health

My boyfriend says that anal sex is no different than regular sex. Is that true? He also says we don’t have to use a condom? Also, will I still be a virgin if I have anal sex? Will it hurt as much?

A vaccine is available to help prevent the spread of some types of HPV for people of all genders. Have a click to find out more about it.

Teen pregnancy and parenting are hard, so if you’re thinking about trying to make it happen, here’s some food for thought.

Need to check out what your sexually transmitted disease or infection risk might be in a jiffy?

There are instances in which condom use alone - or the use of dental dams and gloves – cannot offer the level of STI protection they can in other instances, with STIs which are transmitted not via fluid exchange, but by skin-to-skin contact: namely two of the most common STIs, HPV and Herpes.

Vaginal secretions are how the vagina cleanses and regulates itself — how amazing is that? — in the same sort of way that saliva helps keep your mouth clean.

Tattoos and body piercings can be a great way to express your individuality, but they’re permanent, after all, and not without health risks.

HIV is a virus that destroys the immune system and thus weakens the body’s ability to fight disease and infection, even common infections like flus and colds. HIV usually progresses to AIDS. This makes HIV the most dangerous sexually transmitted infection today. It is the fifth leading cause of death for the young under 40 in the United States. At this time, no one has been cured of HIV or AIDS.

Chlamydia is the most common bacterial infection (STI) in the United States, with about 3 million new cases reported annually. Chlamydia (“cla-mid-ee-ah”) is so common in young women that, by age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had chlamydia at some time during their lives.

I remember when I was seventeen, I tried on some new ideas. One of my ideas was that notions of “right” and “wrong” were false creations of society, and did not actually exist. Yeah, it didn’t make much sense back then, either.