Sex
A flawed utopia: The Men, by Sandra Newman, reviewed
The problem for feminism is men. Not, specifically, in the sense that men are the source of women’s problems, although…
A child’s eye view: Fight Night, by Miriam Toews, reviewed
Writing from a child’s point of view is a daredevil act that Miriam Toews raises the stakes on in her…
Tina: the drug devastating the gay community
The ‘chemsex’ drug devastating the gay community
This be the curse: Philip Larkin’s big problem
Philip Larkin’s big problem
Women don't 'consent' to their own deaths
A ruling by the Court of Appeal last week has further enshrined the notion that women can consent to their…
The grim reality of gender reassignment
Lisa Littman, a doctor and researcher, recently surveyed ‘detransitioners’ — people who thought they were transgender then changed their minds.…
Why can't men write about sex?
Not long ago I was a regular Tinder user. Having heard that gingers were romantically incompatible, I decided to mix…
Foucault was shielded from scandal by French reverence for intellectuals
Consider the hare and the hyena. The hare, Clement of Alexandria told readers of his 2nd-century sexual self-help manual Paedagogus,…
New Zealand's transgender debate is turning nasty
New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. But now,…
A sex education from Aristophanes
The publication of the new Cambridge Greek Lexicon reminded the comedian and classicist Natalie Haynes of her frustrations at school,…
Sun, sex and acid: Thom Gunn in California
San Francisco is a fantastic place… it’s terribly sunny… I am having a splendid hedonistic time here… I find myself…
Do schools really have a problem with sexual violence?
Schools and the problem of ‘rape culture’
The fossil-hunting is more interesting than the sex: Ammonite reviewed
Ammonite is writer-director Francis Lee’s second film after God’s Own Country, one of the best films of 2017, and possibly…
Enjoyably tasteless: Power – The Maxwells reviewed
This year marks three decades since Robert Maxwell fell naked to his death from the deck of his yacht, The…
Paint in the bloodstream: The Death of Francis Bacon, by Max Porter, reviewed
Francis Bacon once told the art critic Richard Cork: ‘I certainly hope I’ll go on till I drop dead.’ Max…
Come back, doggers, all is forgiven
Bring back the men having sex in the undergrowth. This was the thought that occurred to me and my friend…
Washington State is a worrisome window into the future
Seattle I have seen the future, and it looks much like Washington State. But let’s get there by steps. The…
My nights of passion with Juliette Gréco
Gstaad Juliette Gréco’s recent death in her nineties brought back some melodramatic memories. In 1957 Gréco was one of France’s…
Let’s talk about sex: the brilliance of ‘bonk’
I take it personally that a word I practically saw being born is now unrecognised by people almost old enough…
Spectacular and mind-expanding: Tantra at the British Museum reviewed
A great temple of the goddess Tara can be found at Tarapith in West Bengal. But her true abode, in…
Too many of our children are battling severe depression
Christopher Hitchens once said that women just aren’t as funny as men and Caitlin Moran believed him. But that was…
Why people have sex in graveyards
The oldest churchyard in Torquay is being used by people openly having sex and sunbathing nude in broad daylight. This…
Dogging on our doorstep
Some might say it was a typical over-reaction on my part to erect hidden cameras at the horses’ field. First…
Is it a Rake’s or a Pilgrim’s Progress for Rob Doyle?
‘To live and die without knowing the psychedelic experience,’ says the narrator of Threshold, ‘is comparable to never having encountered…
The good sex award goes to Sarah Hall: Sudden Traveller reviewed
Sarah Hall should probably stop publishing short stories for a while to give other writers a chance. If she’s not…
