As walking sociologists, who better than our trans peers can teach us just how much of a cultural construct gender is? That’s exactly what my friend Professor Queerstrokes does here, with one of the world’s greatest laughs to boot. We discuss how gender tropes constrict, confuse and hurt us all; what it means to be the best ally; and how men supported his transition much more than the women in his life.

Of all the myths we're busting, virginity is among the biggest, and most persistent. It’s a social construct with no biological or medical definitions, yet heavy religious, personal and social baggage. Historian Anke Bernau and sociologist Laura Carpenter help us unpack the millennia-old obsession with female–and rarely ever male, sexual–purity and its consequences.

Gender violence expert Tiffany Brec and I discuss how accurate, inclusive sex ed reduces harm; why she’s now teaching leadership skills too; what to do when someone calls a man a girl in your presence; and what Tiffany’s wife does to ward off shady men.