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I’m just going to lay it down for you: sex will not be great unless you’re mentally and emotionally prepared. But “prepared” means something different for everyone. For one person, it might mean a solid, committed relationship. For another, it might mean having overcome some body image problems. And for yet another, you might just genuinely feel ready right out of the gate. We all require different things in order to be truly prepared to have sex for the first time. Some of us might require a lot, and some might require almost nothing. Sex might have a lot of emotional or moral meaning for one person, but for another, it might have no such weight behind it at all.

I saw a young woman the other day who was in her late teens. I had a moment of admiring how strong her legs looked, how able her shoulders; where she had curves and where she didn’t, how kind of mixed-up and funky some of her coloring and parts were, a study in contrasts. It was a moment of…

Well, hello there! :) If you are reading this page, it is probably because you asked a question about a pregnancy scare in one of our direct services, where we easily determined from the information you gave us that you did NOT have a realistic risk, and we answered it with this link. This link is…

An article about choosing methods and trusting methods

Many women and girls feel insecure about sex, especially when it’s new. How can we build some sexual confidence?

It is absolutely okay to watch Crazy, Stupid Love (which is actually mostly about men in the first place!) or any other “chick flick” or romantic comedy that catches your eye or interest. Some types of movies are marketed more towards men or women, but that doesn’t mean people of other genders can’t…

Have you been forgoing time with friends to hang out with your significant other, or vice versa? Either way, read on for help in dealing with this sticky predicament.

At Scarleteen, we’re all about making choices. But sometimes, we see users making choices that are, ultimately, the opposite of the self-care the need in that moment.

Thanks so much to everyone who has been pitching in with our current fundraising drive. We’re getting awfully close to our goal – to the minimum we need to raise to avoid any shutdowns – and we could not be more appreciative and excited. Thank you! During the last couple months, we’ve had quite a…

If you live in abuse, or the person in your life who is abusive checks your phone or computer, be sure after you read pages like these to clear your history. It’s safest for you that anyone abusing you does not know you are reading up on abuse or planning to leave. Click here to leave this page fast…

If you are leaving the person or people abusing you, your safety is the most important thing.

If you’re in an abusive relationship, to make abuse stop you’ve got to get away and stay away. Here’s help to do that safely, and to be as safe as you can before leaving.

You cannot become pregnant when you have pants or other kinds of clothing on that covers your genitals. No, seriously, listen up: YOU CANNOT BECOME PREGNANT WHEN YOU HAVE PANTS ON. No, not even JUST you but no one else, because you think you are some kind of one-in-a-million-something-or-other…

As you may have read a few weeks ago, we are in dire straits when it comes to sustaining all that we do here at Scarleteen, and need more support to do so now. Since we put out that call, we’ve raised around half of what we need to keep doing all we currently do, thanks to a few hundred generous…

The disorder that terrorizes me persuades me to keep it active as a security system even though it is anything but.

Oh, pubic hair. One of those subjects that, when brought up, generally kick-starts a furious debate about which option (shaved, trimmed, left alone) is the most attractive, the most empowered, the most hygienic, etc. And, depending on how much you follow this debate, you may end up feeling like no…

Ever since puberty, I found my body to be a site of shame, something I desperately wanted to escape. A transplant to predominantly white Catholic schools on Long Island, I was immediately deemed ugly. I had an older sister, but we were close enough in age that we were navigating puberty around the same time. As second-generation daughters of immigrant parents, we were on our own as far as navigating the personal and social meanings of our bodies.

UPDATE! We – and you! – did it! WE SO TOTALLY DID IT! We met the minimum goal we needed to to avoid a strike and having to shut down any of our services. We can’t thank the 1,000+ of you enough who have helped us do this, and who have made it possible for all the young people who need and use our services to keep on using them without interruption.

Hi, bifabulous! Congrats on becoming more aware of your own sexuality! Sadly, you’re right: some people do harbor misconceptions and sexist notions about bisexual women. Racism and sexism added to the mix make the issue even thornier; as you said, there are a lot of harmful stereotypes about Asian…

The good news is, you’re definitely not the first person to ask this question. People have been trying to parse out what, exactly, constitutes love for most of human history. And who can blame them? Loving someone, and feeling loved in return is, in its best form, a really wonderful emotion. And…

Scarleteen volunteer Sam reflects on the significance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and how it relates to sexuality, identity, and her middle school experience.

Many people feel they’d like to reproduce, parent, or both in their lives. I wouldn’t say either of those things – that it’s “slutty” or “weird” – are true about these feelings and desires, whatever your age. I’d say the feelings you’re having are some of the most common human wants there are, and…

Over the next few days, you’ll notice some changes on the site. We are finally finishing the process of some design tweaks, and a pretty major reorganization of our static content on the site. We hope everyone will be as excited about what we have come up with as we are!