From the orgasm gap to the power of self-published voices. Because shame doesn’t belong here. And your orgasm? It’s your protest. Your desire? That’s your power.
Let’s get into it.
Everything Is Political, Including Sex
Politics doesn’t only live in Parliament buildings or press conferences. It lives in bedrooms, in bathrooms, and in the way we touch ourselves and each other. It’s the way we’re raised to view our bodies. It’s whose bodies are considered “worthy” of protection, of pleasure, of being believed. You’ve heard it before: “The personal is political.” That’s not just a 70s feminist slogan, it’s a lens. It means that when your boss comments on your skirt, you’re catcalled at 15, or you’re denied access to birth control, these are not just personal inconveniences. They’re symptoms of larger systems that govern bodies. Especially some bodies more than others.
From the moment you were born under those sterile white hospital lights, society started scripting your body’s story. Whether you were told to be quiet or tough, soft or useful, your body became a battleground. It’s why sexual justice must include everybody—not just those deemed acceptable by dominant norms.
Even in sex. We love to think of sex as this natural, free, animal thing. But real talk? It’s full of scripts. Performances. Social rules. Power dynamics. And guess what? Those dynamics don’t disappear in queer relationships either.
Fun fact: According to PubMed, the orgasm gap is real and not just in hetero sex. Studies show that cis men orgasm about 95% of the time during sex, while cis women average 65%.
The same power dynamics can reproduce themselves in queer relationships. The top/bottom dynamic in same-gender sex may mirror heteronormative patterns. Top equals masculine, penetrative, dominant; bottom equals feminine, penetrated, submissive. And the orgasm gap can persist here too. Sexual politics doesn’t care about your sexual orientation, babe. Stay tuned – I’ll write a whole piece on this in a future issue.
The Human Right to Sexual Justice
If anyone lives at the intersection of personal and political, it’s sex workers. Sex work is survival. It’s an economic agency. It’s body knowledge. It’s resistance to a system that wants our bodies for free, to be ogled, judged, abused, but never paid.
Sex Work as Resistance
Sex workers have been excluded from policy for centuries. And not by accident. This exclusion is a sexual justice issue—when the people most affected by policy have no voice in shaping it.
Despite decriminalization in 2022, The Guardian reported that Aurora, a Victoria-based sex worker, reports ongoing threats and non-payment issues. Only two legal support services exist, and lack of funding risks their shutdown.
In the 19th century, so-called “scientists” claimed that only sex workers could transmit STIs. That legacy still lingers. That kind of weaponized “knowledge” was designed to shame, stigmatize, and control.
The Cost of Control
Today? The same politicians who want to ban OnlyFans content are voting on abortion access and STI policy without one single sex worker in the room.
Sex workers have a long-standing relationship with Zines (pronounced ‘zeens’) and self-published magazines, because their voices are constantly being shut down. When politicians create laws without considering the sex workers’ lived realities, sex workers turn to independent outlets to make their voices heard. Zines are a form of anti-establishment, anarchist knowledge dissemination.
Already during the third-wave feminist movements, zines were used to overcome the barriers of male-owned publishing houses. Feminists produced their own independent zines, the same way as sex-workers.
Let’s be real: if society can profit off your cleavage but crucifies you for using it to pay rent that’s not morality. That’s misogyny. And capitalism. And control.
Did you know that in Germany, contraception is only free up to the age of 18? A friend of mine had to pay a €400 bill just to have an IUD inserted.
That’s outrageous! I call bullshit!
And let’s not ignore the fact that contraceptives – which can be hormonally disruptive, carcinogenic, and more – are designed only for women. We need better than this, and we certainly shouldn’t be blamed if we become pregnant by accident or if we use our bodies to pay rent.
And let’s not forget, the burden of birth control still lands almost entirely on people with uteruses. Pills, patches, implants… hormonal hell. And then people still ask “why weren’t you more careful?”As if we aren’t already paying the price physically and financially for simply existing in a fertile body.
Independent Voices = Survival
When your voice isn’t welcome in the mainstream, you make your own mic.
Our voices as sexual deviants form this underground knowledge exchange, groups of people can share important knowledge (such as medical or legal information), some of which is vital for their survival.
Publishing as Protest
This is where independent publishing becomes revolutionary. It creates spaces for knowledge sharing without being held accountable to corporate interests or mainstream censorship. Our magazine exists online, on our own website, deliberately distanced from social media’s algorithms in order to freely express ourselves.
Are zines messy sometimes? Sure. Wild fonts, typos, chaotic vibes? Absolutely. But honey, so is life. What matters is that these are stories by us, for us. And that’s revolutionary.
Those in power fear what they cannot control, and independent voices represent a break from their control. When mainstream channels refuse to let our voices be heard, we create our own channels. We validate our own experiences.
This magazine is an act of resistance. Against censorship, shame, and top-down control. Every article we publish and every story we celebrate is a small act of rebellion against a system that profits off our silence. I feel so honored to be able to put my thoughts into words, for you. For us.
Sexual Justice Isn’t Just Policy, It’s Presence
Sexual justice is more than rights. It’s about space. Safety. Knowing that your body doesn’t have to apologize. Knowing that you can choose when, how, and who you give your body to or if you give it to anyone at all.
Understanding that bodies forcefully reflect everything that is wrong with our cultures, while simultaneously being a portal for what’s right.
Every time you reject control and replace it with demanding better, you are participating in the long arc of sexual justice.
And BERLINABLE? We are here to remind you that you are not alone.
You have something to say? We want to read it.
BERLINABLE‘s Open Source Initiative – because the most interesting thoughts often come from unexpected places. Write about sexuality, culture, politics, society. Whatever makes the world more honest, more curious, more real.
Submit content with relevance and professional quality standards. Together, we’re building a platform where voices drive cultural change.
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