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After a few years of being the postergirl for alternative approaches to menstruation – writing articles, being interviewed, doing workshops, selling washable pads to women and getting involved in too many party conversations on the topic to possibly count – something is starting to give. The truth is, I’m starting to get a little bit tired of being nice. I’ve lost my patience with trying to pussyfoot around the issue until women are willing to talk about their own blood. And so, as a form of cleansing for me and education for you – should you choose to engage in it – I have penned the following set of arguments dispelling the myths about washable menstrual pads and your period. So there.

Vaginal discharge and secretions are normal and usually healthy. The vagina is a passageway between the outside of the body and the internal reproductive system. 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 and healthy and part of the fertility cycle.

We talk a lot about sexual safety and safer sex here at Scarleteen in terms of your physical health. But what about checking in to see if sex is safe for you and yours emotionally? Taking care of your emotions, looking out for risk factors in advance – not just when they become an existing crisis – and safeguarding yourself, your partners and those around you from needless hurt and harm is just as important as doing what you can to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancies.

There is really only one thing that you need to know about sex and disability: Disabled people have sex, too.

But before you run out and get a lovely bit of metal in your eyebrow, or a gorgeous portrait of Bugs Bunny indelibly inked onto your shoulder, take a moment to read up on body modification, and make sure you know what it’s all about. Tattoos and body piercings can be a great way to express your individuality, but they’re permanent, after all, and not without health risks.

I came out of the proverbial closet when I was 15, in high school, and in the student newspaper. A sophomore had decided to print an editorial about the moral degradations of homosexuality, stating that God created Adam and Eve, “not Adam and Steve.” I was so enraged by this sophomoric (literally) editorial that I sent a letter to the editor responding on behalf of the gay community, which was published, and which publicly announced my sexual orientation for all the student body to read.

Everything I needed to know about body image I learned in a bathroom in the seventh grade. Well, almost everything.

Have you just come out of the closet, or are you peeking through the keyhole thinking about it? Is life on the outside starting to look inviting, shiny and new? (Yes, even you back there, hiding behind that box of moth balls and Aunt Ethel’s spectator pumps.)

When we look in the mirror as a culture, our tendency toward hysteria always seems to hover in our communal blind spot. We’re not very good at seeing when groups with a political or social agenda are manipulating us with fear, often the unreasonable, irrational fear of the taboo.

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.

A candid memoir of first-time intercourse from the founder of Scarleteen.

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.

What’s safer sex? Find out how you can best reduce your risks of STIs and protect your health and how to do it and be supported in it without feeling like the Sex Decency Brigade or bringing on the buzzkill.

There’s a whole lot more to this anatomy than meets the eye. Sure, you may know where the penis is… but what about the rest of it? This simple guide walks you through the external and internal reproductive and urinary anatomy for most penis-bearing folks.

What’s the menstrual cycle? How does it all work? What are periods and options for managing them, and when’s it time to check in with a healthcare provider?

The more common meaning and implication of the term came to change around the 13th century and derived a sexual, sexist and moralistic meaning. With that change, the word now implied that staying a virgin until marriage guaranteed that a woman would uphold the family honor by passing from father to husband as an object that was owned – her virginity, her own body, was a thing of value that would be owned by her father, until such time as ownership of her virginity, body and sexuality would be transferred to her husband.

Whether you are with a new partner, or are already in a sexual relationship, getting a full STI screening can give you peace of mind and ensure your physical well-being as well as your partners.

Many people in long-term, committed relationships, be it marriage or steady partnership – no matter their age – have ideas about sex in partnerships they may not even be aware of. Often we base our ideas of relationships and sexuality on what we see in the media or in movies, on what our parents relationship is like, or on what we imagine, in a perfect world, sex and love to be. Talking about what those ideas are, communicating our feelings honestly, and creating clear limits and honoring them make everyone happier and healthier.

Many teens have a lot of questions when it comes to homosexuality and bisexuality. In a culture that is often so damning of orientation and sexual identity outside heterosexuality, many teens become nervous when they feel attracted to those of the same sex, worried that they might be gay. Others suspect (or are even very sure) that they are homosexual or bisexual, but are afraid to say so either because they aren’t completely sure and feel they will be branded in some way, or simply because they fear being rejected, outcast or scolded by their friends, family or community. While at least 8 million people in the United States are homosexual, about 70 million people still think it is an “illness” or “perversion.”

How a pregnancy happens is a lot more complicated and a whole lot more interesting than just a sperm cell and an egg cell running into each other. Here’s our map to the way there…or not.

What IS pornography? Why do people use it? Should I like it or not?

Are bisexuals just confused, or are they opportunists? Do you have to have sex with people of both sexes to know you’re bisexual? What do you really know about bisexuality? Think you’ve got all the answers? Check your bi-Q!

There are certain physical, hormonal and psychological mechanics that come into play when it comes to human sexual response, and understanding those is essential to lay the foundation for understanding how sex works for ourselves and for our partners. Once we understand how our bodies work when it comes to sexual response, we’ve won half the battle of learning how to enjoy that and incorporate it as a healthy part of our lives, both alone and with others.

The author of this article is Malcolm Gin, who identifies as a 31-year old intergendered person. In this article, Malcolm explains a great deal about sex, gender, gender identity, and what you can do if you find out (or worry) that you might not be “normal” in terms of your own gender identity. Read on, and find out what it’s like to be a “boy” who isn’t actually a boy, and what life can be like for people with non-standard gender identity.