Feature image of djsillysyl via rodeoh by Mariya Stangl. All of the photographs in this NSFW Sunday are from rodeoh. 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!
rat_prince via rodeoh by samxraw
Take five minutes and meditate to have better sex:
“‘After they develop a mindfulness practice, the degree of concordance between physical response and self report response goes up. In other words, the body is getting aroused and the mind is getting aroused to the same degree,’ Brotto says. Basically, in order to experience sexual satisfaction, we can’t just experience physical arousal. We also have to know that we are turned on and we have to be able to tune into it. Mindfulness and meditation practices help us develop the skill of tuning in, and as a result, we are able to have better sexual experiences.
If you’ve ever tried to meditate, you know that becoming present is a practice. Though the goal of meditation isn’t better sex (meditation, in general, has no mission statement), it can help you become present, to bring your awareness to your body, and therefore, to have better, more present sex.”
seawitchling and clomads via rodeoh by samxraw
It can be fun to work out with a partner Try a sport or class, don’t get competitive with each other, try stationary cardio, take space to do your own things and then come back together, and breathe.
At Allure, seven women and femmes posed for portraits of their arm hair. And at Oh Joy Sex Toy, Sarah Winifred Searl discusses body hair, writing, “These days, I allow myself to enjoy a little grooming, but now I know for sure that it’s on my own terms. I’m a bit fluffier and a heck of a lot happier with myself now that I’ve learned to embrace becoming the dwarf princess I was always meant to be.”
zhenta via rodeoh by samxraw
Sex can be magic, writes Gabriela Herstick in Ask a Witch at Nylon:
“[H]ell yes we can use our sexual energy as a spell. Sexual energy is life energy; it’s a connection to the divine and to our own magick, as well as our own inner process of transformation. Sexual energy and orgasm is a release! Sex magick, or what’s called tantra in Eastern traditions, has been around for thousands of years. It’s a way to use our sexual energy and release as energetic fuel for a desired outcome, for connection, or for healing.
I really believe that sexual energy is some of the most potent out there, and by being intentional with it, we can create really strong magick. You can do this by masturbating and focusing on an intention as you raise your sexual energy more and more. Although an orgasm would be ideal, sometimes it doesn’t happen, and that’s okay. Visualizing the energy leaving the crown of your head and blasting into the universe once it’s at its peak, while holding your desire in your mind’s eye, is very strong magick. You can also do this with a partner if you feel comfortable. This takes more communication, but the combined energy can make it stronger if you’re both focusing and connecting on the outcome together.”
samxraw and filthy_versace via rodeoh by samxraw
Kink is not abuse. Kinky role play is not abuse.
Think before you get married.
“How do you maintain a sense of excitement and gratitude over a long period of time while grappling with routine daily frustrations?,” asks Sarah Treleaven at the Cut? A part-time long-distance relationship.
topshelf_87 via rodeoh by Mariya Stangl
Love the link roundup !
About body hair. I’m pretty hairy, or rather, I was pretty hairy, with age that seems to have changed. Sometimes it seems to me that all my body hair is slowly migrating to my chin ! Which I don’t consider a particularly fun development.
I never used to shave my body much, but I’d bleach my stache in deference to my mom who once compared me to Rudolph Valentino. Haha, we had a fun relationship for sure, mom and I.
Anyway, all of a sudden last year I decided I’d had enough of the stache, the chin hairs, all of it, and I ripped it all off with some of those sticky strips. And I liked what I saw. I looked younger ! Less serious. And so I went further to un-fur other parts of my bod even though the growth was sparser. I find it fun and intriguing to discover this new me. I’m doing it for my self, at least that’s how I’m feeling it. Just like I’m getting great razor cuts at my local barber’s, I see it as grooming, tidying myself up.
I really liked that body hair comic and quote about being a princess dwarf! I’ve always loved that race in video games, and being able to have a beard in my fictional characters. Playing with body hair can be fun when you let go of a little bit of what you were taught growing up!
Thanks for the BDSM links!
Thanks for this whole round-up, and especially for the links about kink & consent! Struggling with the fact that my boss started this morning casually chatting about how “creepy” it is that people are “prying” into Schneiderman’s “personal business” and “who’s to say it wasn’t consensual” etc, UGH. Trying to not let that put a damper on my whole day!!
Anyway, these links were good, thank you.