STIs

In an exclusive interview with Scarleteen, Amnesty International Argentina Executive Director Mariela Belski, spoke about the road to the recent abortion legalization in Argentina, sex education in the South-American country and remembering the case of the child that acted as a catalyst to the changes the country has recently made.

Despite the initial shame, guilt, name-calling, jokes, and fear related to disclosure, my STI presented me with a chance to love myself more deeply. It gave me a chance to sit with myself, who I thought myself to be, who I thought I was going to become, and who I really was.

That's a really, really good question! To answer it, I want to stop for a second to talk about why your doctor asked you that question. Usually, for young people (especially if you've seen them before and it's the first time they've asked you that question), the doctor wants to assess what kinds of...

About one in five people in the United States over age 12 — approximately 45 million individuals — are infected with HSV-II, the virus that causes genital herpes. Around 50-80 percent of the adult population has oral herpes, which most people contract through nonsexual contact in childhood.

I can spot one big thing that's making sex unpleasant for you, and it has zero to do with your brain or body being "wrong". It's got everything to do with your boyfriend. Before I go into why that is, there's something else that needs addressing. You mention someone abused you as a child, and I'm so...

So, you've got an STI. How do you tell current or potential partners?

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.

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...

tsunamichick's question continued: Then a week later my doctor called me to have me come in that day and I couldn't wait 4 more days to discuss it. She told me that I had high risk HPV and she suggested a cone biopsy or LEEP procedure. I then went to see the specialist who said I had some stage 3...

I want to first make a few things clear about any judgments you may be making about yourself or might assume will be made in my answer to you. I don't like terms like "easy" when they carry derogatory judgments, for the same reason I don't like terms like "prude" used or internalized that way. If...