u/slmlm_

Not even just in a sexual way, though obviously that’s part of it. It’s like an actual physical dependency. Whenever we are sitting on the couch, watching a movie, or just hanging out, my hand automatically migrates to his pants. I honestly cannot contain myself.

Sometimes he will be in the middle of talking about his day and I just reach over and grab it. It’s like a stress ball or a security blanket for me at this point. If we are in public and nobody is looking, the urge to just quickly feel it through his jeans is overwhelming.

I try to hold back, but the second I stop thinking about it, my hand is right back there. I am powerless against the grip lol.

Lust gets demonized way too much.

People act like it’s this evil force that ruins every relationship, but for me it’s the complete opposite. I don’t want a relationship where my boyfriend doesn’t absolutely lust after me. I need that. I want him to think I’m hot, to be shamelessly attracted to me, to have that dirty, playful, “I can’t keep my hands off you” energy.

The key is that it has to come with love. Lust without love is empty. Love without lust, for me, feels incomplete.

Stop acting like desire is the villain. It’s not. It’s one of the things that keeps romance alive.

I was born and raised in Spain. My entire life, my culture, my personality, and my identity were shaped there. My parents are Moroccan and Muslim, but I grew up in a European environment. I used to believe in Islam when I was very young, but as I grew older, I stopped believing and now I consider myself ex-Muslim.
My little brother is 12. He is genuinely one of the kindest people I know. He is loving, caring, and always there for me. I love him more than I can explain.

My parents moved back to Morocco last year, while I stayed in Spain, and this summer I came to visit them.

Tonight, for the first time ever, my brother and I ended up talking about Islam.
I started asking him questions and explaining why I personally don’t believe in it anymore. I brought up things I find contradictory or unfair, and he tried to defend Islam. Obviously, he is still a child, so his arguments were mostly just repeating things he has heard, but I expected that.

What really hurt me was when we started talking about women having to cover themselves. I asked him why, instead of teaching men that women’s bodies and hair are not something to lust over, the responsibility is placed on women to cover themselves. Basically saying, how is it not crazy to tell EVERY woman to cover up instead of teaching men that they shouldn’t have ill intentions and be lustful.

He told me that when a girl is covered, bad things won’t happen to her. He said that if a girl dresses in a more revealing way, like showing cleavage, then a man could come, kidnap her, and do something horrible.

I asked him: “But whose fault is it if a man kidnaps and hurts her?”
I genuinely thought he would say the man’s fault.
He said: “The woman’s, because if she was covered it wouldn’t have happened to her.”

I just went silent. I started crying.

It was such a painful thing to hear from my little brother, someone I love with my whole heart. It shocked me that this idea had already been planted in his mind at only 12 years old. The idea that a victim can be responsible for the violence someone else chooses to commit is something I find deeply disturbing.

I know he is still a kid. I know he is influenced by his environment, his family, and what he has been taught. I know he has a lot of growing and thinking ahead of him. But I can’t pretend it didn’t hurt hearing him say that.

It made me realize how powerful religious teachings can be when they are introduced from childhood. Children often accept what they are taught as the truth before they have the ability to question it.

I love my brother. He is not a bad person. But hearing that from him genuinely broke something inside me, because I know he is capable of being such a compassionate person, and I hope one day he learns that what has been teached to him is sick and learns to separate kindness and morality from ideas that blame people for the harm done to them.

It makes me feel some type of way I really can’t describe. Like levitating mentally lol. Genuinely top5 future imo.

I’ve been struggling with an ED and with body image since 11. For years it felt like a shadow that never left. I looked in the mirror and saw something horrible, something unworthy of love. I hated my body so deeply that some days it was hard to even exist in it. I genuinely believed no one could ever truly love me while I felt this way. That I was too broken, too flawed, and that real intimacy or acceptance was something other people got, but never me.

I’m 18 now, and I still struggle. The insecurity still hits hard sometimes. The other night it crashed over me and I ended up crying, overwhelmed by how much I disliked what I saw. But then my boyfriend pulled me close. He wrapped his arms around me without hesitation, no judgment, just steady love.

What followed was one of the most beautiful, healing moments I’ve ever experienced.

We made love slowly, gently, like time was stretching just for us. Every touch felt intentional. He kissed every part of me… my forehead, my cheeks, my neck, my shoulders, my stomach, places I usually try to hide. While he was inside me, moving with such care, he kept whispering against my skin, voice soft and full of awe: “You’re so perfect… You’re so beautiful… God, I love every inch of you.” Over and over, like he was trying to pour the truth into me.

Then, still deep inside, still holding me like I was something sacred, he looked into my eyes and said, “Please, baby… tell me you know how beautiful you are. Say it for me. Let me hear you believe it, even a little.” I cried harder, but this time it was different. It was release. It was love meeting the darkest part of me and refusing to look away.

To anyone reading this who believes they’ll never find someone who loves them exactly as they are, especially on the days when you feel disgusting in your own skin, I need you to hear me: that person can exist for you. Your body doesn’t make you unlovable. Your insecurity doesn’t disqualify you from deep, gentle, affirming love. There are people who will see the war you’re fighting inside and still choose to worship the body you’re in. They will kiss the parts you hide. They will remind you of your beauty while they’re making love to you, not in spite of your struggles, but because of how strong you are for carrying them.

Healing isn’t linear. I still have bad days. But I also have proof now that love can reach me even in the middle of them. And it can reach you too.

You are worthy. You are lovable. Exactly as you are, right now.

Keep going. 🤍

I could wear the most normal outfit imaginable and somehow my boobs make it look inappropriate. It’s like I don’t even get the option of looking “normal.” Everything ends up looking way more revealing than it actually is. Meanwhile someone with a smaller chest can wear the exact same thing and nobody bats an eye. It’s so fucking frustrating.

And then there’s the staring. It gets so uncomfortable. You walk around and you catch guys looking over and over, and it just makes you feel hyper aware of your own body. It’s exhausting when you’re literally just existing.

I’m 18F and my friend is also 18F. We’ve been really close friends since we were 15, so around three years now. I genuinely care about her a lot, and this is why I’m struggling with this. I don’t want to come across as slut-shaming her or judging her choices, because I don’t think someone’s worth is determined by how much sex they have or how they express their sexuality. My concern is more about what seems like a pattern of needing male attention to feel valuable.

Even before she had sex for the first time, she already had a big problem with seeking validation from men online. She would use apps like Omegle or random video chat apps, meet guys, show them her body, add them, and then have sexual video calls with them. She did this with multiple guys and it became a very common thing in her life. At one point she sent pictures to someone and they ended up being leaked, which really affected her.

Something important to mention is that she has struggled with an eating disorder and really bad body image issues for years. That’s actually something we bonded over because we both had similar struggles, so I do understand that there are deeper insecurities behind this. I don’t see her as someone who is just “crazy” or anything like that. I think there is a reason she feels such a strong need to be desired.

She had never had sex before until about a month ago. She had just turned 18, and that was when she finally went clubbing for the first time. We went to one of the biggest and most famous clubs in our city. I went with her because I was excited for her but also because I was worried and wanted to make sure she was safe, since it was her first time going out and she didn’t really know what to expect.

That same night, she met a random guy, went back to his house, and had sex with him. She also made out with four different guys that night. At the time, I didn’t say anything because I thought maybe she was just excited, experiencing freedom for the first time, and wanting to have fun now that she was 18.

But after that night, things changed a lot. Since losing her virginity, it feels like sex has become the center of everything. Almost every conversation becomes about guys she wants to sleep with, people she’s texting, or trying to find someone whenever we go out. It feels like every time we leave the house she has this goal that she needs to end the night with someone, and if she doesn’t, she gets genuinely frustrated.

She even told me she bought specific thongs “for sex,” as she described them. I know that sounds like a small thing, but combined with everything else, it made me sad because it feels like she is constantly preparing herself around being desired by men rather than doing things because she actually wants them for herself.

The thing that worries me most is that when she talks about these experiences, she never talks about whether she enjoyed herself. She never says she had a good time or felt connected. She mainly talks about the guy, whether he found her attractive, what he thought of her, or how much he wanted her. It feels like the important part for her is proving that she is desirable.

The safety side also scares me. In one month, she has slept with four guys and is already looking for another person. She told me she doesn’t use condoms and that she basically just removes them or avoids them. I tried explaining the risks of STDs and pregnancy, but she doesn’t seem to take it seriously.

I’m not saying she can’t have sex or that she should feel ashamed. That’s not my point. What worries me is that it feels impulsive and like she’s using sex as a way to fix how she feels about herself. I’m scared that she’s not actually enjoying it and is just chasing the feeling of being wanted.

I want to talk to her honestly, but she gets defensive easily and often turns serious conversations into jokes. How would you approach this? How can I express concern without making her feel like I’m attacking her?

I’ve always found it interesting that Reddit has the potential to be one of the most wholesome and interesting social platforms, but almost everyone uses it completely anonymously.

Most accounts are just random usernames, no profile picture, no identity attached, and no real sense of who the person behind the opinion is.
I understand why anonymity exists and why some people need it, but sometimes I wonder if it also creates a weird environment where people feel like they can say or do things they probably wouldn’t if their identity was attached to it.

Imagine if more people used Reddit like, “This is me, this is what I think, these are my interests,” while still having the option to keep some privacy. I feel like discussions could become more genuine and communities could feel more human.

I also wonder if the extreme level of anonymity is part of why Reddit sometimes attracts so many weird interactions. When people feel completely hidden behind a random username with no identity attached, some seem more comfortable doing things they probably wouldn’t do otherwise, like sending creepy messages or acting in ways they would be embarrassed to do on other platforms.

Obviously I don’t think everyone should be forced to show their face or reveal personal information, because anonymity can be important for a lot of people. I just find it interesting that on Reddit, unlike most other social media, being completely anonymous is the norm rather than the exception.

Do you think Reddit would be better if it was less anonymous, or is anonymity the thing that makes Reddit what it is?