May 123 min read

Editorial: Please Do Not Fuck This Issue

EDITORIAL | SEX

Written & illustrated by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Feature Editor

Foreword by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Editor-in-Chief

Kia ora e te whanau - haere mai and welcome to our sex issue! This magazine contains all sorts of important kōrero about sexuality, pornography, Weezer, and more - and we hope you can find something in it that can resonate with you. Since we wanted this editorial to do the topic justice (and I’m aware that my parents will be reading this), I’ve handed this issue's editorial over to our Features Editor, Tashi. Good luck for the exam grind and assignment struggle, gang - we’ll see you back in print after the break <3

- Liam

Sex is an incredibly vast and nuanced topic to write about. It’s something we should celebrate, discuss, study, and become more comfortable with as a society. For most of us, it’s responsible for our existence in the world (even though no one wants to think about their parents getting it on). Sex is vulnerable - it feels personal and private, even though so many of us are engaging with it in some way or other from puberty onwards. It’s a fascinating subject, whether you’re having partnered sex, solo sex, or not interested in sex at all. There are infinite ways to talk about the topic of sex, a fraction of which we have curated here, for your reading pleasure, in our humble magazine.

Because the subject of sex is an autistic hyper-fixation of mine, reading pitches and submissions for this issue has been captivating. Embarrassingly enough, I’m that one friend who pulls the conversation into filth (non-derogatory) any chance I get. Our poor editor has been subjected to this, especially after they tried to worm their way out of doing a sex issue for this year (my sincerest apologies, Liam). As much as I want to gush over how beautiful and important sex is for social creatures like us humans, it’s clear we as a society are still fumbling over the complexities of it. There is a lack of investigation, representation, and education about sex and consent which harms us all. Reflected in many of these pieces is a desire to illuminate the broken elements of how we treat and engage with sex as a society. Things need fixing, and one of the ways to start is by sharing our stories. Some of these stories are hard to read, and there will be trigger warnings on some articles.

Ideally, sex is an exploration of pleasure, one that can bring you closer to yourself and your body. There are as many ways to engage as there are colours in the rainbow - every encounter is unique and special. Solo sex is as important as partnered sex, and no less valid an exploration. Asexuality is equally important to the wider discussion of sex. I say this because we must remember these things while embarking on hard conversations. The intimate nature of sex leaves us vulnerable, so take your time while absorbing this material, dear reader. My hope is that you will find a piece of your own experience reflected back at you, and feel less alone. We can laugh and cry together, we can throw conservative notions of secrecy out the window and discuss the very real, very human activity of sex.

Finally, according to tradition, here are some of my favourite horny songs for your listening pleasure.

Orville Peck - Dead of Night