Hiya!

I’m Beth Ashley, a journalist focusing on sex, relationships, and dating. I’ve written a book exploring sex shame for young people, Sluts, and cover everything from dropshipped sex toys to the deplatforming challenges faced by sex workers. My work appears in a range of UK outlets including Mashable, Glamour, Dazed, Cosmo, Stylist, Refinery29,
The Face, Vogue, The Guardian, iPaper, The Metro and more.  I’m interested in the complex, and sometimes hidden sides of modern sexuality and love digging into stories that spark a bit of thought.

Outside of journalism, I run a small creative agency, Spice, where I combine my writing and content strategy skills to support brands in the sex-positive space. I’ve spent over eight years creating content that’s honest, engaging, and a little bit cheeky, collaborating with brands like Bumble and Killing Kittens. Whether I’m writing, researching, or strategising, my aim is always to bring an honest, fresh perspective to the conversation around sex and relationships.

Features

I write a range of features primarily focusing on sex, relationships and social class. Favourites include Inside the dangerous rise of dropshipped sex toys for Refinery29, the women getting cosmetic procedures in secret for Dazed and Why are so many women having unsafe anal sex? for Glamour. Selected samples of my features and investigations are on this page.

 

Sex & Relationships

Mashable - I went to a sex resort. Yes, I’ll tell you about it.

VICE - Landlords are enforcing no-sex tenancy clauses now

Mashable - Is WhatsApp banning sex worker accounts?

Mashable - Sex education is under threat in the UK. What is going on?

Mashable - Sexual assaults are happening in virtual worlds. What can we do about it?

Refinery29 - “It actually hurt me”: Inside the dangerous rise of dropshipped sex toys

Refinery 29 – What Happens After A Cheater Is Outed On TikTok? Not Always What You’d Think

Vice – How sex toys became the new celebrity fragrance

Cosmopolitan – Why are people with no social media so appealing?

VICE - The cost of living crisis has come for the polycules

Mashable - What makes ethical porn so ethical? (forthcoming)

Mashable - Why is tutorial porn so popular right now?

Glamour - Why are so many women having unsafe anal sex?

Vogue - Discussing your sexual past with your partner isn’t just okay - it’s deeply importantf

Refinery29 - ‘I changed my contraception to save my relationship’

Glamour - This is what teachers *really* think about sex education (and how consent is taught) in the UK

Refinery29 - It’s not you, it’s me: why breaking up is so hard

Glamour - Why are TikTokkers so obsessed with the idea that Kylie Jenner is gay?

Glamour - Why food fetish videos are appearing on your TikTok ‘for you’ page

iPaper - Even first dates aren't immune from the cost of living: 'I haven't got budget for a restaurant'

Mashable - Why affairs are on the rise in the cost of living crisis

Mashable - How the BDSM community are getting creative to save money in the cost of living crisis

Mashable - What is No Nut November? Why abstaining from masturbation isn’t healthy

Mashable - How the cost of living crisis is affecting sex workers’ safety

Mashable - Can drunk sex ever be ethical?

Mashable - Sex addiction isn’t recognised by science. So,why are people still getting diagnosed with it?

The Face - New dating deal-breaker just dropped: not going to therapy

The Face - Conversations with Friends finally offers a realistic portrayal of cheating

The Face - How the cost of living is ruining our relationships

The Face - What gives me the ick? Grown men eating children’s food

The Face - Does class impact the way we have sex?

The Face - Are people ruining their relationships for online fame?

Refinery29 - 50 Years Old & Still Got It: The Joy Of Sex Remains The Horniest Book Around

Refinery29 - 3 Women On Why They Rehearse Arguments In Preparation

Woo - Attachment theory: TikTok trend or relationship saver?

The Guardian - The orgasm gap: can Netflix’s new show revolutionise women’s lives?

Cosmopolitan - Sex and the Single revisited: What dating really looks like in 2022 [First published in the 50th anniversary print edition of Cosmopolitan UK]

Red Magazine - How a digital detox could transform your sex life

The Face - Can you buy your way to good sex?

Wellby - Why are we still scared to talk about our sexual fantasies? 

The Face - How power couples made a comeback in 2021

Cosmopolitan – I tried Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker style PDA for a week

Class

Vice - What it’s like to become homeless while at university

Refinery29 - Let’s Be Clear: Financial Planning Is A Privilege

The Face - What TikTok’s obsession with nepotism babies says about class

Stylist - Does the government really think we’re running out of money because we’re ignorant?

Refinery29 - Do I have imposter syndrome or am I just a working class woman?

Dazed - Why the tories hate the arts

Vice - The living hell of being evicted in your 20s

Refinery29 - I learned to ‘pass’ as middle class to survive

Vice - 17 People on the moment they realised their friends were secretly rich

Vice – Why Your Rich Friends Should Admit Their Financial Privilege

Vice – ‘I’m Embarrassed’ – The Young Tories Who Regret Voting Conservative

Vice – Getting into debt is bad – going to court over it is even worse

i-D – Young landlord TikTok is here and it’s truly as grim as it sounds

Vice – ‘We’re not in this together’ – how the UK failed working class people

Vice – I never worried about being working class until I went to art school

Culture

The Guardian - ‘Stalking is a unique kind of trauma’ - the woman who turned her 13-year ordeal into a terrifying podcast

Vice - ‘Covid shame’ is taking over British workplaces

Refinery 29 – Meet The People Using ‘Dopamine Dressing’ To Boost Their Mood

Vogue Business  Is the algorithm ableist? Adaptive brands say Facebook and Google have a problem

Vogue Business – Stella McCartney to Gucci: Lessons on the new gender-neutral

Vogue Business – Why influencers are unionising

Vogue Business– What happened to plus size?

Refinery29 – Why I prefer clothing swaps to shopping new

Health

Gay Times - How Ozempic infiltrated the queer community - and why off-brand diet drugs are replacing it (Apple News)

Dazed - Somatic therapy: the rise of psychotherapy for the body

Dazed - The price of beauty: Why we rack up debt to pay for cosmetic treatments

Women’s Health - As told to: What I learned from having babies 25 years apart (print)

Refinery29 - Requests for plastic surgery reversals are on the rise

Glamour - Why many queer people are going to dangerous lengths to access IVF

Glamour - Meet the women terrified of having daughters because of diet culture

Dazed - The women getting beauty treatments in secret

Dazed - Unpacking the dangers of the controversial weight loss jab

Vice - The rise of study drugs at British universities

Vice – Getting an abortion in lockdown is easier than you think

Vice – How to access contraception during the pandemic