tops and bottoms Archives

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old hollywood lesbians

A sparkly blue background with images of Anna May Wong, Marlene Dietrich, and Ava Gardner

movie lists

Actresses Born Before My Grandma Ranked by How Badly I Want Them to Top Me

I am a sucker for a mid-atlantic accent and a beauty in black and white.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Jan 4, 2024

Autostraddle Reader Data

featured

sex

What Does It Mean to Be a “Bottom” or “Submissive” in Lesbian Sex?

What does it mean when to identify as a “bottom” or a “submissive” in queer sex? I come armed with data and some very vague answers.

Riese —

Sep 5, 2023

Autostraddle Reader Data

tops and bottoms

sex

Service Tops, Bratty Bottoms and Pillow Princesses: Other Words You Use to Describe How You Have Sex

We’ve been talking about tops, bottoms and switches for a few weeks and today we’re doing a little glossary of the other words you use to describe how you have…

Riese —

Jul 31, 2023

sexual assault

tops and bottoms

Two white women lie in bed on a white sheet. We can see their torsos and the tops of their legs. The woman on the left wears a light blue button-up shirt and dark blue underwear. The woman on the right wears dark blue lingerie. They hold hands.

first person

How Bottoming Helped Me Heal From Sexual Trauma

I had to learn how to feel safe in the world in order to bottom. For me, surrender is healing.

Stuti —

Sep 29, 2022

The Gay B C's of Sex

tops and bottoms

A cartoon image shows Veronica from Archie Comics, who has long, black hair with bands and wears a yellow top with a plunging neckline. She leans back in bed against a pink pillow with red trim with her hands behind her head. Her lower half is covered by a pink blanket. Red hearts swirl through the air around her. A white and brown lamp is on her pink bedside table to the right. Against the black background, yellow text reads: "Power bottom."

sex

The Gay B C’s of Sex: P Is for Power Bottom

Perhaps the power bottom is in the eye of the be(hole)der.

Ro White —

Sep 1, 2022

tops and bottoms

An abstract rendering of a pale lavender triangle with a neon green shape embedded in it rotating through a background of rippled blue and purple

love + sex

Let’s Talk About (Queer) Sex: Power Dynamics Are in the Eye of the Beholder

What do we feel our sexual IDs “mean” about us as “people”? Do they have overlaps with our sense of self outside of bed? Do we notice others assuming these…

the team —

Oct 1, 2020

tops and bottoms

An abstract image of a neon yellow triangle against a field of blue swirls and ripples.

love + sex

Let’s Talk About (Queer) Sex: So You’re a Top/Bottom/Switch

How have you defined (or not) your role over time? Has it changed, did you at first think you “were” one thing and now you ID differently? how did that…

the team —

Aug 26, 2020

14 Knuckles

tops and bottoms

a double photo of a long-haired femme from behind, showing off her buttcheeks in a thong-backed body suit and the sides of her cheeks

first person

14 Knuckles: Can Two Switches Have Sex?

Can two switches have sex? I think so, and I think there is something beautifully different about having sex with someone with whom sexual options are truly abundant.

Mat —

Jul 30, 2020

14 Knuckles

tops and bottoms

first person

14 Knuckles: I Want to Buy You A Matte Black Audi

I was always thinking about them — what I’d bring, what I’d wear, what we’d do when we saw each other next. I wanted to dote and caress every moment…

Mat —

Jun 23, 2020

covid-19

kink

sex

Topping From the Bunker: Tips for Long-Distance Kink

Good news: there are no geographic limits to being a kinky slut, and I’m willing to lend you my perverted imagination.

Ro White —

May 11, 2020

black history month

black history month 2020

sex

Ain’t I A Bottom

Many Black women are raised to give our apparent struggles the stiff upper lip. We’re taught to be loud, and proud, and bigger than the world sees us. And at…

Mandy Harris Williams —

Feb 29, 2020

tops and bottoms

sex

Started from the Bottom: A Lifelong Bottom’s Adventures in Topping

Much like how everyone told us “OMG you’re both Geminis? This will never work,” we were also told “OMG you’re both bottoms? This will never work.” Joke’s on everyone else;…

BJ Colangelo —

Oct 31, 2019