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When I started having sex with girls, there was no one cheering, especially not encouraging me to have safer sex. But over the last few years, I’ve finally begun to feel confident with safer sex, and it’s improved my sex life a million percent. I wish I’d gotten comfortable with it sooner.

Taking charge of our own healthcare can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t know how to navigate healthcare systems or work with providers. We’re demystifying some of that for you, providing a toolbox to help you make sound decisions and get the best care possible.

He doesn’t want to engage in sex with condoms (or, I assume, anything that would reduce your risks of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections). You don’t want to engage in sex without those things. So, your limit, a limit you need to make clear to him, is that you won’t engage in sex without…

For most of our global history, people have rarely been free from the judgment of others about their sexual lives. Unfortunately. Mind, we can say the same for pretty near every part of human life and behavior: some people are judgy or sanctimonious about some things sometimes, and some of those…

I have to give you an answer I know you won’t like, but there really isn’t any other right answer. It very much sounds like you need to get this evaluated, ASAP, by a healthcare provider. Right now. A Z-pack may or may not treat your infection, especially since that class of antibiotics isn’t always…

amenie358’s question continued: I should mention that I’ve seen a gynecologist and she says there’s no sort of physical impediment involved and that if I practice I’ll be able to do it, but it’s so uncomfortable. It’s not getting easier. When I visit the gynecologist I have to be tanked up on valium…

Hi Angelscar, I’m sorry that the girl you’re interested in doesn’t feel the same romantic feelings towards you that you have for her. That’s never easy news to hear, and it’s okay and understandable to feel hurt and disappointed when that happens. We can hopefully help you a little in dealing with…

Want a quick way to sort out what does and does not pose real risks of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections? We’ve taken the temperature for you here.

Hi there, poonamdeshmukh. There isn’t any data that I know of which associates abortion specifically with troubles with orgasm, and I keep pretty good track of these things. However, here are a few things we do know to be real and which have been verified: There certainly are some sexual problems or…

Today is my birthday. If you’ve been a reader here for more than a year or two, you might have noticed that some years, I ask for something for my birthday here, and not usually something that’s a thing, like a pony, a fire hoop, a scooter with a sidecar for my little dog, or a life-sized Fozzie…

You know, one of the neatest, most interesting things about sex from my perspective, is that what people do and don’t enjoy is so diverse. One person’s least favorite sexual activity is another person’s favorite. I think that’s really cool. All of our bodies, sexualities and situations are so…

I’m sorry to hear that things have been so strained between you and your girlfriend when it comes to your transition. Gender transition is a pretty intense experience; a good thing for you, to be sure, but it’s still full of a lot of changes in a relatively short period of time. And it can be tough…

In September of 2012, openly gay footy player Jason Ball started a change.org petition calling on the AFL (Australian Football League, for all you non-Aussies out there) to air anti-homophobia videos during their grand final. They agreed to show the ads from No To Homophobia during the preliminary finals, and since then, Jason has kept very busy speaking to new AFL players about homophobia in sport, becoming an ambassador for national mental health organization Beyond Blue, and leading the 18th Pride March Victoria through Melbourne with his teammates.

I’m so sorry to hear about your son’s health problems, Faith. It’s hard enough being a very young parent without the rights of an adult, let alone doing so when your child has serious health problems. It also seems like you might not have a very supportive family, so from the sounds of things, you…

Majani’s question continued: This is weird, but even when I watch porn, on occasions I watch male and female, but most of the time… And recently, I find myself watching gay porn. Most of the gay porn I watch are usually the ones where one of the guys initiate first and the other is reluctant at…

Judging from the number of users I see experiencing pregnancy scares on the Scarleteen message boards, particularly from situations besides genital intercourse, you’d think sperm cells were some magical weapon of mass fertilization, powerfully wiggling their way through clothes/towels/fabric, and leaping off hands to impregnate every person around them within a 50 mile radius. Look out for scary sperm! Get outta the way! They’re coming right for you! (pun intended) As a volunteer for Scarleteen, I’m here to tell you none of this is physically possible. It just isn’t. As a former laboratory technician at a fertility clinic, having worked directly with sperm and semen (and without having ever gotten pregnant doing so, no less!), I want to tell you why.

BeckisBack’s question continued: I’ve never been sexual with any of my boyfriends. I merely look for acceptance and affection in a relationship, and do the same for them in return. Another thing I will not do is exploit my body, and even though I trust him very much, I don’t want to send a picture…

What does desire feel like, and how does feeling desire – or not feeling it – have an impact on sex or masturbation? Is it okay to feel strong desire, low levels of desire, or even no desire? We aim to answer your most pressing questions on sexual or erotic desire.

What positions are there for sex? How do you do them? Which is the best one? And why does everyone seem to think positioning is so complicated when it’s really not?

The health center at my university is pretty awesome. It provides free STI testing days throughout the year. Instead of making an appointment, students and non-students alike can just walk in, check in, and wait their turn, as it’s run on a first-come, first-served basis. This particular event was for rapid HIV testing, where HIV results are given within just 10-15 minutes. I visit my gynecologist annually, but I’ve never gone specifically to get tested for STIs/HIV. I attended this event curious about what the entire process was like.

frenchiemathwhiz’s question continued: I was standing by him because I’ve freaked out about stuff before, and I thought he was there for me. But apparently not. Anyway, we were each other’s first sexual partners—vaginal, oral, etc. I’m moving to a new city and a new job in a few weeks (something I…

I am sorry to hear about your stressful sex conundrum. Being in school can be a very stressful and sleep-deprived time, and I am sure that many people can relate to your situation, including myself. Stress is just one of those feelings that has a much larger impact than many people acknowledge: in…

Eleven years have gone by since I first came to Scarleteen as a very frightened, very lost sixteen year-old who had nowhere else to go and was ready to give up altogether. I don’t remember now what I wrote or what I asked for. But I will never forget seeing a response from Heather which read “I believe you, and I care.”

We sometimes deal with a tough situation in direct service: a user comes in, and reports having contracted an STI; a user who also isn’t a first-time user of our site or services, and who, in a previous conversation with us about pregnancy risks, blew off also talking about STIs and safer sex and turned down help we offered to them to reduce their STI risks, not just pregnancy risks. This is one of those things where there’s no joy or pride in being right: it stinks to be right about someone getting any kind of illness and being unhappy.

SHine SA provides: -prevention, promotion and education programs that build the capacity of communities in greatest need -professional education programs that build the capacity of workers across all sectors -clinical services targeting communities with health inequalities and poor sexual health…