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If you go to an OB/GYN and your mother asks them to do this, the very first thing that should happen would be for that doctor to explain that is not what should motivate a parent to get their child sexual healthcare, and hopefully, they’ll also tell her that going to the gynecologist should be about…

Travis, it sounds like you do already seem to have a pretty good idea of what her concerns are, and it sounds like you’re doing a great job in trying to be sure that whatever you do is something you both can feel good about. In other words, I think you need my help less than you probably think that…

Spring fever has sprung! Just as a sobering CDC study report breaks that one in four American teen girls has a sexually transmitted disease, crime-busting Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns for itching an eighty-grand, reportedly condom-free prostitution habit. Instantly the scandal storm blows bigger and…

From what you’ve said here, I’m not sure the pill necessarily sounds like the best option for you at this point in your life. The pill is a good method of contraception, but it isn’t for everybody. As far as the side effects go, do understand that they’re not guaranteed to happen for everybody…

Understand that if a person with a penis is aroused and/or erect, then there is likely some pre-ejaculate at some point. If his penis is visible, you will likely be able to see it, but for obvious reasons, if it’s inside your vagina or your mouth, you’re not going to be able to see it, and both you…

It’s typically assumed that sex and gender are the same. They’re not. What’s gender all about, then? What is the range of gender and gender identity, and how does gender impact our lives and how we live them?

A partner addressing your worries or nervousness about any kind of sex by telling you you need to “grow up,” needs to grow up WAY more than you do. In a word, if that’s how he responds to this, I’m less worried about him dumping you, and more concerned about you sticking around with the likes of him…

When something big is brand new to us, and carries risks with it – negative or positive, and in the case of sex with someone, both – it’s entirely normal to be pretty darn nervous or anxious. And when people with penises are nervous or anxious, quite commonly they won’t be able to get or sustain…

When I was very little, I developed really severe atopic eczema. My parents and doctors had the worst time getting it under control, but eventually they managed to find the right set of lifestyle changes and medications to take care of the problem. I didn’t really have a lot of issues (as long as I…

All I can do is to strongly encourage you not to deceive anyone into becoming a parent. Would you want someone to trick you into pregnancy or parenting? Given, it’s you who would become pregnant and give birth, not a guy, but manipulating someone into the position of creating a pregnancy when they…

You seem to be asking two separate questions here: 1) If it’s okay to have an open relationship now, and 2) If it’s a wise idea to sleep with someone who dumped you because you wouldn’t sleep with them. Let’s hit #2 first, since it’s pretty easy. For real? For real you want to sleep with someone who…

Was her partner ever treated when she was? Standard procedure when one person is diagnosed with Chlamydia is for a healthcare provider to make clear that all current or recent partners are informed so that they can also be treated at the same time. Some healthcare providers will even just provide…

The answer to that question depends entirely on the parents in question. Parents are people and many have sexual desires just as do folks who don’t have children. Just like anybody else, folks who are parents may have more or less sex of any given type throughout their lives. In general, we do know…

Unless you’ve been charting your fertility (see our article Get with the Flow: All about FAM for more information), it’s not really a good idea to think that there’s any “safe” period in your cycle where you have less need to worry about pregnancy. Not everybody ovulates on Day 14. Especially in…

Your girlfriend is being VERY sensible, whether you may happen to believe it or not. People with vaginas have a LOT at stake when they become sexually active. They are more prone to infections than people with penises. And yes, they can get pregnant, which is a very taxing process for her body…

It feels good. The species would have a little trouble propagating if we didn’t enjoy mating. By nature, sexual pleasure is the incentive that encourages us to make more of ourselves. That’s quite good for the species – so much so that I think humans may have done too good a job of it. But…

Today the Centers for Disease Control released a study concluding that approximately one in four women between the ages of 14 and 19 living in America are infected with at least one sexually transmitted infection, such as HPV (human papillomavirus), genital herpes, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. The study also determined that the rate of infection was higher in African-American women than Caucasian women.

I’d like to suggest that you try a little experiment… Next time you get out of the shower, skip the deodorant/antiperspirant. Go about your daily life for several hours and then take a quick sniff of one of your underarms. I can almost guarantee the results of this experiment. You’ll likely find…

You’ll probably be surprised to know that this is a pretty common question with an answer that may be unexpected based on what we’ve been taught about how things “should” go. The first thing you really need to understand when you’re thinking about this is that the vaginal canal itself is not…

Some people can take longer than others to adjust to hormonal birth control. In fact, that’s why you’ll usually hear that you should be ready to deal with some weirdness for the first 1-3 months when you start hormonal birth control. Remember that with the pill you’re essentially adding lots of new…

The Papanicolaou test, more easily pronounced “Pap smear,” is a test that checks to see whether there are any abnormal growths on your uterine cervix. Your clinician takes a small brush or swab and sweeps a sample off the tip of your cervix. The lab checks the sample to see if there are any abnormal…

Dear Kiwi, Unfortunately a lot of people are in your situation. It may take some time for you to be able to fully embrace your sexuality. For now, why don’t you go over the pros and cons of sex as YOU see them. Write them out. Think about why you want to have sex. Then think about the ramifications…

You know, while five years isn’t a big age difference between people who are, say 35 and 40, it can be a lot bigger between people who are 15 and 20. Think abut it like this: at 20, your boyfriend has literally already lived 25% longer than you have, just a little less than you’ve outlived someone…

With most sexually transmitted infections, it would be highly unlikely for a person to have one who has not had any kind of sexual contact – with genitals, hands or mouths – to have one. We call STIs – sexually transmitted infections – what we do because that is usually how they are transmitted…

Mood changes are certainly one common side effect of the pill, and they’re worse for some people than for others (and younger people can get hit particularly hard with those effects). I hear you on how you’re feeling: way back when I was on the pill, and I was one of those who got whacked really…