No one really talks about it, but most people feel it. The pressure to be confident. To be experienced. To know what you’re doing without having to ask. Somehow, we’re all supposed to show up already fluent — as if sex is something you either get or don’t. And if you hesitate, if you need time, if you’re unsure… it can start to feel like you’re behind. This pressure doesn’t always come from a partner. Often, it comes from comparison. From movies that skip the awkward parts. F

There’s a strange loneliness that can exist even when you’re physically close to someone. You can be lying next to them. You can be touching, kissing, doing all the things that are supposed to mean something. And still feel… slightly separate. Like something important didn’t quite land. We don’t talk about that enough. Because for a long time, intimacy has been explained to us almost entirely through sex. If you’re having it, things must be good. If you’re not, something must