Scarleteen

First-Time Intercourse: It Was...Good?

halfwish — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:28:17 -0700

I'm an Australian student in my final year of high school, constantly dealing with stress. From everywhere. Family, work, homework and study...it's no wonder, really, that when we hear all about how fantastically stress-relieving sex can be, we want to try it. It's no surprise.

Boys, Birth Control, and Nature

Heather — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:19:13 -0700

I lost my virginity when I was 17. It was something that my boyfriend and I had been thinking about and talking about for some time. We used condoms. My boyfriend was always a little uncomfortable with that fact that I wasn't on birth control and had no plans to get on it. As time went on and we began to have sex regularly, my views on birth control became more of an issue. You see, sex worries my boyfriend. He worries that I'll end up pregnant and it'll be his fault and my life will therefore be ruined. He worries A LOT.

Yo, Doctors: Pelvic Exams Shouldn’t Be Quickies

Heather — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:09:29 -0700

A few months ago I woke up in the middle of the night with intense pain on the right side of my abdomen. I then had diarrhea and threw up twice. The pain in my side was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I could barely breathe or talk. I thought my appendix had burst. My girlfriend bundled me up and took me to the ER. At the hospital, I lay on a bed contorted and vomiting until I got a morphine drip that blissfully took the pain away.

To Slide or to Slice? Finding a Positive Sexual Metaphor

bluejumprope — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:46:40 -0700

In high school, I was very lucky to have a yearlong sexuality course taught by a real live sex educator. My favorite class was a lesson about sexual models that the instructor, Al Vernacchio, created. I’d like to present it to all of you. As he did when teaching me, first I’ll examine the “baseball model” of sexuality based on Deborah Roffman’s work, and then I’ll describe Al’s alternative model (which rocks).

Whether we’re aware of it or not, in American society we often grow up with baseball as the metaphor to describe sex. It’s everywhere.

"Vajayjays", "Lady Parts" & "Aunt Flow"

maryc — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:20:03 -0700

When I was in about 5th grade my mom got me an American Girls book about puberty and the transition from girlhood to womanhood. It told me all about shaving, choosing fingernail polish, and eating well. And on one special page it told me about my period and how to put a tampon in. Me and my girlfriends each had our own copies and we referenced it like the Bible. I was one of the last of my friends to get my period and I remember wanting one so badly, complaining to my mother about my feeling left out.

Why do I feel so bad later when it feels so good at the time?

Heather — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:02:51 -0700

Want to be a peer sex educator?

Heather — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:33:46 -0700

In case it isn't obvious from the message boards and our peer-written content on the site, peer-based sex education and support is really important to and at Scarleteen. While I love my job as a sex educator who is an older adult, and think there's a lot of value in my doing this work, at the same time I feel like there's an extra power and a special kind of support with peer-to-peer education and interaction that I can't do.

On the Rag: A Guide to Menstruation

Heather — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:13:44 -0700

Despite what you might think, your period doesn't just effect you when you're on the rag. In fact, your period is only one part of a complex hormonal, physiological and emotional cycle that circles every month, and on some level, effects you every single day. Understanding how your menstrual cycle works, and what it all means is a tool you can use to understand your sexuality, your body and your mind for the rest of your life.

Not Everything You Wanted To Know About Puberty (But Pretty Darn Close)

Heather — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:35:51 -0700

Puberty is the process of physical changes and sexual maturation leading to sexual maturation as well as complete body growth.

During puberty, your whole body goes through growth spurts until it has become physically mature in terms of bone mass and size, and the sexual organs and secondary sexual characteristics develop and mature. Chances are, if you're at this website, you have likely already started puberty. You may be finished at this point if you're in your late teens or early twenties.

Shown Actual Size: A Penis Shape & Size Lowdown

Heather — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:23:51 -0700

Throw a rock at any sex education site or service, ask what the most common question we get is from men and we'll all tell you -- with an air of exhaustion, mostly because we get asked it so often and it's so clear to us how these worries hold men back from feeling good about themselves and their sexuality, as well as how they often negatively impact sexual relationships -- that it's about penis size.