At Harvard, it often seems like every second must be accounted for. The Google Calendar squares often touch from morning to night, encompassing everything from social events to classes to networking. If you are not filling out a spreadsheet, attending a networking event, or going out, you may feel like you are doing something wrong. […]
As a Chicago native and temporary Bostonian, I am well acquainted with cold, windy winters where my hands turn white, my cheeks turn red, and my nighttime tea becomes ritual. I often remark that you never get fully used to the cold, but you learn to accept it. Still, I love living in cold weather […]
The first time I looked at my vagina, I was repulsed. Legs spread in a frog-like fashion, right hand equipped with a handheld mirror patterned with Disney Princess stickers and fingers poking at my labia in the most unsexual manner possible, I had never felt more concentrated in my 12 years of life. And, simultaneously, […]
Dear Reader, The staff of the Harvard Independent is proud to present the 2024 Sex Issue. This issue is a tradition which has been cherished and highly-anticipated annually for over 25 years. Each year’s Sex Issue explores the joys and the complexities of sex and sexuality, and aims to promote sex-positivity in many forms on […]
Imagine walking into your therapist’s office and leaving with instructions to go have sex. While it may seem odd, the science behind this prescription exists. Within the medical community, it is becoming increasingly clearer that having sex regularly (more than once a week) has long-term health benefits. Along with the physical pleasure of sexual encounters, […]
When I entered the “talking stage” with my now boyfriend, I must have doubled the water bill. Absolutely terrified of what he might think when he inevitably felt or saw my figure, I spent hours contorting my body in the shower to reach every nook, cranny, flap, and crack I could find. Feeling around to […]
Do you call him daddy? Do I call her daddy? Call. Her. Daddy. I can still remember the illicit feelings of shame that consumed the thirteen-year-old version of myself who secretly listened to “Call Her Daddy.” Holding my phone up to my ear so that no one could hear, I listened as Alex Cooper bellowed […]
“Tell us about your first time.” It always happens when we’re playing Hot Seat or Truth or Dare. Everyone buckles up for a good story—bonus points if it happened somewhere crazy. I smile softly to myself, knowing they’re going to be surprised, or maybe even disappointed, by my response that I’m a virgin and waiting […]
Note: The author recognizes that there are many women who do not have vaginas or uteruses. This is a personal exploration of a transformation into adulthood, and the author wants to express her love for women of all shapes, sizes, races, gender expressions, and sexual identities as they battle what can be a very scary […]
On March 22, I opened my email over breakfast to The Post Most and clicked on the headliner: “Women are getting off birth control amid misinformation explosion.” Written by two female health reporters, Lauren Weber and Sabrina Malhi, the article criticized women who share negative experiences with hormonal contraceptives online. Weber and Malhi called the […]