From the boxing ring to the nunnery, five New Yorkers share their reasons for practicing abstinence.
When much of society thinks about sexuality, tales of promiscuity come to mind. It’s often forgotten that there are those among us who simply don’t partake in the act of sex. Over the past six months, I interviewed and photographed a group of decidedly diverse New Yorkers who have foregone sex for various lengths of time and for a variety of reasons. Here are five of their stories.
Amy Vilela lost her daughter when she couldn’t afford the medical bills. When her Congressman told her he wouldn’t support universal healthcare, Amy said, “I’m running.”
Cori Bush is a registered nurse, a pastor and a mom. After taking to the streets to protest police killings, she looked in the mirror and said, “why not politician, too?”
“The Boss of the Queens Machine” hasn’t faced a primary challenger in 14 years. But an underfunded upstart is suddenly giving him a run for his money.
Paula Jean Swearengin has seen West Virginia’s land exploited, its people fall ill, and its politicians do nothing. So she decided to do something herself.
The coalminer’s daughter. The bartender. The police brutality activist. The grieving mother. Each looked at the man representing her in Congress and said, “I can do better.”
As Mark McKinley puts it, “no collector ever says, ‘I’ve gone too far.'” After 27 years and an official Guinness World Record, he stands by that statement.
Three young Spaniards are reviving the farming tradition that flourished in their grandparents' generation.
“Who would look after him if I wasn’t here?” and other questions this mom asks herself every day.
Meet a teenage actor-singer-comedian with absolutely no doubt that his tumultuous adolescence will soon give way to Hollywood fame.
We humans are far more complex than the news headlines and clickbait would have you believe. Let the Narratively newsletter be your guide.
