Sex columnist
Encyclopedia
A sex columnist is a writer
of a newspaper or magazine column about sex
.
Sex advice columns may take the form of essay
s or, more frequently, answers to questions posed by readers. Sex advice columns can usually be found in alt weekly newspapers, women's magazines, health
or fitness
magazines, and student newspapers. While some are written by trained sexologists, many are penned by people lacking credentials in human sexuality and relationships, yet willing to divulge their opinions or personal bedroom antics.
In the new-look sex column, every detail of the writer's psyche is splayed across the page, its every curve and contour. The sex column is confessional journalism at its most intimate.
The new sex columnist is also far removed from the agony aunt, a maternal figure who would offer clinical and consoling advice which looks tame compared to the modern, super-confident, super-candid sex columnist.
Anka Radakovich
was the first of the new breed.
She had written for the old Details
magazine when it was a manual of downtown fashion and night life. After James Truman became editor in chief and transformed Details into a men’s magazine, he offered Anka a column in September 1990.
She became the first modern day magazine Sex Columnist working for a mainstream men’s publication creating a job description that others would soon follow.
The television series Sex and the City
protagonist Carrie Bradshaw
was a sex columnist, which author Candace Bushnell
modeled after herself in her original non-fiction book based on a column of the same name. The show, which first aired in 1998, is credited with the increase of sex columnists found in college campus newspapers and blogs, such as at Ivy League
colleges and many other schools. One such columnist, Meghan Bainum, at the University of Kansas
, Lawrence, placed in the 42nd annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program (2001–2002) for her column.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of a newspaper or magazine column about sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
.
Sex advice columns may take the form of essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s or, more frequently, answers to questions posed by readers. Sex advice columns can usually be found in alt weekly newspapers, women's magazines, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
or fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
magazines, and student newspapers. While some are written by trained sexologists, many are penned by people lacking credentials in human sexuality and relationships, yet willing to divulge their opinions or personal bedroom antics.
In the new-look sex column, every detail of the writer's psyche is splayed across the page, its every curve and contour. The sex column is confessional journalism at its most intimate.
The new sex columnist is also far removed from the agony aunt, a maternal figure who would offer clinical and consoling advice which looks tame compared to the modern, super-confident, super-candid sex columnist.
Anka Radakovich
Anka Radakovich
Anka Radakovich is an author and columnist, often considered the first modern sex columnist through her pioneering column in Details magazine, which ran from 1990 to 1999.-Early life:...
was the first of the new breed.
She had written for the old Details
Details (magazine)
Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
magazine when it was a manual of downtown fashion and night life. After James Truman became editor in chief and transformed Details into a men’s magazine, he offered Anka a column in September 1990.
She became the first modern day magazine Sex Columnist working for a mainstream men’s publication creating a job description that others would soon follow.
The television series Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
protagonist Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
was a sex columnist, which author Candace Bushnell
Candace Bushnell
Candace Bushnell is an American author and columnist based in New York City. She is best known for writing a column that was anthologized in a book, Sex and the City, which in turn became the basis for a popular television series and its subsequent film adaptations.-Personal life:Bushnell was born...
modeled after herself in her original non-fiction book based on a column of the same name. The show, which first aired in 1998, is credited with the increase of sex columnists found in college campus newspapers and blogs, such as at Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
colleges and many other schools. One such columnist, Meghan Bainum, at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, Lawrence, placed in the 42nd annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program (2001–2002) for her column.
Notable sex columnists
- Anka RadakovichAnka RadakovichAnka Radakovich is an author and columnist, often considered the first modern sex columnist through her pioneering column in Details magazine, which ran from 1990 to 1999.-Early life:...
, current British GQ sex columnist and former DetailsDetails (magazine)Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
magazine sex columnist from 1990 to 1999, often credited as the writer who defined the modern-day sex column.
- Isadora Alman, writer of the syndicated sex column Ask Isadora, running in 16 US alternative weeklies since 1984.
- Jonathan Bass, "Guy Report" columnist for Unzipped magazine.
- Violet BlueViolet Blue (author)Violet Blue is an American writer and sex educator.Blue wrote a weekly sex column for the San Francisco Chronicle. In her podcast, Open Source Sex, she reads erotica and discusses topics such as fetishes and oral sex. She also has a video blog. Blue wrote a feature about porn for women which was...
, "Open Source Sex" columnist for the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
. - Candace BushnellCandace BushnellCandace Bushnell is an American author and columnist based in New York City. She is best known for writing a column that was anthologized in a book, Sex and the City, which in turn became the basis for a popular television series and its subsequent film adaptations.-Personal life:Bushnell was born...
, former "Sex and the City" columnist for The New York Observer. - Rachel Kramer BusselRachel Kramer BusselRachel Kramer Bussel is an author, columnist, and editor, specializing in erotica. She previously studied at the New York University School of Law and earned her bachelor's degree in Political Science and Women's Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.-Career:Bussel is currently...
, formerly "Lusty Lady" for The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, also writes for PenthousePenthouse (magazine)Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by FriendFinder Network. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse International...
and Penthouse Variations. - Tracey CoxTracey CoxTracey Cox is a non fiction author who specializes in books on dating, sex and relationships. She is the author of many best selling titles....
, author of sex books, columnist for Australian CosmopolitanCosmopolitan (magazine)Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, iVillageIVillageiVillage, Inc. is a media company that is owned by NBCUniversal. The site focuses on categories targeted at women, including Food, Health, Entertainment, Family, Beauty & Style. Additional businesses and brand extensions within iVillage Networks include iVillage UK, NBC Digital Health Network,...
, and many other media displays including television shows. - Anna DavidAnna David (journalist)Anna Benjamin David is an American journalist and television personality specializing in relationship and sex advice.-Career:...
, former sex and relationship column for Razor. - Jeannie Greeley, "Sex" columnist for Stuff@Night.
- Stacey Grenrock-WoodsStacey Grenrock-WoodsStacey Grenrock-Woods is an American writer, actress, and former correspondent on The Daily Show...
, current sex columnist for EsquireEsquire (magazine)Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
. - Dr. Sari Locker, current MaximMaxim (magazine)Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
sex columnist, former Teen People sex columnist, former Sassy sex advice columnist. - Elise Nersesian, former "Sexier Sex" columnist for RedbookRedbookRedbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
. - Chip Rowe, current advisor in PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. - Dan SavageDan SavageDaniel Keenan "Dan" Savage is an American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage writes the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love. Its tone is frank in its discussion of sexuality, often humorous, and hostile to social conservatives, as in...
, creator of the syndicated sex column Savage LoveSavage LoveSavage Love is a syndicated sex-advice column by Dan Savage. The column appears weekly in several dozen newspapers, mainly free newspapers in the US and Canada, but also newspapers in Europe and Asia...
. - Amy SohnAmy SohnAmy Sohn is a Brooklyn-based author, columnist and screenwriter. She wrote the novels Run Catch Kiss and My Old Man , both published by Simon & Schuster, and a companion guide to television’s Sex and the City, Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell .She is a contributing editor at New York magazine,...
, former sex columnist for New YorkNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
. - Tristan TaorminoTristan TaorminoTristan Taormino is a feminist author, columnist, sex educator, activist, editor, speaker, and pornographic film director . She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with her Bachelor's degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University in 1993...
, former "Pucker Up" syndicated columnist for The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
. - Josey Vogels, "My Messy Bedroom" and "Dating Girl" syndicated columnist.
- Dr. Ruth WestheimerRuth WestheimerRuth Westheimer is an American sex therapist, media personality, and author. Best known as Dr. Ruth, the New York Times described her as a "Sorbonne-trained psychologist who became a kind of cultural icon in the 1980s...
, "Ask Dr. Ruth" columnist since the 1980s. - Millicent BinksMillicent BinksMillicent Binks is an International burlesque dancer and current sex columnist for the London Evening Standard.- Early years :...
writes the sex column "Up All Night" for the London Evening StandardEvening StandardThe Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
.
Selected university newspaper columnists, past and present
- Erica Andrist, "The Dirty Bird," The Daily CardinalThe Daily CardinalThe Daily Cardinal is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. The sixth oldest daily student newspaper in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892...
, University of Wisconsin. - Meghan Bainum, The University Daily KansanUniversity Daily KansanThe University Daily Kansan is an editorially and financially independent student newspaper serving the University of Kansas. It was founded in 1904....
, University of Kansas (Fall 2001 to Spring 2003). - Jenna Bromberg, "Bedroom Eyes", The Cornell Daily SunThe Cornell Daily SunThe Cornell Daily Sun is an independent daily newspaper published in Ithaca, New York by students at Cornell University. It is the oldest independent college daily in the United States....
, Cornell University. - Lena ChenLena ChenLena Chen is a blogger, freelance writer, and graduate of Harvard College, where she co-organized the Feminist Coming Out Day campaign in 2010. Born in San Francisco, California and raised in Los Angeles, Lena studied sociology and minored in Studies of Women, Gender, & Sexuality...
, The Harvard CrimsonThe Harvard CrimsonThe Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
and Sex and the Ivy: The Bleeding Heart Nympho's Guide To Harvard Life, Harvard University. - Miriam Datskovsky, "Sexplorations," Columbia Daily SpectatorColumbia Daily SpectatorColumbia Daily Spectator is the daily student newspaper of Columbia University. It is published at 112th and Broadway in New York, New York. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after The Harvard Crimson, and has been legally independent of the...
, Columbia University. - Sari Eitches, "Sex on Tuesday," The Daily CalifornianThe Daily CalifornianThe Daily Californian is an independent, student-run newspaper that serves the University of California, Berkeley campus and its surrounding community. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and twice a week during the summer...
, University of California, Berkeley. - Dr. Yvonne K. FulbrightYvonne K. FulbrightDr. Yvonne Kristin Fulbright is an Icelandic-American sexologist, author, and television personality.-Education:Originally from Iceland, Yvonne has a Ph.D. from New York University, a Master's in Human Sexuality Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and Bachelor's degrees in psychology and...
, "Sexpert Tells All," Washington Square NewsWashington Square NewsThe Washington Square News is the daily student newspaper of New York University and serves the NYU, Greenwich Village, and East Village communities. The paper, better known as WSN, has a circulation of 10,000 and an estimated 65,000 readers online...
, New York University. - Natalie Krinsky, "Sex and the (Elm) City," Yale Daily NewsYale Daily NewsThe Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878...
, Yale University. - Liana Mancini, "The Shocker," The Cornell Daily SunThe Cornell Daily SunThe Cornell Daily Sun is an independent daily newspaper published in Ithaca, New York by students at Cornell University. It is the oldest independent college daily in the United States....
, Cornell University. - Francisco Ramirez, "Sex on Tuesday," The Daily CalifornianThe Daily CalifornianThe Daily Californian is an independent, student-run newspaper that serves the University of California, Berkeley campus and its surrounding community. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and twice a week during the summer...
, University of California, Berkeley. - Anna Schleelein, "Sex and the Univercity," The HeightsThe Heights (newspaper)The Heights is the independent student newspaper of Boston College. The paper, published twice weekly during the academic year, is editorially and financially independent from the University. The paper's Editorial Board consists of 39 editors and managers who are responsible for the operations of...
, Boston College. - Dr. David Trent, "Going Down with Dr. David Trent," The Underground, University of British Columbia.