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I had an abortion in my early twenties. It was not easy to afford. I was working 60 hours a week, in a fledgling business with a lot of overhead expenses. I was fresh out of a college education I had paid for myself, and was also caring for a parent at the time. There were no resources through public health in Chicago I could use to help with the expense. My partner was pitching in for half, but all the same, coming up with four hundred dollars was an additional struggle during an experience which was already challenging without any financial issues at play.

As we’ve said again and again and again, the majority of people with vaginas do NOT reach orgasm from vaginal intercourse alone – and never have – and many do not find vaginal intercourse to even be all that arousing or satisfying. There’s nothing to “fix” when it comes to that – our anatomy, on…

If you’ve already spoken to her about your concerns and directed her to some resources for more information, there’s really not a lot more you can do when it comes to your friend. I would, however, suggest that you check into the age of consent in your state, since very few states have an age of…

In the last week, a congressional committee began – finally!

A person who has a strong ethical or religious conflict with having any kind of sex, or sex in certain scenarios – such as being unmarried, if they feel sex is really only right in the context of marriage – is very likely to have that inhibit their sexual response. As well, it’s very normal for…

The next thing to do after a family member says that to you is simply to acknowledge what they have disclosed and honor that it can be scary to do that – such as by saying something like, “I’m glad you felt safe telling me about your bisexuality.” You can also reassure them that until they’re ready…

Oh sweetie! Let’s break this down and deal with one issue at a time here to see if we can’t work this all out, shall we? First off, let’s talk about this labia issue. How many real life labia (other than your own) have you seen up close and personal? I’m going to guess you probably haven’t seen very…

It sounds to me like this is really about you more than it is about him. The person having trouble with his history right now appears to be you, and that’s the person who I think needs to work through this. In other words, you say he won’t open up about this, but I’m not sure I can envision what you…

While some doctors may choose not to see children or adolescents in their practice, period – because they just don’t specialize in that group – it sounds far more likely your stepmother was simply being dishonest with you. If her doctor was someone who chose only to see adults, he or she most…

The term “prude” is such a heavily loaded, judgmental term that I’d really encourage you not to apply it to yourself or anybody else. The implications that come along with that are just not very helpful, so I’d suggest removing that from the way you’re thinking about your situation. There are lots…

One of the more interesting (and by interesting, I mean ridiculously ignorant) responses I have seen in a few places discussing the I Was Raped project and my input was my statement on the news that the first time I was assaulted – at the age of 11 – I did not know what had happened to me and was without any language to even express it. This is being met with some measure of disbelief by a few folks, or the assumption I was on drugs or had been drugged or that I was simply stupid.

I’ll be honest: I don’t approve of cosmetic surgery. I think it’s incredibly important to love and accept our bodies for what they are, and to extend that acceptance to everyone’s body. To my mind, surgically altering your body solely for cosmetic reasons is neither loving nor accepting.

(Wo)Men Speak Out’s flagship program consists of keynote delivered by Chris and Ophelia. It includes an ambitious address that analyzes the nature of abuse from multiple perspectives. Often generating the liveliest discussions, it is a no-holds-barred approach to addressing the issues that go…

Vaginal dryness can be one of the more common side effects of hormonal birth control methods (like the pill). Vaginal discharge and the lubrication that’s produced during arousal are influenced by what’s going on with our hormones (to at least some extent). When you’re using a hormonal method of…

(Jane’s question, continued) What we did was very irresponsible I understand that and since I was 17 I’ve been very careful with these things because at age 17 I fell pregnant WHILE taking the pill correctly. My then BF made me have an abortion. He took my by the hand and had it all arranged. I…

There is no one sexual activity, nor any one way to engage in any one sexual activity, which will guarantee orgasm or ejaculation for any given person, or for any given person every time. Plenty of people with penises will reach orgasm and ejaculate with oral sex, though many of those people won’t…

“Pandora’s Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information, support, and resources to survivors of rape and sexual abuse and their friends and family. We have been devoted to recovery and healing since 1999. Pandora’s Project offers peer support to anyone who has…

It’s common for teens to have a mentality of “that won’t happen to me”. Well, what if it does? How does one cope when their trust and belief system is shattered by sexual assault?

Your friend was likely referencing a longitudinal study of 3,000 women done in 1999 (Acierno, Resnick, Kilpatrick, Saunders and Best, Journal of Anxiety Disorders) which found that women who had been raped before were seven times more likely to be raped again. As well, many studies have shown that…

A basic lowdown on interpersonal abuse and assault: what all the terms mean, why strangers are the least of our worries, what a cycle of abuse looks like, how you can start seeing abuse for what it is, where it is, and how to protect yourself and others and make abuse stop.

Worried: there’s no one kind of person, or kind of role, that gives someone a free pass to have sex on us or to us when it isn’t what we want. If a husband forces or coerces his wife into sex when sex is not what she wants, it’s not consensual, and it is then a sexual abuse or an assault: a rape. If…

Have you EVER had any sexual contact including sexual intercourse and dry sex with direct genital contact? And have you never been raped or experienced a sexual assault that involved genitals coming in direct contact? If you have NEVER EVER NEVER experienced any of these things, then you are the…

Some people think they’re ready for sex, but after they do it they find out they’re wrong. You need to ask him how he’s feeling about the experience. He’s obviously got something bothering him. He might think he’s inadequate because neither of you reached orgasm. He might be feeling guilty because…

The difference is that PMS symptoms won’t cause your pregnancy test to turn positive. Using symptoms to determine if you’re pregnant is really unreliable. If you absolutely must know if you’re pregnant, wait 10 to 14 days after the sexual encounter in question then take a pregnancy test using the…

Second question first: Correct and consistent condom use is a highly effective way to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. As for teens and condoms there are a few issues at hand, and most of them can be remedied with the right education and information. Teens sometimes have…