In the hit HBO series “Girls,” Lena Dunham’s appealing and endearing character, Hannah, is often shown as wanting to talk or reflect during sex. Most of the characters have moments in the show involving sex during which you want to laugh out loud, cringe and sometimes look away from the television because it’s just too awkward. But these instances are often very real presentations of sex, a point that television critics often laud.

You’ll find that today’s issue of The Pitt News can elicit some of those same reactions. You’ll read about people’s sexual experiences with their partners. Maybe you’ll laugh about a man’s attraction to his girlfriend’s “kissy lips,” or perhaps you’ll cringe at the thought of someone using a ball gag in the bedroom. But for people, that’s their “sex,” and it’s important to acknowledge that not everyone does it the same way.

This is the fifth-annual Pitt News Sex Edition, with this year aiming to provide commentary on a variety of topics that may or may not be a part of your own romantic or sex life. Birth control, pheromones and asexuality are just a few of the concepts covered. Sex can be a generational issue, but it’s also one that has to do with the nature and desires of sex itself.

So why do we publish this issue?

With many of our special editions, The Pitt News wants to provide a service to its readers, to supply them with information and foster a dialogue. Men and women can read “Fifty Shades of Grey,” but the novel doesn’t provide an accurate representation of sadomasochism.

Of course, with this issue comes criticism. Readers may be taken aback at the photos of their peers in skimpy clothing. Or perhaps stories about sadomasochism and birth control on campus make some people uncomfortable. It’s easy, like many controversial topics, to just not talk about them. But by talking openly, we’re addressing a topic in order to try to respect individual experiences, beliefs and identities.

Putting this issue of the newspaper together, we’re reminded of the many dimensions of sexuality there are to explore, so let these stories serve as a starting point for a candid discussion with peers.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Hail to Pitt,

Amy Friedenberger

Editor-in-Chief