Bodies

We hear so many horror stories about first-time sex. Perhaps it might be good therapy to read about a first time that went well.

Let’s shift this question a little bit, because ultimately, what you’re asking isn’t just about guys. You’re asking if there is one way where orgasm or ejaculation feels better or best for any given group of people. The easy answer, and the truest answer, to that is no: just like there isn’t any one…

It’s normal for a woman’s body to respond to anything she finds pleasurable, and every woman’s body responds in similar yet different ways. What you’re really talking about here is arousal. What we know about sexual response is that there is a basic cycle – generally referred to as the sexual…

For starters, congratulations for seeking treatment and starting on your road to recovery. You deserve major recognition for that; it’s not easy but taking those first steps are so important, if hard, and I’m really proud of you! My quick answer to your two questions is that you are definitely not…

It’s really hard to say when your periods might develop a discernible pattern. In general, we would probably expect to see that happen within the first 3-5 years of menstruation. However, that is a very general guideline because there are a lot of other factors that could be at work as well. Your…

While getting an erection when it’s not necessarily wanted is not something you hope will happen, I can assure you that it’s completely normal. What you’re describing here is something referred to as reflex erection. Young people with penises have reflex erections during any time of the day or night…

Dear Scarleteener, congratulations on being such an active participant in your own health care, and for doing your best to take care of both your physical and emotional well-being. That can be hard to do, particularly when life and school get crazy (as they tend to). I’m hoping that the gynecologist…

Without hormones, our bodies would not be able to function! Hormones are essentially chemical messengers that deliver the memo to cells that they are supposed to change up what they’re doing. Not all hormones are sex hormones; there are lots of kinds! Many hormones are produced by our endocrine…

It sounds as if you’re concerned about your performance abilities, and whether your partner is going to get pleasure out of intercourse. From what I’m reading, it also sounds to me like you’re already having “actual sex”—indeed, oral sex, manual sex….it’s sex! And with sex comes the need for good…

If you are obsessively scrubbing and scrubbing like Lady Macbeth, that in and of itself may be a big part of this issue. The vagina is a self-cleaning organ. It’s also an organ that doesn’t tend to respond well to soaps, douches, and other cleansing agents, because those things can knock off the…