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Displaying all articles tagged:

Relationships

When is it okay to ask someone with less privilege than you to cut you some slack?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

When is it okay to ask someone with less privilege than you to cut you some slack?

Kai answers a reader whose conflict with a friend is further complicated by race, mental health and privilege

By Kai Cheng Thom
My partner became solo poly without telling me
Ask Kai: Quickies

My partner became solo poly without telling me

“Whenever that kind of news comes as a surprise or comes secondhand or thirdhand, then it is likely to be hurtful,” Kai says

By Corey Misquita, Kai Cheng Thom
All I wanted was to make my family happy, until I found what made me happy 
Love Like Mine

All I wanted was to make my family happy, until I found what made me happy 

PERSONAL ESSAY: An epic love story between an Iraqi Arab and a Punjabi Sikh

By Hasan Namir
How much space should white-passing people take up in the antiracist movement?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

How much space should white-passing people take up in the antiracist movement?

I told my friend she needed to stop centring herself and step back, and she got upset. Was I being too harsh?

By Kai Cheng Thom
My friend has been lying about being poor for years. How can I ever trust them again?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

My friend has been lying about being poor for years. How can I ever trust them again?

Kai advises a reader whose friend bought a house with the help of family money—after spending more than a decade claiming to be working class

By Kai Cheng Thom
Is a love that starts out red-hot more likely to be a love that burns out?
Love Like Mine

Is a love that starts out red-hot more likely to be a love that burns out?

When I was ready to dive deeper, she started pulling away. I barely had the skills to handle it

By Alena Papayanis
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Am I a bad person for not wanting to talk about my friend’s dysphoria all the time?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

Am I a bad person for not wanting to talk about my friend’s dysphoria all the time?

“The mark of a healthy relationship is one that can withstand conflict and challenge, and simultaneously, one where everybody’s boundaries are respected.”

By Kai Cheng Thom
I was ready for a long-distance relationship, but I couldn’t live without a queer community that understood me
Love Like Mine

I was ready for a long-distance relationship, but I couldn’t live without a queer community that understood me

My difficulty with coming out of the closet kept me lonely while living in a conservative city in Korea

By Sofie Mikhaylova
Is it ever the right choice to ‘cancel’ someone?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

Is it ever the right choice to ‘cancel’ someone?

We’re heading into murky ethical territory, advice columnist Kai Cheng Thom cautions. But even in the darkest places, there is hope, healing and an abundance of life, in all its messy glory

By Kai Cheng Thom
As I medically transitioned, my relationship got a whole lot gayer
Love Like Mine

As I medically transitioned, my relationship got a whole lot gayer

Through marriage, pregnancy, birth and transition, my relationship to my partner, a fellow rock climber, kept evolving along with me

By Sage Agee
I think my friend is misusing words like ‘accountability’ and ‘harm.’ What should I do?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

I think my friend is misusing words like ‘accountability’ and ‘harm.’ What should I do?

Kai advises a reader who wants to honour her friend’s boundaries—without sacrificing her own

By Kai Cheng Thom
I crossed my partner’s sexual boundaries without even realizing it. What does that make me?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

I crossed my partner’s sexual boundaries without even realizing it. What does that make me?

“Consent has many dimensions, and it can be really helpful to go into detail about what’s going on in any given interaction”

By Kai Cheng Thom
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How can I tell my partner that I want more alone time?
Ask Kai: Quickies

How can I tell my partner that I want more alone time?

A tricky question because there could be a lot of other questions behind it

By Xtra Video
Antarctica just had its first gay wedding
Relationships

Antarctica just had its first gay wedding

Stephen Carpenter and Eric Bourne became the first same-sex couple married in British Antarctic territory this past Sunday

By Oliver Haug
How do I know whether my relationship is abusive?
Relationships

How do I know whether my relationship is abusive?

My girlfriend and I are experiencing a lot of high-intensity conflict and anger—which is making me question whether either of us is being abusive

By Kai Cheng Thom
My white friend is calling themselves a ‘shamanic’ healer. Should I tell them to stop?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

My white friend is calling themselves a ‘shamanic’ healer. Should I tell them to stop?

Kai Cheng Thom weighs in on boundaries, cultural appropriation and how we can all grow through conflict

By Kai Cheng Thom
My girlfriend wants to sleep with her other partners, but not with me—is that selfish?
Love & Sex

My girlfriend wants to sleep with her other partners, but not with me—is that selfish?

Kai advises a reader that relationship anarchy isn’t free from jealousy—or boundaries

By Kai Cheng Thom
My ex-roommate says I’m abusive for leaving my dirty dishes in the sink. Do I owe them accountability?
Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

My ex-roommate says I’m abusive for leaving my dirty dishes in the sink. Do I owe them accountability?

Non-abusive conflict can still lead to harm. But, Kai says, “taking accountability is not the same thing as giving up your truth”

By Kai Cheng Thom
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