A Jian Ghomeshi Reading List

Kate Sloan

Trigger warning: this post and the links therein contain descriptions of physical and sexual abuse, as well as consensual BDSM in some cases. If any of that stuff bothers you, you should take care of yourself as best you can and feel free to skip this post.

If you live in Canada and/or follow the news, you’re probably aware that a HUGE scandal broke here this week. Media personality Jian Ghomeshi has been accused of physically abusing multiple women behind closed doors.

Normally this isn’t the sort of thing I’d write about here, but I am, for two reasons: a) the story has become unfairly entangled with consensual BDSM and I’d like to help reverse that however I can, and b) if I’m honest, this story has affected me profoundly on an emotional level, even more than these violence-against-women stories usually do. Maybe it’s because it happened in my own city, or because I’d seen so much of Jian and he always seemed like such a normal guy. Maybe it’s because the good, upstanding in folks in my sex-positive, kinky communities are getting conflated with abusers in the wake of this mess. Or maybe it’s just because violence is always a horrible, difficult thing to encounter, no matter how indirectly.

In any case, for those of you who haven’t been following the story, or who have but are interested in knowing more, I’ve compiled this reading list. It contains links and articles I think are important to understanding the full scope of what’s gone on. Feel free to pick through it, read what interests you and skip the rest. And if you start to find any of it difficult to read, don’t feel you have to slog through it. You do what you have to do to take care of you, okay?

• First off: if you need some context for who Jian is and what he does (professionally, not criminally), you can take a look at his Wikipedia page or his website. Basically, he’s a widely-known, widely-broadcasted radio and TV personality who hosted/co-founded a show called Q, which focused on arts, especially music.

• One of the things Ghomeshi is most known for is this interview with Billy Bob Thornton. It was applauded at the time because Thornton acted totally unreasonably and Ghomeshi kept calm and dealt with it well. We even watched this clip in one of my journalism classes last year as an example of good interviewing skills.

• One of the first pieces of evidence to surface about Ghomeshi’s abusive habits was this article by xoJane contributor Carla Ciccone. It doesn’t allege any violence, just creepy non-consensual touching and stalker-ish behaviors. Ciccone never outright identified who she was writing about, but many details led people to believe it was Jian, including the references to his book and band, the brand colors of his show, and – yes – his quiet reputation as a creep. Plus there’s this tweet, in which he says exactly what he says to Carla in the article.

• On Friday, it was announced that Ghomeshi would take time off to deal with “personal issues”. He had recently lost his father, so some people in my community speculated that perhaps he was depressed from that grief, though we were surprised it could be so bad that he’d need time off.

• Then on Sunday, the CBC changed their tune and said that Ghomeshi wasn’t actually taking time off for personal issues but actually had been fired, due to “information” they had learned about him. (Toronto Star investigative reporter Kevin Donovan has hinted that the Star will report on what exactly transpired over that weekend to cause this change.) Ghomeshi – or perhaps more accurately, his PR team – composed this Facebook missive claiming that he was fired because he partakes in consensual BDSM in his private life, and that the claims of non-consent all arose falsely from one “jilted ex-girlfriend.”

• Incensed by the usage of the word “jilted” as gendered code, Mandy Stadtmiller at xoJane wrote about other such coded terms and how they’ve been used to invalidate and insult women over and over again.

• For those interested in the literary references Ghomeshi makes in his statement, here’s some information about the Lynn Coady story he references alongside Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s from Coady’s Giller Prize-winning book Hellgoing. Incidentally, Ghomeshi was set to host this year’s Giller Prize ceremony, but was replaced by Rick Mercer after the allegations of violence were made.

• On Monday, the Star published a story alleging that three women had been physically attacked by Ghomeshi. The Star had been quietly researching the story for over a year. These women were all on dates with Ghomeshi at the times of their respective attacks but had not consented to what he did to them (punching, slapping, biting, choking). A fourth woman, one of Ghomeshi’s co-workers at the CBC, also alleged that he had touched her without consent and told her at work that he wanted to “hate-fuck” her.

• Ghomeshi then filed a $55-million lawsuit against CBC for defamation, breach of trust, and damages – though many experts are saying that the lawsuit is hopeless.

• Law professor Brenda Cossman wrote an article explaining that Canadian law does not recognize consensual BDSM and causing bodily harm to another is always considered illegal, even if the “victim” consented. (It should be noted that this is probably irrelevant to Ghomeshi’s case, since he seems to have assaulted many women without consent – but this legal information may still be of interest to actual kinksters.)

• Indie musician Owen Pallett, who is (was?) a friend of Ghomeshi’s, spoke out in defense of the alleged victims and said they ought to be believed, not dismissed.

• A post called “Do you know about Jian?” talks about how Ghomeshi being “weird with women” has been quietly known about by many people for a long time. Scary to think that so many folks felt silenced.

• Prominent sex writers Andrea Zanin and Dan Savage both wrote excellent posts essentially warning readers not to conflate kink with abuse. Dan’s tweet sums it up nicely: “I oppose the demonization of consensual kinksters. I despise abusers who cover for their crimes by claiming to be consensual kinksters.”

• Wednesday night, the Star dropped another bombshell: eight women have now come forward about having been abused by Ghomeshi, including TV actress Lucy DeCoutere from Trailer Park Boys. This latest Star piece contains many unsavory details, so definitely skip it if you think it might trigger you – but it is an incredibly fine piece of journalism that seems hard to refute or explain away. If you’re wary of media outlets that use anonymous sources, maybe it would help to remember that it was the Star’s investigative team who also broke the Rob Ford crack scandal last year – using then-anonymous sources.

• One of the weirdest details in the Star story was about Jian’s teddy bear, Big Ears Teddy; two of the women the Star interviewed have said that Ghomeshi turned the bear around to face the other way before assaulting the women, saying, “Big Ears Teddy shouldn’t see this.” Jian has spoken before about the bear’s significance in his life and in easing his anxiety. Some folks in the #JianGhomeshi hashtag speculated that there could be something more sinister going on with that bear, like a hidden camera, but there’s no proof of that and it seems unlikely.

• Also on the topic of the bear: Twitter account @bigearsteddy has tweets dating back to April of this year that allege Ghomeshi is violent toward women. The tweets are written by someone who claims to have been one of Ghomeshi’s victims and might be a Carleton University media grad but they are unsubstantiated so it’s hard to know for sure. (I wonder if one of the women from the Star article is also behind this Twitter account.)

• Steffani Cameron wrote about Canadian sexual context and safety in BDSM.

• Dan Savage found and interviewed a woman who dated Ghomeshi and says she engaged in completely consensual BDSM activities with him. But, as Savage points out in his post, it seems that Ghomeshi’s MO was to get violent/aggressive with all his romantic/sexual prospects as a way of “asking” for consent to do more, so in the case of the woman Savage interviewed, it seems Ghomeshi just lucked out and happened to find a woman whose kinks matched his and who didn’t object to his “reckless, abusive and dangerous” approach. One consensual case doesn’t outweigh or invalidate the many non-consensual cases.

• Ghomeshi announced today that he “intend[s] to meet these allegations directly,” whatever the hell that means, and that he won’t be speaking to media about it anymore (although it seems he hasn’t spoken to media about it at all anyway).

I think those are the most important pieces of the story so far. If you’re interested in following how this plays out, the Star is probably your best source; their investigative team is out-of-this-world amazing and their coverage has so far been fair, balanced, and (I believe) accurate.

If you take anything from these events, I hope it’s this: we need to work together to create a world where abusers like Ghomeshi are publicly shamed and identified as he has been, and a world where victims don’t feel ashamed and silenced as his did for so long, and as some no doubt continue to.

Blowjob-Friendly Lipsticks For Every Budget

Kate Sloan

You might not know how much I love makeup, because you never get to see my face on this blog. But I really, really do. I take great pleasure in femmifying my face each morning. It makes me feel awake, alert, foxy as fuck, and ready to face the day.

But makeup can be a problem in certain sexual contexts, particularly if, like me, you don’t tend to date people who also wear makeup. Femmes tend to understand and accept each other’s painted-face proclivities; dudes and butches, not as much. In fact, some of them get pissed if you dare to leave a lipstick mark on their face, collar, or dick.

Additionally, it ain’t cute to come up from a blowjob with red/pink/purple smeared all over your cheeks and chin. That’s a time when you should be basking in your sexual mastery, not frantically checking yourself out in the mirror when your partner starts laughing hysterically at your Picasso-lookin’ mug. (Not that this has happened to me, or anything…)

Incase you’re wondering, here’s the procedure I used to rigorously test these lipsticks for your oral sex usage: I applied each product normally (no fancy tricks to extend their wear-time), waited a couple minutes for the product to dry/set, snapped a “before” picture, spent about 5 minutes enthusiastically fellating my Tantus Mark O2 (it’s a fairly average size and shape for a dick; I had no real ones at my disposal!), and then took an “after” photo. In between lipsticks, I wiped the previous product off my mouth (and the dildo) with a makeup removal wipe before applying the next one.

All of these products claim to be long-wearing. Let’s see how they actually perform, shall we?

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in “San Paulo” ($6 at drugstores), the cheapest product of the bunch, is a matte liquid lipstick that claims to be “surprisingly durable.” It’s usually pretty comfortable on the lips, but I do find it can get a bit drying after many hours of wear.

On the face: Happily, this didn’t smear outside of my lip area, but it did fade a little in the middle. Still definitely impressive, though.

On the dick: I found a leeeetle bit of pink on the underside of the dildo where it came into rough repeated contact with the inner part of my lower lip. It was hardly enough to be noticeable, however.

Overall: 8 out of 10. This product performs very commendably for its price point.

Maybelline SuperStay 14HR lipstick in “Enduring Ruby” ($9 at drugstores) is a traditional (i.e. non-liquid) lipstick formula that claims to last for 14 hours. It smells like cherries (mmm), applies smoothly, and wears very comfortably.

On the face: This stuff pretty much stayed put on my lips. The color was maybe a little faded, but it faded uniformly, not just in the middle – and there was no smearing or flaking.

On the dick: There was quiiiite a bit of red on the cock when I got done with it, especially around the head area.

Overall: 6 out of 10. I look fierce in this lipstick and it doesn’t move around once it’s on, but I’m not sure any future partners of mine would be cool with getting their dick so thoroughly rouged.

Stila Stay All Day liquid lipstick in “Beso” ($29 at Sephora) paradoxically claims to “stay all day” but also says it’s only meant to last up to 6 hours. (I dunno about you, but my days are typically longer than 6 hours!) It smells like vanilla cake batter, and is mostly comfortable but can feel drying after a couple of hours. When you first apply it, it’s a liquid, but then it dries to a matte finish (I find the drying process works best if I keep my mouth open while it dries, so my lips don’t touch).

On the face: The color didn’t fade or move, but the friction against my lips caused the product to look a bit dry and flaky by the time I was done. That might not matter to you if you’re just going to curl up next to your sweetie after the BJ, but if you’re going out right after, I’d recommend fixing it because the dryness is not a cute look and it feels weird on the lips.

On the dick: There was a small amount of red on both the head and the shaft of the cock.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10. This product performs okay, but for $29, I expect greatness. I also docked it half a point for being incredibly difficult to remove with a makeup wipe; I prefer to keep my lip irritation to a minimum, thanks!

Sephora Collection cream lip stain in “01 Always Red” ($16 at Sephora) is described as an “intense color that stays put.” It’s often considered a dupe for the Stila lipstick above, but I actually like the formula better than the Stila one; it applies more smoothly, dries more quickly, and feels like nothing on my lips.

On the face: It stayed exactly as I applied it: perfectly crisp and saturated. No smearing or fading whatsoever.

On the dick: There were a few flakes of red on the dildo, particularly around the sides of the shaft where the corners of my mouth rubbed. It was pretty clean for the most part though.

Overall: 9 out of 10! I’ve worn this lipstick on many a late-night adventure, often involving lots of drinks and/or greasy food, and it’s always performed great; I’m glad to see its magnificence transfers to blowjobs as well. And at only $16, it’s a steal compared to its high-end equivalents.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge waterproof liquid lip color in “16 Fuchsia” ($29 at Sephora) is a liquid lipstick that claims to give “a waterproof, smudge-proof result that will not transfer or fade.” It’s double-ended: first you apply the lip color, then you apply the clear gloss on top to lock it in. (You can also just apply the lip color and skip the gloss, but I find it feels very drying this way.)

On the face: My lips were perhaps slightly less glossy after the BJ than they were when I started, but the difference was negligible. The lip color stayed perfectly in place.

On the dick: I could find no evidence whatsoever of pink on the dick. A small amount of the clear gloss may have transferred, but not to the point of making the dildo feel greasy. Plus the gloss doesn’t have any scent or taste so it won’t irritate whoever owns the dick you’re blowing.

Overall: 9.5 out of 10! I deducted half a point because the lip color takes what seems like forever to dry completely (about 3 minutes) and I have to leave my mouth hanging open that whole time for it to dry properly – and also because I don’t like the added annoyance of the two-step color/gloss process, even though it’s proven to aid longevity. But all things considered, Aqua Rouge is the best option of any of these products if you want your lipstick to really stay put during a blowjob.

And one bonus product pick: Lipcote is a lipstick sealer. It’s a clear, thin product you apply over any (blotted/non-glossy) lipstick to make it last longer. I wasn’t able to find it here in North America and ordered it from the UK for about $7.25. For the purposes of this post, I applied it over a lipstick that’s not meant to be long-wearing: Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in shade “107.”

On the face: Everything basically stayed intact. There was a small amount of fading on the very inner edges of my lips.

On the dick: A fair bit of lipstick flaked off onto the sides and underside of the dildo.

Overall: 7 out of 10. Lipcote performs well but I hate how long it takes to dry, how sticky/tacky it makes my lips feel, and the fact that it gives my lips a stinging/burning sensation when I apply it. Not worth the trouble, if you ask me!

What’s your favorite long-wearing lipstick? Have you ever given oral sex while wearing it?

How to Enjoy Your Unrequited Crush

Kate Sloan

Sex writing is my jam, but when I’m not thinking about sex, I’m often thinking about its closely related sister: love. Crushes. Infatuation. Limerence. Whatever you want to call it. It may or may not be linked with sex in your mind, but it’s definitely still linked inextricably with sex in the world at large – so when I think about one, I often consider the other.

One love-related idea I keep coming back to, especially now that I’m single and too busy and distracted to date, is this: having a crush on someone can feel good, even if nothing comes of it.

I first learned this in high school. I was obsessed with the cutest boy ever (who, incidentally, walked past me on the street recently and tried to pretend he didn’t see me, which was actually what prompted me to write this post). I confessed my feelings and he straight-up told me he wasn’t attracted to me and didn’t want to date me.

It hurt like hell, of course, and I cried for a few days and pined after him for a few months (okay, maybe more than a few), but there did eventually come a time when I fully accepted his disinterest in me, and the fact that we would never be together – and after that, somehow, the crush became fun again. I anticipated running into him in the halls. I joyfully succumbed daily to the swoony feelings that overtook me whenever I saw him smile. I laughed at his jokes without worrying how that would be construed. I wrote about “Rejection Boy” sightings in my journal and relished them. It gave me a strange sort of pleasure.

Similarly, I also had a huge crush on my philosophy teacher in high school – and because there was absolutely zero chance of us getting together (what with him being 15+ years older than me, married, and employed by my school), I was able to fully enjoy those early stages of infatuation without it ever progressing to the agony and distress of real romantic yearning.

I learned that infatuation fuelled me, both emotionally and creatively. It made me want to get out of bed in the morning, put effort into my appearance, put effort into my life. It made me want to write, make art, say and do important things. Infatuation was like a potent blend of caffeine, LSD and Prozac, but without the side effects. From that time forward, I tried not to let myself fall into the trap of lovelorn sadness anymore – I tried to focus on the happy side of crushes, on what they could do for me, on what I could make them do for me.

Having experienced this love-magic and having thought a lot about how to replicate it, I think I’m qualified to share with you some tips for how to make your potentially painful romantic longings into an uplifting, cheerifying element of your life.

1. Accept that nothing’s going to happen.

Obviously this only applies in cases where you actually know (or think it very likely) that nothing’s going to happen with that person. Maybe your circumstances or theirs don’t allow for dating right now; maybe you know for a fact that they’re not interested; maybe you only like certain qualities about them but know they wouldn’t actually make a good partner; maybe they’re in a monogamous relationship, or you are; maybe one of you is moving away soon. Whatever the case may be, if there’s no chance of anything happening, accept that.

It’s my belief that the majority of romantic agony we experience (and maybe the majority of any emotional agony we experience) stems from the belief in what could be, and that possibility never coming to fruition. If you eliminate that element, you’ll eliminate a lot of your discomfort. It sounds depressing and bleak, but sometimes it’s the least depressing option you can take in that situation.

2. Identify what you feel when you’re around your crush, and enjoy those feelings.

A swoop of nausea. A herd of stomach butterflies. A fiery blush. A giggle fit. An intense, palpable desire to close the physical distance between you and your beloved.

Whatever you feel when you’re around them, try to identify and isolate what those feelings are. When you can pick them apart and notice them specifically, instead of just letting them wash over you and stress you out, then you can start to enjoy them.

Just as it’s exhilarating to finish a race or perform in front of a crowd, it’s also exhilarating to be around someone who makes your body feel like you’ve just done something equally stressful or scary. Certain people make you feel hyped up and blissed out – so long as you can recognize all those different sensations as adding up to a happy rush.

3. Figure out how you can make your crush into a productive force.

Get out your paints, guitar, journal or other creative outlet of choice, and get to work. As Nellie McKay says, “Come on, use the pain – drink up from the rain.” Sadness can suck but you’ll feel better about it if you turn it into something awesome.

Likewise, ask yourself what you can learn from this experience, and accordingly, what changes you can make. Maybe your crush doesn’t return your feelings because you have some bad lifestyle habits that they view as a red flag; you could change those. Maybe things didn’t work out because your crush got involved with someone else before you could gather the nerve to ask them out; you could work on your courage and confidence. Maybe the rejection made you feel like no one will ever love you (oh, babe, no!); you could work on your self-love and overall attractiveness. You get the idea.

I think one of the key differences between mopey, stagnant people and happy, dynamic people is the way they choose to look at their hardships. You can allow your troubles to define you and drag you down, or you can choose to view them as jumping-off points for greater adventures. I bet you know which option I recommend!

How do you deal with unrequited love?

Review: Tantus Slow Drive

Kate Sloan

OPTIONS! I love having options. I love not needing to settle for a toy that’s almost-but-not-quite right for my anatomy, my technique, or my aesthetic preferences.

Tantus is very good at providing options. Not only do they carry a whole lot of kickass non-standard color choices (peacock-turquoise Duke, anyone?) but they’ve also been known to offer more than one size choice for certain dildos – for example, the small, medium and large Silk, and the small and large (HUGE) Amsterdam. Now they’re at it again, with a new(-ish) toy that comes in two different lengths: the Slow Drive and Slow Drive Long.

The price difference between the two is only $7, so if you think there’s any chance of you needing more than 5" of insertable length, you might as well spring for the long version and get an extra 2" for your money. Personally, I’m perfectly happy with either one; the regular Slow Drive is long enough to fill my vag to the hilt without much leftover length, while the long version gives me a little more “handle” to hold onto while thrusting. Whatever floats your boat, baby.

Sensation-wise, I’m digging the Slow Drive more than I thought I would. Its pointy shape doesn’t scream “G-spot ecstasy” to me – my spot tends to prefer rounder, wider heads, like the one on the Tantus Sport – but it’s surprisingly pleasurable. The curve is short but extreme, and it nuzzles right into my G-spot without feeling pokey.

Both Slow Drives have a diameter of 1.25". Shout-out to Tantus for consistently offering lots of options for those of us who are decidedly not size queens. An inch and a quarter isn’t tiny, but it’s small enough that I can use it without prior warm-up, and large enough that I find it satisfying 90% of the time.

Even though it has the curve-at-the-very-tip shape that I’ve come to associate with good A-spot toys, I find that the Slow Drive doesn’t really hit my A-spot for some reason. It’s decidedly a G-spot toy for me. But I’m okay with that, because what it does, it does very well. I can have blended orgasms super easily with the Slow Drive by thrusting it fast against my G-spot and leaving a vibe on low or medium on my clit.

I also think the Slow Drives would be excellent for anal play. They’re smooth and have a consistent width all the way down, their curve is gradual, their silicone is comfortably flexible, and their bases are flared.

Speaking of the base: I love it. It’s teardrop-shaped, sort of like a Ouija planchette, with the triangular tip lining up with where the toy curves – so even when the toy is buried inside you, you’ll still know it right away if the toy rotates inside you and needs to be re-adjusted. (Does anyone else have this problem? It’s one of the things that drives me nuts about curved dildos with a featureless, round base!)

While I’m not going to say that the Slow Drive is the Most Amazing Dildo in the World, it’s still a great, reliable standby to keep in your nightstand.

Thanks, Tantus! You sure know how to spoil a lady.

Lube is Not a Shortcut

Kate Sloan

Okay, cuties; it’s time for some remedial sex education. Today we’re going to talk about something that should be common sense for all sexually active folks but somehow isn’t. And I count myself as one of those clueless/careless people, because I make this mistake myself all the time.

Lube is an amazing product. It helps make sex and masturbation smoother and more comfortable for all involved. It solves a problem that sometimes can’t be solved any other way. But please remember: lube is not a substitute for proper warm-up. Using lube doesn’t mean you get to skip the foreplay or pull out giant dildos right off the bat. Here are some reasons why.

Mental warm-up matters just as much as physical.

I am super lazy and impatient, so sometimes, when I feel like masturbating, I just pull out a few toys, lube one up and stick it in right away. Some part of me thinks, “Hell yeah, this is gonna feel amazing once I get it in!” but then it’s in and I am in no way in a sexy headspace – so it doesn’t feel good. At best, it feels neutral and kind of boring; at worst, it feels uncomfortable and intrusive.

It can be frustratingly time-consuming sometimes, if you’re not someone who naturally enjoys the journey rather than the destination – but taking time to arouse your brain is well worth the effort. Watch some porn, read some erotica, call up some fantasies. Take a bath, light some candles, put on something silky. If you’re with a partner, make out a little longer, talk dirty, dry-hump like horny teenagers. The destination will be a tastier treat if the journey is delicious at every step.

Orifices need time to open.

Lubrication isn’t the only factor in comfortable penetration. When a person gets aroused, they’re better able to relax to allow someone or something to enter. Orifices also expand during arousal, so there’s more room to work with.

It’s commonly known that asses need prep – for example, using a butt plug for a while before moving up to larger things – but it’s sometimes forgotten that (some) vaginas require that same kind of warm-up. It can make all the difference in the world to start with a finger, then two, then maybe even a smallish dildo before getting out the big guns.

While there’s something to be said for the hotness of going from zero to 10 when that’s the kind of mood you’re in, there’s also something impossibly sexy about inching your way slooowly forward – one finger, two, three – until you get where you’re going, wherever that may be.

Arousal increases sensitivity.

For me, this is the reason why “quickies” tend to be something I do for my partner’s benefit and not my own. When it comes to penetration, I need to be turned on for it to feel good, and that takes some time.

During arousal, the G-spot swells and becomes more sensitive. Nerve endings all over the body also become more sensitive too, including the ones in the vagina and ass. Taking the time to get aroused beforehand could turn a “meh” experience into a “holy fuck, wow” experience.

Injuries can happen.

I alluded to this previously but it’s worth mentioning again, because it’s important. Just like a runner can injure a muscle by taking off without warming up, you can injure your body by jumping straight to penetration without proper preparation.

Even if you don’t feel any major damage happening during the act, you could be creating micro-tears or irritation that could turn into something more serious.

If you find it hot to be quick or spontaneous, here are some suggestions for how to make that work while lessening the risk of injury or discomfort:

• If you know there’s a chance that you’ll be having quick/spontaneous sex soon, use that knowledge and the related fantasies to keep yourself in a state of mental arousal so you’ll be ready. (I probably don’t even have to tell you this, you minx!)

• Carry a travel-size bottle of lube around with you. It’s not a shortcut, but it certainly helps.

• If anal sex is an impending possibility, wear a butt plug. (Don’t attempt to “wear” a dildo in preparation for vaginal sex, though; the vagina is self-cleaning, so blocking its cleaning mechanism for more than a few hours at a time can lead to an infection. Plus vaginal toys aren’t generally designed for this purpose so it would be uncomfortable to have one in for a long period of time.)

• If you know of a foolproof method that turns you on quickly, keep it at the ready. (For example, for me, this would be a super rumbly clit vibe. Thirty seconds of thuddy vibration can create the arousal equivalent of 5-10 minutes of foreplay for me. Better to have a little warm-up than none at all!)

• Communicate with your partner(s) to make sure they know the importance of foreplay. Maybe you can work together to come up with a way to make warm-up hot. (I remember reading somewhere that Tristan Taormino likes to play a Dom/sub game where she warms up her sub’s ass by using anal toys of gradually increasing sizes, under the guise of “I’m going to put everything in this room in your ass, because you’re my slutty sub and I can do whatever I want to you!” This is one example of a way to make warm-up sexy and natural.)

What are your favorite ways to get in the mood?