking an Australian raven.

Why Do Male Birds Take on Larger Predators? Maybe Just to Impress the Ladies

Some mobbing behavior may be less about survival, and more about sexual selection

Still Life with Fruit, Oysters, and Wine by Everhart Kuhn, ca. 1865

Are Oysters an Aphrodisiac?

Sure, if you think so

Smallmouth salamanders reproduce sexually, which may give them certain advantages.

When Is Sex Worth Going the Distance? When You’re a Salamander, Apparently

Asexual amphibians may be less equipped to handle modern threats than their sexual counterparts

Hair removal is personal—but it may be time to bring science to the party.

Bare Down There? New Study Suggests You’re More Susceptible to STIs

Your pubic preferences could be linked to your sexual health

Scientists are using genetic sequencing to reconstruct how AIDS hit the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

Genetic Sleuthing Clears 'Patient Zero' of Blame for U.S. AIDS Epidemic

Scientists debunk the myth of the man once thought to have brought the virus to the states

The male brown widow spider may not be as unlucky in love as we once thought.

Male Widow Spiders Prefer Younger Ladies—So They Don’t Get Eaten

This strategy means they live to mate again, upending assumptions about these arachnids

The hate crime that killed Matthew Shepard was the impetus for a new choral work.

A New Choral Work Was Inspired by the Death of Matthew Shepard

“Considering Matthew Shepard” finds hope inside a story of hate

Thanks, evolution.

The Evolutionary Reason Why Women Orgasm

New research suggests the female orgasm is tied to ovulation, not reproduction

Transgender People Can Now Serve Openly in the U.S. Military

One of the last restrictions on who can serve in the military has been removed

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