Feature image of Barbary Rose and Rion Rhodes in Crash Pad Series episode 277. All of the photographs in this NSFW Sunday are from the Crash Pad. The inclusion of a visual here should not be interpreted as an assertion of the model’s gender identity or sexual orientation. If you’re a photographer or model and think your work would be a good fit for NSFW Sunday, please email carolyn at autostraddle dot com.
Welcome to NSFW Sunday!
Here’s how to make and uphold your own sexual boundaries:
“The goal should always be a sexual experience where everyone feels safe and taken care of. Think of each other’s boundaries as a road map for sexual pleasure and emotional wellbeing within a relationship, and remember: Boundaries around sex differ from person to person. For example, I have a hard limit on spankings. I never want to be spanked and I communicate that with any person I have sex with. How people react to the expression of boundaries can also be telling and reveal possible red flags. If someone communicates their yeses, nos, and maybes and the person they’re having sex with doesn’t respect their boundaries, that may be a sign that the relationship should not continue in such an intimate way, at all.”
Are you horny? How do you tell? What does that even mean or feel like in your body?
It’s okay if not everyone likes you.
Staring down your first-ever breakup? Here’s why it could feel like the worst thing ever:
“Although people are often quick to call first relationships puppy love, Boodram says, ‘our first breakup tends to be our most serious breakup.’ She explains, ‘I don’t think we manage expectations well enough. We don’t say, Hey, love is an extremely powerful drug, and after your first hit of it, you’re going to find it excruciatingly hard to separate, so be prepared. If we started to manage expectations better and really educate people, the first breakup might not be as much of a gut punch.’”
Love bombing can be a mechanism of control:
“One of the problems with love bombing is that popular culture paints a bombardment of attention as the pinnacle of romance. […]
The dangers of love bombing are often overlooked because, really, who actually minds being showered with gifts, lavished with attention, and being assured of all your best qualities? But love bombing is a form of abuse – it forces you into a state of vulnerability that allows you to be easily manipulated, opening you up to much more sinister and harmful behavior.”
