Good Vibrations Magazine

Darren James’s fellow adult industry performers speak well of him, calling him “a real gentleman.” Women liked working with him, and his professional standards were higher than those of many up-and-coming porn stars: he got tested oftener for HIV than the customary once-monthly checkup. This requirement, adopted by most porn companies in the 1990s after [...]

Putting that secret code on your door to alert your roommate. Finding late-night common area nooks. Snuggling in the library. For some of us who lived in a dorm during our college years, the effort of finding rendezvous spots away from roommates and friends may be a distant — but vivid — memory. Combine these [...]

If you believe, as I do, that good blow jobs contribute to the betterment of mankind, then our very own [previous - ed] editor of Good Vibes Magazine, Ms. Violet Blue qualifies as something of a saint. Her second book, The Ultimate Guide To Fellatio, has doubtlessly touched more hearts and souls than even the [...]

Definitions of words change. Crack open an Oxford English Dictionary and see how over the centuries words morph and transmute. It is the science of etymology that traces the history and evolution of language.
What you can’t find in the OED or etymology textbooks is how the meaning of a word or phrase can shift even [...]

The Guardian in London first reported it on Thursday October 9, 2003 — according to “Vatican: Condoms Don’t Stop AIDS” by Steve Bradshaw, “the Catholic Church is telling people in countries stricken by AIDS not to use condoms because they have tiny holes in them through which HIV can pass. The church is making the [...]

Editor’s note: the Lusty Lady is now a co-op!
Sometime this month the legendary Lusty Lady exotic dance emporium and peep show, a fixture of North Beach’s sex life since the 1980s, will undergo major changes. As I write, negotiations are still underway between the performers and support staff and the ownership — at issue is [...]

Do you hear that sound? It’s the sound of me breathing. Yes, I can finally breathe because I have finally read a well-written, scientifically accurate and engaging Sex and Culture book, The Trouble with Nature. From the very first page I knew I was going to like this book, which begins with this quote by [...]

As most of us know, the Internet can be one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with a lover when you’re apart. It’s also a great tool for maintaining an erotic connection — or for spicing up a sexual relationship, whether or not you’re in different zip codes. Whether your partner is across [...]

“A human is born either a girl or a boy and for as long as we live, that is the way we will stay.”
– A New Human Life (1968), classroom film
As quoted in Mental Hygiene by Ken Smith (Blast Books, 1999)
When did I first learn about sex? I’m not sure if it was a third [...]

Among many people who consider themselves sexual libertines — to whom any manner of consensual sexual behavior or body modification is perfectly acceptable — cosmetic surgery is often the exception that proves the rule. The mention of cosmetic surgery, especially sexual surgeries like cosmetic vaginoplasty, breast augmentation or penis enlargement, frequently merits a disapproving groan [...]

As George W. Bush declared war on Iraq and deployed troops, and the cool glow of CNN filled many homes over the past few months, was there another warmer gettin’-it-on glow glimmering in American bedrooms and front lines? If so, how does one find out?
It’s not like there’s a Nielsen reporting system for Americans’ sex [...]

Part 1
Forniphilia: A Definition
According to The House of Gord, forniphilia is “the art of human furniture.” A forniphiliac, therefore, is a person, most often a man, who fetishes another person, most often a woman, who has been modified or manipulated to appear to be a home furnishing. Take, for example, the man who, as [...]

When I take the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (S.A.S.T.) it tells me that I am 96% likely to be a “sex addict.” The test consists of a list of simple questions taken from the book Contrary to Love one of the bibles of the “sex addiction movement.” This book, written by Patrick Carnes, PhD and [...]

Double penetration is a huge fantasy for many women and men — we need only to look to its prevalence in erotic videos to find that out. Called “DP” in the adult video industry, double penetration has become a common variation shown in porn, and one that video consumers increasingly expect and want. But how [...]

Editor’s Note: Following is an excerpt from the new Greenery Press book Sex Disasters (and How to Survive Them). by Charles Moser, MD, PhD, and Janet W. HardyIn this handbook akin to the Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook, the authors teamed up with attorneys, cops, EMTs and more to provide practical, thoughtful and useful solutions [...]

I’m sitting in the parlor of a legal brothel in Nevada. I’m the only one here who didn’t get her nails done on Tuesday. Marta has red nails; Gina’s are deep burgundy. They could be in a Lancôme ad at Nordstrom. When the bell rings I get into the lineup with 10 other girls. There [...]

Working at Good Vibrations, I’ve become practiced at unearthing the real questions beneath the small talk. For those feeling inquisitive or brave, walking into our store can be an opportunity to address issues they haven’t yet articulated.
Good Vibrations’ sex-positive attitude hinges on the idea that all of us have a right to pleasure and, as [...]

After living in San Francisco for seven years, I’ve developed an attitude of been there, done that when it comes to sex, drugs, and fucking. I’ve been the daddy, the uncle, the plumber, the little brother, the older brother, and the priest — you get the picture. But now I’m starting to get the picture [...]

My search started outside of the bedroom. I’ve spent more than five years of studying and re-constructing myself as male. I studied men and how they move. The way their shoulders stay stiff and never sway when they turn: I did that, too. I watched the way inflated chests and arms filled invisible spaces. I [...]

If you’ve visited us before, you may have noticed that goodvibes.com has revamped our web site and re-launched Good Vibes Magazine in a new format. While we have made many changes that will bring us gracefully into the 21st century, most of Good Vibrations remains the same. I thought I would take this chance to [...]

When “Sex and the City” first took to the HBO cable-waves, I was just as excited as the next gal. At last, a TV show about savvy and sexual women who talk about men, women, penises and vaginas — all before lunch time. These, I thought, are my kind of people.
Compared to Buffy and Ally, [...]

Sugar High Glitter City is the sweet (bet you saw that coming) new feature by dyke duo Shar Rednour and Jackie Strano, otherwise known as SIR Video. “Sugar High” features a sex-crazed world where sugar is outlawed. Thus, it creates all the normal problems that happen when you make something illegal — the big one [...]

The San Francisco International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival — the oldest, biggest, and probably most fabulous queer film festival in the world — has never been shy about showing sexually explicit flicks. And that’s as it should be. Queer people spend more time examining our own sexuality than most other folks; dicks and cunts [...]

If you’ve ever suffered from ongoing depression, you know that it can have profound effects on your life, especially your sex life. And if you haven’t suffered ongoing or chronic depression, you’ve still probably experienced short term or situational depression — which can be just as severe, and more immediate. Depression can be triggered by [...]

Wilhelm Reich was one of the most important pioneers in the study of sexuality. A psychologist and sociologist, Reich devoted his entire turbulent life to the conquest of sexual repression: an illness he called “the emotional plague of mankind.” Sexual repression doesn’t just make for an unfulfilled sex life, according to Reich. It is the [...]