Words by: Anthea Bernabé Witoelar
Art by: Mellyn Sun
I hope this letter finds you well.
As I know you value honesty, let me be clear: I hold a lot of resentment towards you.
… Dear [Redacted]
Tag: relationships
Flying Separate Skies, Free as a Bird
Words by: Karen Grace Prince
Art by: Janae Hunter
It’s been a little over a year since I ‘broke up’ with my best friend.
We all have that someone – a platonic soulmate; the sort of friendship that felt straight out of a novel, someone who could instantly finish your sentences.
… Flying Separate Skies, Free as a Bird
Espy Asks: A Sexologist
Words by: Esperanto Team
Sexologist: Chantelle Otten
Chantelle Otten is the sex therapist of sex therapists. Based here in Melbourne but globally renowned, Chantelle’s passion is to help people feel free and confident in their sensual selves. She is an award-winning sexologist, a published author and a Sexual Health and Wellness ambassador for Lovehoney and Bumble. Chantelle is all about making sex ed sexy through her practice as a sex therapist, short explainers on Instagram, her podcast ‘Give Me A Buzz’ and much more.
… Espy Asks: A Sexologist
Talk Directly To Me
Words by: Ash Dowling
Art by: Jen Chen
As a law student, I’ve gotten pretty intimate with the affirmative consent laws that came into effect in Victoria in July last year. They require a person to actively take steps, through words or actions, to obtain the affirmative consent of the other person, which means willingness and permission, rather than a mere lack of protestation.
Sorry — talking about law reform is probably a turn-off, but asking your sexual partner for consent shouldn’t have the same effect.
… Talk Directly To Me
The Intimate Moments
Words by: Ilana Cohen
Art by: Dora Chung
It has been one hell of a year. Without getting too Carrie Bradshaw on you, I’ll tell you how my sex life was impacted, and how my partner and I were brought closer together because of it.
A lot of things can impact one’s sex life. Grief being one of them. recently lost someone close to me, someone I spent a lot of time with and who welcomed me into their life amidst a terminal diagnosis. To add to the heartbreak, she was my partner’s sister. He experienced a loss and pain can’t even imagine. Because of that, my relationship felt stagnant at times, and at others, couldn’t have been more enthralling.
… The Intimate Moments
Party of One
Words by: Kiera Eardley Art by: Natalie Tran
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”
Michel de Montaigne might have written these words in the 16th century, but it’s still a sentiment that would resonate with introverts everywhere. In a world that places a lot of importance on life-long partners, and at an age when popular culture is screaming from all angles that you should have a huge, boisterous friendship group that does everything together and goes out every night, it’s an easy one to forget. Society is built for extroversion in many ways, and there’s a lot of good that comes from that — but at the end of the day, all you really have is yourself. And that deserves to be celebrated.
… Party of One
Picking Up the Pieces
Writer: Gabriela Fannia Artist: Fletcher Aldous
If you’d ask anyone what ‘love’ is, you’ll mostly get positive, cute-yet-cringy definitions of it. But ask someone who just went through a major breakup, and they would give you a whole new set of gut-wrenching definitions of ‘love’. No matter how long, how serious, or how intimate the relationship is, a heartbreak is still a heartbreak. The level of ‘pain’ is (arguably) relative, but that’s not the point here. The point is, it is something we would choose not to go through if we had an option at all. In extreme cases, many don’t believe in love anymore, just as darkness is the absence of light, that solitary feeling after a breakup is the absence of love.
… Picking Up the Pieces
Blocked & Deleted
Words by: Dilshi Perera Art by: Gabrielle Poh
Someone once asked me to list some of the greatest joys in life, and waking up and not thinking about them anymore is easily in my top 10 — aside from kissing in the rain and other main character-esque qualities. There’s no denying that breakups are one of THE MOST tumultuous journeys that a human can go through, but the process of healing and overcoming pain is monumental.
… Blocked & Deleted
Love in the Time of Tinder: Why I Hate (but Still Use) Dating Apps
Words by: Kiera Eardley Art by: My Tieu Ly
Hi, my name is Kiera, and I’m your perpetually single friend. Welcome to the world of singledom in 2021! There are plenty of options, not a lot of commitment, and the drinks aren’t exactly flowing (thank you, 10 months of lockdown).
… Love in the Time of Tinder: Why I Hate (but Still Use) Dating Apps
Swimming Between the Flags
Words by: Sarah Arturi Art by: Lillian Busby
Similar to the sea, life is unpredictable. Sometimes the water is clear enough that we’re able to feel comfort amongst its deep blue calmness. Other times, the waves become too choppy and the water too murky for us to see clearly through the storm.
… Swimming Between the Flags
Growing Up in Love
Words by: Juliette Capomolla Art by: Gabrielle Poh
For some unbeknownst reason, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon my long-term partner at the age of 16. Young, naive, and desperate for that Wattpad fanfic-like love story, it only took us a few dates to couple up, and only a month or so to say that L-word. Four years later, at the good old age of 20, my boyfriend and I are still going strong.
… Growing Up in Love
Everything I Know About Growing Up
The Transformative Power of Casual Intimacy
Words by: Joseph Lew Art by: Gabrielle Poh
The first time I touched another person I was 16. His parents were out of town for the weekend — in Spain or Morocco or something of the sort — and in the one hour in between the end of the school day and when he was meant to go pick his brother up from tutoring, we dug ourselves underneath his messy floral bedspread, whispering hushed secrets and tracing love letters across one another’s spines.
… The Transformative Power of Casual Intimacy
Why it’s Time We Need to Stop Romanticising the Bare Minimum
Words by: Tiffany Forbes Art by: Brooke Stevens
You know those moments? The ones where you look back and think ‘what the actual fuck was I thinking?’ I guess you could call it a kind of post-nut clarity, or some sort of clarif-dick-ation (thanks, TikTok), where without warning, that love bubble — fitted exclusively with a rose-tinted haze and the ‘they-can-do-no-wrong’ mindset — is popped, and you realise your partner isn’t actually all that? Yeah, well same.
Making and Breaking Friendships
Words by Maya Art by Zoe Alexiades
In my post high school naive mind, it was simple. We were young and jobless. We had the time and the freedom of going out instead of studying for exams. Our days were empty, waiting to be filled with adventure. But this new found freedom came at a cost. There was no more seeing the same faces every day. No more sitting on the oval laughing about stupid shit. No more cramming for a test together or late-night snapchatting mental breakdowns of how we were all doomed to fail.
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Words by Freya Lauerson Art by Freya Lauerson
What is intimacy? Is it holding hands? Because I can think of far more cool things than some clammy struggle in the name of romance. Google offers no help, by defining intimacy with even more ambiguity: “a close familiarity or friendship” or “a cosy and private or relaxed atmosphere”.
Yep, That’s a Sex Thing
Words by: Nikeetha Gamage Art by: Ty Foley
Mr Grey gave BDSM its own blockbuster and wikifeet.com celebrates foot fetishes. Some fetishes may have gone mainstream but there are still plenty being shunned from the norm. Sexual fetishes are usually at the bottom of our list of conversation topics. Some of us are even afraid to tell our girlfriends, boyfriends, fuckbuddies and anyone in between the kinky things that turn us on. But I am here to inform you that the fetishes we carefully keep confidential are normal. The human spectrum of sexuality is actually very broad.
The Dating Game
Words by Samantha Pillios Art by Abbie Cooper
Whether you’re a serial offender or first-timer, dating is a whirlwind to all. Unfortunately, there’s no secret to avoiding that awful feeling in your stomach before a first date, nor is there any advice that can truly prepare you for the experience to come. The unknown variables of what goes on when dating are endless, nevertheless, here is a list of tips and tricks to ace your first or fiftieth round in the dating game.
Intercourse Discourse
Words by Caitlin Johnston
Art by Mariah Jade Lantouris
In a seemingly progressive society that is championing sexual freedom more, how do those who are asexual or celibate feel? I asked fellow students with different sexualities and backgrounds what they have to say about not having sex.
Polyamory – like The Bachelor, but not
Words by James WF Roberts Interview with Diane Cameron Art by Angharad Neal-Williams
I tend to define polyamory as what it is not – stringent and unwavering monogamy without any room for deviation or discussion.
Disabled, not Dissexual
Words by Mona Chatskin Interview with Rosie Jenes Art by Joanna Leucuta
“I don’t need a guy to tell me I’m sexy, because I know I am.”
Esperanto Magazine 