Update

With the new year rolling in, it does look like I will no longer have to worry about my medical crisis, which is a relief off my shoulders. Also, in the process of changing jobs, so while I won't be having as long shifts as I was doing, I am not 100% sure of my schedule at the time. I will definitely be making a point of posting at least once a week, starting in January 2020.

Thank you all my readers who have stuck with me so far :) With the new year right around the corner I did decide to give this blog a new theme!

Multisexuality

The official PRIDE flag for the multisexual community!

The multisexual community is for any sexual orientation where the person exhibits sexual attraction to more than one sex or gender (so 2+). It can be used as a singular attraction term (as in "I am multisexual") or as an umbrella term (so the sub-sections of this community could be bisexual, pansexual/omnisexual, and polysexual to give a few examples).

Some people who identify as multisexual have said they identify as such because (in their own words, paraphrased), “different things affect my attraction towards different sexes and genders, so instead of trying to vocalize all these factors and make a complicated definition, I’m just using multisexual as opposed to bisexual or polysexual”. Some people may use it as a way of staying vague with who exactly they are attracted to (and/or not). Some people might not want to vocalize their 'real' sexual orientation term for whatever reason within the multisexual community, so they prefer to say 'multisexual'. 

Google trends claim that people have been trying to look up more information about this term on Google since at least November 2005. However, it does not clarify the context (relating to the LGBTQIA community or another subject). The official flag was chosen in February 2019. The flag colors are as followed:

• Purple: peace
• White: unity
• Light blue: freedom
• Pink/Magenta: compassion and love

Puppy Play 101

A puppy play girl in a pup hood, with a black collar

Puppy play is a type of BDSM roleplay. It involves men, women, everyone who wants to pretend to be a pup (often taking on the "submissive" role) while their handler (often the "Dominant" in this scenario) will engage with them (sexual or non-sexual interactions). It is a very popular type of pet play within the BDSM community. There are numerous boy human pups, but many prominent women and non-binary pups are starting to make a name for themselves in the scene as well (Tumblr and Twitter are popular hang out spots for them as well as Fetlife).

Pup play can or can not involve costuming, like getting a "hood" (the mask that's shaped like a dog's face). Prices range from $175-500+, depending on the material and how elaborate the hood is. Some pups opt in for some kind of full body suit (often latex or spandex type materials). Some will attach a tail (often via butt plug or a clip-on tail). Knee and elbow pads are very popular and strongly recommended since it helps keep the pup's knees and elbows padded (the body will start to ache if you're on your hands and knees all day, regardless of how much you move around or adjust your weight). 

Recent studies show that the biggest reason that people choose to partake in puppy play (as opposed to something like the kitten play or pony play community within the pet play community) is to have a form of escapism from the real world. Very few puppy players do it for humiliation purposes like a common misconception is from the vanilla (non-kink) and/or BDSM community in general (since there's numerous misconceptions involving the puppy play, in and out of the BDSM community).

Human pups are strongly discouraged from consuming dog food (or any other kind of food marketed towards biological pets like dogs, cats, chickens, horses, whatever the item is) as their sole food/intake source of calories because these kinds of food bags are not meant for human consumption. They are not built for human nutrition. There's numerous human food look-alikes that human pups can eat (like cooked chicken, oatmeal, among other things). 

Fox play is a popular sub-community of puppy players. As the name suggests, it focuses on the pet player taking on the persona of a fox. More about that in a different article, since this article's primary focus is to give people a basic understanding of the puppy play community. 

There are many BDSM, leather, and spandex pride events all over the USA that happily welcome puppy play players. Some conventions are specific to puppy play. There are a few flags for the puppy play community as well! 

Male Chastity

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Caligosexual

Caligosexual Pride Flag

Caligosexual is a term within the asexual umbrella. It means "a sexual attraction defined as feeling sexual attraction that is very weak or vague, almost nonexistent, like a vapor, fog, or mist." Some people describe it as "I'm basically in the between of greysexual and asexual because my attraction is so rare and/or weak I don't even consider myself apart of the greysexual community." The term was coined in July 2016 by a user named "terribledacty".

The original pride flag was the flag shown above, but with a triangle in the center, and the triangle was made up of the original asexual flag design's colors (so the asexual flag, but in the shape of a triangle, in the middle of the caligosexual flag). Some people complained that, that kind of design would be difficult to make PRIDE related merchandise (pillows, digital art, real life flags, etc.) so the above flag (the various shades of purple without the triangle on it, as shown above) was proposed as an alternative. 

Since this was coined in July 2016, this term is relatively new in the grand scheme of things, but some people are starting to identify as it because many people find it reltable. The flag shown above (the various shades of purple) was created by the blog dgs-haven. 

Nexplanon

Nexplanon is the "new version" of the implanon (the device itself is sometimes called "the implant"). It is a small device that is inserted right under the skin. It leaves a very tiny scar (no bigger than the tip of the finger if the person who inserted it did a good job). A person must periodically check to make sure the implant is in place. It must be changed once every 3 years to get the full effect from it. It has about 1/5000 chance of someone becoming pregnant when it's properly inserted. It is a device that gradually releases hormones, effectively tricking the body into thinking it's pregnant based on hormones alone.

Statistically speaking, it's just about on par with getting one's tubes tied. It is slightly more effective than an IUD (they run at about 1/3500 chance of becoming pregnant in a given year). That might not seem like much of a different in the great scheme of things but for people who are sticklers about statistics, that could mean the difference between getting one or the other. The copper IUD does not have hormones while the other category of IUDs does release hormones gradually into the body. Both the implant and IUDs release about 35% of extra hormones in your body (compared to the patch which puts about 65% of extra hormones in your body).

Since the Nexplanon is hormonal based, everyone's body will react differently to it. Some people have a brutal hell with it. Others experience little to no side effects. Sometimes it can take the body about 6-15 months post initial insertion for the body to get used to the hormones (it took my own body about 1 year, 12 months, to get used to the Nexplanon).

When it comes to cancer risk, the American Cancer Society recommends that people considering hormonal based birth control to please discuss it with their doctor. Many factors contribute to the chances of having cancer in one's lifetime.

The cost of the Nexplanon typically runs $1500-2500+, but the Affordable Care Act made it so that clinics must offer the Nexplanon free or very cheaply.

Kitten Play 101

A person holding a collar with a tag on it that says "KITTEN" in all caps

Kitten play is a type of pet play found in the BDSM community. It involves one or multiple partners taking on the persona of a cat. Some do it for humiliation purposes, but this is the vast minority of the kitten play players. Many do it as a temporary form of escapism from everyday life, or just do it for fun.

Let's start off with what kitten play is not:

• Inherently "furries" (people who dress in fursuits)
• Inherently "otherkin" (people who believe their soul is not an animal is one of the many possible definitions for otherkin)
• Inherently sexual (the outfits might be "sexy" or "sensually appealing", but it could be viewed as just an art form as well)
• Zoophiliac (fetish for animals)
• Beastiality (sexual act with animals)

Kitten play is predominantly dominated by women or feminine-spectrum based individuals (such as nonbinaries who feel a strong connection to femininity). However, boy kittens and nonbinary kittens definetly exist! 

A good motto with kitten play is "cats come when they feel like it, not when they're told." For this reason, many (but not all) kitten players have a tendency to be a bit "bratty" (playfully push the buttons of their Dominants). Kitten players tend to be extremely playful while "in character", often doing things that "real" pet cats often do (play with laser beams, playfully paw at someone or something, randomly get bursts of energy, lounge about the home, among other things).

From a nutritional point of view, it is important for kitten players to not eat food intended solely for cats. This could be potentially disasterous for the kitten player since they would eventually become nutrient deficient, which could lead to a host of problems with their body. 

Problematic Sapiosexual

A sapiosexual pride flag, designed by a person named "Clara-the-humann"

The term "sapiosexual" has been floating around the internet for a few years and is starting to become popular in different circles. For those unaware, it means "sexual attraction to intelligence". Google claims the term originated sometime in the early-mid 2000s, but there is no exact date that can be found. It breaks down to "wise + sexual".  

However, many people have spoken up about the problematic nature of "sapiosexual". For starters, how does one classify "intelligence"? Is it just a high IQ score? Is it just someone whose intelluctual interests are the same as yours? "Intelligence" has multiple different meanings as well ("book smart" vs emotional intelligence vs "street smart" etc.). Perhaps the most controversial aspect of it is that some people claim that "sexual attraction to intelligence" automatically excludes those who have some type of learning disability (or something similar). Anecdotal remarks have also said that Anytime I see the word 'sapiosexual' it's code word for "pseudo intellectual bullshit" where they just want to circle jerk their own ego and pretenciousness." 

Some critics have said that "sapiophilia would be a more appropriate term" because the -philia term denotes "strong interest" rather than "sexual attraction". Others have said the term "noetisexual" is a more appropriate alternative term. "Noetisexual" means someone who is "sexually attracted to how a person's mind works" rather than 'intelligence' in of itself. 

Cupiosexuality

Cupiosexuality is apart of the asexual community. It means "a person who does not exhibit sexual attraction towards anyone under any circumstances, but is willing to engage in sex or sex like activities with others and/or have sexual relationships with someone. "Now a person might ask "wait, don't you need sexual attraction to have sex with someone?" The simple answer is no. A person can decide to have sex with anyone for any reason, regardless if sexual attraction is there or not.

One way I have heard it described as "Imagine that you feel neutral about a certain food - let us say cake for the sake of an easy example. Now, let's say you are hungry and you open the fridge and see a piece of cake. There is no other food in the fridge. You eat the piece of cake because you're hungry, but you feel indifferent about the piece of cake (it is not your favorite food but at the same time you don't not like it)."

Google Trends marks cupiosexual "appearing" on the internet sometime in January 2014, however it is very possible the term and flag created for it have been around longer. Originally, it was named "Kalosexual", but the community decided to change it to "cupiosexual" because of harassement from people.

The cupiosexual official flag

Acelyssie is the person who seems to have coined the term (on their own blog), but I am unable to confirm this information. While searching the internet, I was unable to find the origin of the flag (as in who created it) and I could not find an explanation for the color meanings. 

Drag Kings

Spikey Van Dykey, pictured above, is one of the most famous drag kings known

The world is pretty familiar with the concept of "Drag Queens", preformance artists who dress in typically traditional "feminine" clothing as a means to make some kind of statement (whether it's for comedic purposes, to attack the patriarchy, or any other reason under the sun), the world is not nearly as familiar with the world of Drag Kings. 

Drag Kings are preformance artists who do what Queens do, but flip it (where the artist will dress in typically traditional "masculine" clothing as a means to make some kind of statement). Similar to Queens, the Kings must also undergo heavy makeup to create the illusion of the character that they are portraying on stage. Just like Drag Queens, Kings also dance and lip sync to songs or preform their own routines (like stand up comedy).

Drag Kings are taking the world by storm. They are starting to become more well known in LGBT clubs as well as show up in "LGBT talent shows" (or drag shows in general). Just like Drag Queens, the Kings come in all shapes, sizes, attires, and colors. The only limit is your imagination, as cheesy as that sounds. 

Dani Boi, another drag king