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Monday 25 September 2023 Dublin: 15°C

# Sexuality

This year
2023
'The worst time of my life': Irish research shows lasting harm of LGBT+ 'conversion therapy'
Participants used words like ‘traumatising’, ‘destructive’ and ‘horrendous’ to describe their experiences.
Last year
2022
'I became a self-harmer, I didn’t want to be here frankly' - Kelly Holmes
The double Olympic champion says she suffered a breakdown in 2020.
All time
'We had bottles thrown at us, a woman spit on us': Six in 10 LGBT people avoid holding hands in public
Three in 10 people avoid certain locations for fear of being assaulted, according to a new survey.
Why the conversation around Normal People's sex scenes shows how Ireland has changed
The issue of consent is to the forefront – and the complaints are at a minimum.
Opinion: Why we asked people on the streets of Dublin if they watch pornography
Cliodhna McAllister writes about how her experiences with Tinder, dating and porn got her thinking about how we view sexuality and gender in Ireland.
Irish government to consider similar legislation to UK 'porn block' law
From July pornography sites will be required to have robust age-verification systems in place for UK users.
'We have this intrinsic idea of masculinity. Talking about mental well-being or sexuality is stigmatised'
Dublin star Nicole Owens delves deeper into her story, and explores how and why the GAA is a heteronormative environment for men but being openly gay is accepted in the women’s game.
‘You’ve got everything now, you should be fine’: How youth workers are helping LGBTI+ people post-marriage referendum
Marriage equality and the Gender Recognition Act were two significant milestones in recent years, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Saoirse Ronan's new film is about sex, the sixties, and a doomed marriage
We talked to the director of Saoirse Ronan’s new film, On Chesil Beach.
Harry Styles has won so much praise for his response to questions about his sexuality
“It’s tough to justify somebody having to answer to someone else about stuff like that.”
Sex education often 'out of touch and taught by embarrassed teachers'
Research has found stereotyping is common, with women often depicted as passive and men as predatory.
Genes have a big influence on when you lose your virginity
That’s according to a study which looked at the lives of 380,000 people.
This self-confessed, non-offending paedophile says society needs to accept him
American Todd Nickerson claims that the key to helping him, and others like him, is understanding not condemnation.
'I don’t date based on gender, for me, gender doesn't determine attraction'
Bisexuality wasn’t invented in 2015 and neither was the possibility of having a fluid sexual orientation, writes Oisín McKenna.
'Prostitution should be legal because men want more sex than women'
An expert has proposed the controversial idea.
Your mam is probably having better sex than you
Go on mam.
#GrowingUpGay is trending in Ireland and it's funny and heartbreaking
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend yet?”
People are talking about 'turning gay' for this girl, and it's not going down well
Ruby Rose is turning heads as a new Orange is the New Black character.
14 lovely reactions to Pat Carey's interview about being gay
The former Fianna Fáil minister spoke about his sexuality on RTÉ Radio One this morning.
Opinion: Hold hands or hide? I'm going to stop adjusting my life to suit everyone else
I am fed up with being worried about other people’s reactions. My new year’s resolution is to hold my boyfriend’s hand when we walk down the street.
"Thanks so much": Leo Varadkar on the reaction to his announcement that he's gay
He hadn’t commented since the Sunday interview with Miriam O’Callaghan.
Here's what the world thought of Leo Varadkar saying 'I'm gay'
He spoke publicly about his sexuality on radio yesterday.
Here's the heartfelt letter a 9-year-old girl wrote her teacher after he came out as gay
Beautiful.
British porn enthusiasts stage face-sitting protest against new law
Some campaigners say the new law violates sexual freedom and is misogynistic.
Opinion: Why do some straight people automatically assume a gay person fancies them?
Gay people aren’t sexual predators ready to pounce on unsuspecting straight friends and colleagues… so calm down.
Yes, Margo really did compare gay sex to a sandwich on the Late Late Show
OK then.
Opinion: Employees can still be discriminated against over their sexuality – this must end
The private lives of teachers and health workers should never be used against them, writes Senator Ivana Bacik.
Opinion: When is the right time to tell a child that you're gay?
Should adults be open with children, as much as is age appropriate, or should they try to avoid questions about sexuality?
'Sex didn’t exist until the Late Late show': Can Irish people talk about intimacy?
A conference taking place in Cork this weekend aims to start a public discussion on sexual wellbeing.
'I don’t see what a person's sexuality has to do with anything' - Ger Brennan
The Dublin and St Vincent’s footballer has stressed the importance of diversity and inclusiveness within the GAA and sport as a whole.
Pure in Heart: “We don’t have a negative view of sex”
The group were responding after claims that at one of their sex education talks they taped two students together by their wrists.
Irish people talk about romance, sexuality and disability
“We’re all people”.
Column: I am gay. I have always been gay. I’ve never not been gay.
I’m happy with who I am and I love this country – but I am not happy with how I get treated for how I live my life, writes Christopher Chong.
Watch Panti's powerful speech about oppression of gay people
Rory O’Neill took to the Abbey stage last night to deliver oration on how homosexuality is still stigmatised in Ireland.
RTÉ releases recording of controversial God Slot show in advance of broadcast
RTÉ was forced to respond to criticism after ‘curing gays’ tweet last night.
RTÉ says ‘curing gays’ tweet was taken the wrong way
A Twitter account for an RTÉ Radio religious programme asked if ‘gays can be cured’, sparking outrage on Twitter.
Column: Is it still taboo for a woman to carry condoms?
We have superficially become more ‘open’ about sex, but our core beliefs and attitudes haven’t really changed; female sexuality can induce a degree of fear in some people, writes Tony Moore.
Lisa McInerney: Sharing of 'Slane Girl' pics does disservice to women and men
If you’re more upset about a sexual act occurring than about the malicious sharing of images of that act online, then you have a lot to think about, writes Lisa McInerney.
Column: We need education about porn, not censorship
While pornography can create dangerous misconceptions about sex, shutting down all such exploration only reinforces the notion that sex is something dirty and shameful, writes Genevieve Shanahan.
Lisa McInerney: Pornification of teen sexuality - but we can't just blame porn
The UK plans to make online pornography an ‘opt-in’ choice to try and shield children from it – but will that really protect kids from early sexualisation?