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Ah, love—that thing we do best as a species.
Love can be sublime. Terrifying. Thrilling. Painful. Necessary. Ah, sex—that other thing we do that just feels so right, biological imperative or no. When thrown together...well, there’s not a whole lot more to existence when we get right down to it, right? Yes, friends, welcome to SFR’s Love & Sex issue, an annual affair that brings in various writers, thinkers, sex workers and otherwise everyday people from your community (or formerly from your community) to talk about the things on their minds when it comes to, well, love and sex.
This year’s a fun one, too, as we hear from SFR’s dedicated sex columnist Layla Asher in the days leading up to her second anniversary fielding your burning little sex questions. Additionally, you’ll find a bevy of local songwriters dropping their best tips for penning a song for the person (or persons) you love. You’ll also get some insight into the trials and tribulations of trying to find love when you never thought you’d be single again (hint, it’s about friendship first), dating in the modern age while working in the adult film industry (spoiler: it kind of sucks) and a gripping tale of love lost to that omnipresent bastard cancer by Ariel Gore.
As always, the inimitable Shelby Criswell provided the illustrations, as well as that adorable valentine on the cover. Speaking of which, this very issue drops on Valentine’s Day, so if you’re reading it on Feb. 14 and thinking about that special someone, remember how lucky you are to have found something akin to love in this crazy, workaday world. Oh, and normalize telling your friends you love them. We got that from a meme, but we really mean it.
The Not-So-Terrible Two: We’ve come together through ‘The Naked Truth,’ Santa Fe
How to Write a Love Song: Hot tips for your next love jam from local musicians
The Numbers Game: Living life as a single in Santa Fe