emily mendelson 💌

How Alcohol Affects Sexual Consent Communication - Sex and Psychology Alcohol has long been known to act as a “social lubricant,” especially when it comes to the pursuit of sex and relationships. When people drink, they tend to feel less inhibited by social cues and, th...

Research finds that college students rely on a wide range of cues to determine sexual consent in situations where alcohol is consumed. In this post, @emmendelson.bsky.social dives into a new study exploring how students navigate consent under the influence. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/9/...

Announcing the 13th Annual SPSP Sexuality Pre-Conference! - Sex and Psychology Join us for the 13th annual SPSP Sexuality Pre-Conference, which will take place in Chicago on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

Join us in Chicago in February for the 13th annual SPSP Sexuality Pre-Conference! If you'd like to share your latest research with us, submissions for presentations are open through October 23. Hope to see you there! www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/9/...

Understanding the Modern-Day Hysterectomy - Sex and Psychology Get It Out, a new book by Dr. Andréa Becker, investigates the politics of hysterectomy in modern-day life.

"Get It Out" investigates the politics of hysterectomy in modern-day life and explores the broader state of healthcare and social inequality. In this post, @emmendelson.bsky.social interviews @andreabeckerphd.bsky.social about the books's key themes. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/8/...

What Infidelity Looks Like In Modern Relationships - Sex and Psychology What counts as cheating? New research finds that different people define it in strikingly different ways.

What counts as cheating? A new @kinseyinstitute.bsky.social survey finds that people's opinions are quite varied. For example, 1 in 3 say that fantasizing about someone else is cheating, while 1 in 5 say the same about watching porn. @emmendelson.bsky.social www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/8/...

What It's Like To Date An AI Chatbot - Sex and Psychology New research explores people's experiences with dating AI chatbots, including what it's like to fall in love with generative AI.

People are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for sexual and romantic companionship. So what are human-AI relationships really like? In this post, @emmendelson.bsky.social dives into the research. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/7/...

Research finds 5 primary motives for hooking-up among young adults: sociosexuality (to have multiple partners), intimacy (to form an emotional bond), enhancement (it’s fun), coping (to feel better), and conformity (to fit in). @emmendelson.bsky.social www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/7/...

The Experiences of LGBTQ Adults in 2025 - Sex and Psychology How much do LGBTQ Americans feel accepted today? A recent survey of nearly 4,000 adults offers revealing insight.

Overall, a majority of LGBTQ adults think that there is either a great deal or fair amount of acceptance for gay/lesbian (61%) and bisexual individuals (51%). However, this number sharply declines for nonbinary and transgender people. @emmendelson.bsky.social www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/6/...

happy zohran day to all who celebrate

How Dobbs Has Affected Individuals’ Sexual Health Decisions - Sex and Psychology Here's a look at how the overturning of abortion rights in the United States is impacting sexual and reproductive health.

How has the overturning of Roe v Wade impacted sexual and reproductive health in the US? For one thing, vasectomies and tubal ligations have been on the rise, as @emmendelson.bsky.social writes. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/5/...

How Do Psychedelics Affect Our Intimate Experiences? - Sex and Psychology New research explores how the use of psychedelics impact sexual, gender, and intimate relationship dynamics.

Research finds that positive psychedelic experiences increase feelings of self-acceptance, authenticity, & freedom in sexual and gender self-expression, helping people develop more fulfilling relationships with others and the self. @emmendelson.bsky.social www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/5/...

The Fascinating History of Selling Food and Selling Sex - Sex and Psychology There's a rich connection between food and sex that has a very long history, which is the subject of the new book Lustful Appetites.

Historically, restaurants were places where “male pleasure-seekers could satisfy both their alimentary and sexual appetites in a single visit,” as Rachel Cleves discusses in her book Lustful Appetites. Learn more in this post by @emmendelson.bsky.social www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/4/...

Technology Use for Sexual Communication in BDSM Relationships - Sex and Psychology In this article, we're exploring how individuals who practice BDSM use technology to navigate and enhance their sexual experiences.

Technology can be a helpful way for kinky folks to share their fantasies, negotiate boundaries, plan future encounters, practice aftercare, and more, as @emmendelson.bsky.social discusses on today's blog. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/4/...

outside holding a vase of pink flowers, smiling

officially a phd candidate! 🎉🤸🏻‍♀️

More people in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+ than ever before - Sex and Psychology Every year, Gallup collects data as a part of the Gallup Poll Social Series. This series includes twelve different topics that researchers conduct interviews on over the course of each month. Particip...

LGBTQ+ identification varies substantially across generations. Here's a look at the current numbers from representative US data: Gen Z (23.1%), Millennials (14.2%), Gen X (5.1%), Boomers (3%), Silent Generation (1.8%). www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/3/...

What I Learned at SPSP's Sexuality Preconference This Year - Sex and Psychology Last month, we were in Denver, Colorado for the twelfth annual SPSP Sexuality Preconference. We were fortunate to have Sexual Health Alliance (based in Denver!) as our headline sponsor for this event,...

Here's a fun recap of last month's SPSP Sexuality Preconference from @emmendelson.bsky.social, featuring new things we learned about the latest in sex research. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/3/...

Why Do Straight Women Go To Gay Bars? - Sex and Psychology A new study exploring the motivations behind straight women going to gay bars highlights two key factors: safety and joy.

What are heterosexual women's most common reasons for visiting gay bars? Freedom from unwanted sexual advances, and being in a space of joy, fun, laughter, and freedom. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/2/...

New Sex Book Alert: Sex Work Today - Sex and Psychology The new book Sex Work Today explores the current landscape of erotic labor via dozens of data-driven stories. Here's a sneak peek.

People today are selling sex in more ways than ever, yet the stigma around this type of work persists. A new edited volume offers an in-depth look at the complexities of modern sex work. In this post, @emmendelson.bsky.social gives us a sneak peek. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/2/...

Our 2025 Call for Proposals is open! Submit a proposal to present with us virtually September 25 and 26. Our them is "Queer and Trans Futures." Learn more and submit at: bit.ly/LGBTQResearc....

(it's all horrifying, but...)

ADVOCATES??? BARRIER???

@charlesgaba.com is a hero and downloaded CDC’s entire website. A small group of us has come together to preserve this critical resource and make it accessible to the scientific community.

More to come. These data are public and they are ours. Deletion disobedience is one way to fight back.

Doechii The Don, Doechii The Dean, Doechii Supreme

The State of Sex Education in the USA in 2025 - Sex and Psychology Here's where sex education stands around the country as we enter another new year. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty.

Only about half of US states today require that students receive sex education, and only 11 require instruction around sexual consent. Here's a closer look at where sex ed stands as we enter another new year from @emmendelson.bsky.social. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/1/...

What Is Sentient Object Romance? - Sex and Psychology A romance genre quickly growing in popularity is "sentient object romance," which involves humans being ravished by objects that come to life.

In sentient object romance, a person may find themselves in love with a living library card, a bowl of mac and cheese, or even a pumpkin spice latte. In today's post, @emmendelson.bsky.social dives into the fascinating world of sentient object romance. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/1/...

The Technological Aspects of Sexting - Sex and Psychology Sexting is an increasingly common form of sexual expression. But how is it affecting us? And how is sexting changing as modern technology evolves?

Sexting is often thought of as something people do primarily in the early stages of dating. However, most sexting actually occurs in committed relationships and is used as a way of maintaining them. @emmendelson.bsky.social explores the science of sexting. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/12...

i had to explain going "facebook official" this semester

How Many Sexual Partners Have Most People Had? - Sex and Psychology Men's "body count" is going down, while women's is going up. Here's a look at how sexual partner counts have changed in recent years.

Over the last 20 years, the number of sexual partners men report having had has decreased, while the number for women has increased. @emmendelson.bsky.social explores how partner counts have changed. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/12...

& here’s my wrapped to match :)

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

sharing your spotify wrapped today? check out our paper
on #datingwrapped, which is a trend inspired by spotify wrapped but for dating year-in-review videos on tiktok

available here: (and open-access!)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

woman holding various award recognitions

receiving an award on stage at an awards ceremony

headed home from #NCA2024! grateful for the opportunity to present a bunch of research this year and for the recognition it received. see you next year in colorado!

i'm thinking about something someone on my committee said last week: "a dissertation is a bucket. you craft it, it is crude, it is the first bucket you've ever made, you have to make and remake parts of it, it might look ugly. but ultimately, the only real question is: can it hold water?"