weekly dispatches by maude® on modern intimacy through the arts, culture, science, and relationships.

wuthering heights

Designing desire.

A bold and original imagining of one of the greatest love stories of all time.
A brief history of victorian valentines.
History
A brief history of victorian valentines.

A more vicious holiday greeting. 

how to write a love letter.
dating
how to write a love letter.

When was the last time you picked up a pen?

history's raunchiest love letters.
History
history's raunchiest love letters.

The greats that mastered the raunchy missive long before technological innovations.

How are sex scenes filmed?
Culture
How are sex scenes filmed?

Coordination, illusion, and the occasional prop.

Designing desire.
In Partnership with
Wuthering Heights
Designing desire.

A Q&A with WUTHERING HEIGHTS Production Designer Suzie Davies and Set Decorator Charlotte Dirickx offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the film’s themes inspired the Come Undone Kit.
Love as Obsession, Love as Freedom.
In Partnership with
Wuthering Heights
Love as Obsession, Love as Freedom.

On love’s extremes: obsession and release, passion and pain.
The Modern Gothic.
In Partnership with
Wuthering Heights
The Modern Gothic.

The gothic is not only darkness. It is the tension in a shadowed corner, the way light bends over skin, the pull between restraint and release.
of the moors.
In Partnership with
Wuthering Heights
of the moors.

On landscapes and longing. How wild places stir desire and drive us mad.
Can a piece of media spur a sexual awakening?
Culture
Can a piece of media spur a sexual awakening?

   a sampling of some much-referenced pop culture sexual awakenings.
Touch, Tension, and Coming Undone.
Wuthering Heights
Touch, Tension, and Coming Undone.

When we imagined a “Wuthering Heights” kit, we began with the moors. The wild, windswept landscape is not a backdrop but the force that shapes everything.

trending

A case for the summer fling (even if you're in a long-term relationship).
Relationships
A case for the summer fling (even if you're in a long-term relationship).

But you don’t need a new situationship to feel that rush. You can bring that same energy into a relationship you’ve been in for years.

Erotic Activism: How Queer Desire Fuels Social Change.
Pride
Erotic Activism: How Queer Desire Fuels Social Change.

When we talk about activism, most people picture protests, petitions, and policy change. But there’s another kind of activism that’s just as powerful — it’s intimate, it’s electric, and it’s rooted...

Sex Ed is Lifelong.
sex education
Sex Ed is Lifelong.

Because sexuality, intimacy, and identity aren’t static—and neither is learning. We’re often taught that sex education is something you get once, tucked into an awkward school semester or a rushed ...

Erotic Activism: How Queer Desire Fuels Social Change.
Pride
Erotic Activism: How Queer Desire Fuels Social Change.

When we talk about activism, most people picture protests, petitions, and policy change. But there’s another kind of activism that’s just as powerful — it’s intimate, it’s electric, and it’s rooted...

new year's resolutions for your sex life.
Culture
new year's resolutions for your sex life.

Intimacy in the new year.

holiday house rules.
Relationships
holiday house rules.

A little down-the-hall separation can make the heart grow fonder.

Is Gift-Giving A Turn On?
dating
Is Gift-Giving A Turn On?

Our most seasonal love language.

A beginner’s guide to candle play.
Relationships
A beginner’s guide to candle play.

How to play with fire.
The intimate joys of bed-rotting.
In Partnership with
Brooklinen
The intimate joys of bed-rotting.

Why staying in bed might be the sexiest thing you do all winter. Winter mornings were practically made for bed-rotting. It is the art of staying under the covers, letting the world wait, and giving...

Maudern Movies: NYE Party Edition
Maudern Movies: NYE Party Edition

Maudern Movies, a series that curates films for your viewing pleasure. New Year’s Eve is less about resolutions and more about permission. Permission to stay up too late, dress a little sharper, dr...

How seasons impact your sex drive.
sex education
How seasons impact your sex drive.

Navigating the influence of environmental shifts on libido.

midnight moves: nye edition.
Culture
midnight moves: nye edition.

New Year’s Eve is a social sport. Drinks are flowing, music is loud, and everyone suddenly becomes a master of small talk and accidental touches. It’s not just a party. It’s a playground.

sex superstitions from around the world.
Culture
sex superstitions from around the world.

So whether you’re side-eyeing yellow flowers, guarding your mirrors, or reconsidering that Good Friday hookup, you’re participating in a tradition as old as intimacy itself. Below, we’ve gathered s...
the after midnight reset.
Culture
the after midnight reset.

Most real resets don’t happen at midnight. They happen after. When the noise fades, the shoes come off, and you’re back in your space with someone else or just yourself.
a brief history of the midnight kiss.
History
a brief history of the midnight kiss.

The New Year’s kiss is believed to trace back to German traditions brought over to the U.S. in the mid-19th century.
Dating Without Alcohol.
dating
Dating Without Alcohol.

A guide to the sober scene.
Holiday Texts From Your Exes, Explained.
dating
Holiday Texts From Your Exes, Explained.

Happy Holidays, have you texted your ex yet?
How mistletoe became the plant of festive intimacy.
History
How mistletoe became the plant of festive intimacy.

Nothing says “Christmas romance” like kissing under a parasitic growth.
Hooking up in your parent's house.
dating
Hooking up in your parent's house.

Why the holidays can feel like high school all over again.

on why we love holiday sex.
Culture
on why we love holiday sex.

A lot of us are born in August and September, but why? Blame the eggnog.

How Intimacy Can Ease Holiday Stress and Help You Sleep.
In Partnership with
Brooklinen
How Intimacy Can Ease Holiday Stress and Help You Sleep.

skip the nightcap. The holidays can feel like one long to-do list wrapped in tinsel. Between family obligations, last-minute shopping, and the endless parade of parties, your brain might be screami...

Is Gift-Giving A Turn On?
dating
Is Gift-Giving A Turn On?

Our most seasonal love language.

Why We Crave Closeness in the Cold Months.
Culture
Why We Crave Closeness in the Cold Months.

Maybe it’s the early nights, the brisk air that nips at your fingers, or the way our homes feel quieter, softer, more cocooned. Winter has a way of turning us toward one another.
Why the Holidays Are the Most Popular Time to Conceive.
health
Why the Holidays Are the Most Popular Time to Conceive.

Consider it the cuffing season finale.
What fantasies do to the brain.
Science
What fantasies do to the brain.

The neurological effects of when you let your sexual imagination run wild.
the most common sexual fantasies.
Relationships
the most common sexual fantasies.

The fantasies that get people going.
a beginner’s guide to role play.
Relationships
a beginner’s guide to role play.

How to climax in character.
Yes, Dating App Usage Spikes During The Holidays.
dating
Yes, Dating App Usage Spikes During The Holidays.

Classic yuletide yearning