Hi, everyone, I’ve been at Scarleteen for awhile and seeing the information here, plus hearing about my mom’s work with HIV-positive patients (where she also discusses safe sexual practices) made me consider a career in sex education. I’m pretty frustrated with how sex ed in the USA is now but I see...

I do remember learning that in therapy about mindfulness practices and letting your thoughts sit with you without judgement. I do find ranting helps. I used to journal in the morning to get my thoughts out, but I suppose it could help to just have a journal with me whenever I need to vent. I didn’t ...

It’s been awhile since I posted here but I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. It’s so so nice to talk to people who see and hear me as a person. So many places on the internet (and where I live) aren’t very inclusive and this has got to be one of the most inclusive spaces I’ve found onli...

You’re right. Honestly if the situation was reversed and my friend was worried about being an “asshole” for not being able to handle hearing about this, I’d tell them that they’re not an asshole and that it’s healthy to put up boundaries to protect your mental health. I don’t know why I’m so hard on...

Hi, 0pt1m15t1c and Heather, I’ve thought about that. My major is actually writing and I’ve written op-eds for school before. I’ve never dealt with this before and am still processing it so I’m not quite comfortable writing about it just yet. I think I need more time to digest it and talk confidentia...

I’m graduating from university this semester and I recently found out last year that one of the professors in my department has been sexually harassing female students. From what I’ve heard (I’ve never had class with him), a student complained about him a few years ago to the department chair, they ...

I do think that would work. I’m working on being a better advocate for myself which includes respecting that my need for boundaries is perfectly valid. Honestly I’ve been spending too much time on the internet and sometimes around other people in person where most of the sexism/hate is coming from. ...

Thanks Heather :) it’s nice to know that I DO have a right to respect and that my feelings are 100% valid :) I’ve actually never really set boundaries with people, so how would I start? Would I just say, “hey, I’m not comfortable talking about X; can we talk about something else?” I feel like that c...

Hi, Sam, I really do feel like I’m angry all the time when I think about all the sexism (not to mention racism and other discrimination in the world) is and at this point I think it’s a matter of channeling that anger into something positive. I actually found the feminist club on campus nice. It fee...

Hi, Alexa, I often find that just venting out my feelings helps get me out of a rut and reevaluate my feelings and this really helped, so thank you so much for listening :) (And thanks Heather for the message! I appreciate everything you all do at Scarleteen :))) To answer some of your questions, I ...

Hi! I haven’t been here in forever and I know I’m not exactly the age range for this website but this is the most inclusive, sex positive site I’ve found and it’s one of the few places I feel like I can truly be myself and not worry about being judged. What I’m writing now has been on my mind recent...

My town is fairly conservative as well so I have no idea what’s happening publicly, but I follow a local LGBT group on Facebook and they list local events; I’ll see if they’re doing anything. This is really minor and not a large crowd type of celebration, but I’d really like to get a bisexual flag t...

Thanks, Heather! I am feeling a lot better about letting it out. My biggest anxiety was that I felt like I couldn’t “make” up my mind in my sexuality but as you and several others have pointed, sexuality can be fluid and if I don’t have a strict term for mine that’s okay. I’m getting okay with my se...

Happy Pride Month to everyone! I just came out online and I’m feeling some mixed feelings - anxiety, nervousness, just generally unsure of how I identify - but I’m relieved I allowed myself to be honest and so thankful that my friends have been nothing but supportive. No matter where you are on your...

Exercise or movement of any kind also helps me because it helps me realize what my body is capable of doing. It also just feels good when the endorphins are being released. Dancing is definitely a favorite of mine for body positivity because it’s just so fun I love myself in it

Like Sam said, there are somw political views I can’t budge on - especially identity politics. I think it’s ridiculous that someone’s identity is politicized (being black, gay, female, or just a minority in general) so that’s not something I can compromise on (and like Sam said, they probably wouldn...

Hi Sam, I did mention to her that she seemed out of it (I said she didn’t seem like she was feeling well) but I didn’t outright say she was drunk. I don’t know, that sounds more accusing than concerned but I feel like she has a right to know. She just texted me back that her meds were the reason she...

Last night I went dancing with some friends at a social. It was a lot of fun but then I saw one of my friends come in and she was really drunk. When I went to hug her, she was literally stumbling and couldn’t really control her body movements. Thankfully she came with friends so they were watching h...

This one is awesome when I’m considering being sexually active and my needs and wants: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/yes_no_maybe_so_a_sexual_inventory_stocklist I also love this one, especially since my sex education was next to none: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/bodies/can_i_get_pr...

Realizing that sex is and can be multiple things, that sexuality can be fluid and that’s perfectly okay, I deserve respect from my partner and vice versa, and sex should be consensual, fun, and safe!

Maybe because I’m on a college campus but it’s pretty easy to talk to people at sex when it’s say, an overview and not detailed - like gender norms with sex, consent, kinks, etc. I also talk with my mom a bit and sometimes my older brother about the politics of sex. With more personal stuff I have a...

Hi, Before I say anything else, I saw that you mentioned you have GAD. Are you receiving any treatment for it? Medication, therapy, something else? I’ve found from personal experience that mental illness doesn’t go away on its own and it really needs to be adddressed if you want to feel better. Beca...

Hey, 21-year-old virgin here :) just wanted to add my two cents to show you that it’s not “weird” or “wrong” to be a virgin at any age. And like Alice said it really depends on your definition of virgin. Are you just counting vaginal intercourse? There are a lot of sexual acts that are just as valid...

This definitely bothers me a lot, well it bothered me a lot more until I came on here and you all helped me see that sex is not just PIV intercourse but a range of activities. I felt good about that because while I haven’t had sex with anyone yet, I know I don’t enjoy penetration and I thought that ...

Hi again, I can’t believe I’m going back to this, but here I am haha. I’ve been thinking a lot about my sexuality because I feel like it keeps changing! There’s a large part of me that feels like I’m a “fake” bisexual - that I want to be bisexual because it opens my dating pool, but I don’t want to ...