Bite the Fruit

May is National Masturbation Month. The annual celebration began in 1995 in response to the forced resignation of U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders in December 1994. After a speech at the UN World AIDS Day, Elders responded to an attendee’s question about masturbation’s potential for discouraging early sexual activity. She replied, “I think it is something that is part of human sexuality and a part of something that perhaps should be taught."   Soon after, Elders’ career as the first black female Surgeon General ended. The owners of Good Vibrations, an adult shop in San Francisco, were outraged. They set...

Genderism: The Invisible System We’re Still Rewarding When we redesigned Bite the Fruit’s online store, a practical problem surfaced. How do you categorize products without using “For Him” and “For Her”? At first glance, it seemed like a marketing decision. But it wasn’t. It was cultural. Because the moment you try to sort pleasure into pink and blue boxes, you collide with something deeper: a system most people have never consciously examined. Genderism. And genderism is not about toys. It is about power. Seeing What We Were Taught Not to See What invisible structure is shaping behavior here? Gender binarism...

Study finds intimate relationships are actually doing well during the pandemic   A recent Monmouth University survey of 556 American adults, between April 30 to May 4, found that despite the stresses that might come from home quarantine, working from home, losing a job, business lockdowns, or managing kids, most are happy in their relationships. Although they are far from perfect, on average, they are in pretty good shape.   The survey reveals some encouraging results:   1. About three-quarters of those polled with a romantic partner say their relationship has not fundamentally changed since the coronavirus outbreak.   When...