Americans Were Quizzed on Sexual Health:

What The Results Say About the State of Sex Ed by LeAnne Graves There’s no question that offering consistent and accurate sexual health information in schools is important. Providing students with these resources not only helps to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but it can also help to ensure …

The first app to get approved as birth control in Europe has now been green-lit in the US, despite controversy

By Erin Brodwin Birth-control app Natural Cycles has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration — the first app to be approved for contraception in North America. The app uses an algorithm to tell women when they have the highest and lowest chances of getting pregnant, but it ultimately relies on men and …

A Sexuality Researcher Explains a Big Unanswered Question in Sex Studies

By Cari Romm Most of the time, the people who ask how you’re doing will be satisfied by the rote, two-word reply: I’m fine. I’m good. Really, it was the question that mattered, not the answer. Every so often, though, you’ll encounter someone who truly wants to know about the state of your emotional/physical/spiritual existence, …

I’m a young gay man. Here’s how sex-ed class failed to represent students like me

Sex ed taught me little about LGBT relationships, so I went searching on my own By Nathan Sing “Don’t have sex, because you will get pregnant and die.” Before today, this exclamation by the pedophiliac health teacher Coach Carr in the iconic film Mean Girls formed the bulk of my understanding of sex-ed class. But …

6 Things Every Transgender Person Should Know About Going to the Doctor

You deserve sensitive, comprehensive care. By Nathan Levitt, FNP-BC [T]ransgender patients often experience tremendous barriers to health care, including discrimination and an unfortunate lack of providers who are knowledgeable about and sensitive to this population. As a result, many transgender and nonbinary people avoid seeking care for preventive and life-threatening conditions out of fear. According to …

Why straight parents struggle to talk to their LGBTQ kids about sex and how to make it easier

By Jaimie Seaton [A] few months ago over Sunday brunch, my 18-year-old daughter and I fell into a discussion about sex and dating. Between the omelets and crepes, she described how she felt about her new boyfriend, and I gave advice on enjoying their young love while retaining her independence and sense of self. From …

Parents struggle to discuss sex with LGBTQ teens

[I]t’s hard enough for parents to have “the talk” about sexual health with their kids, but parents of LGBTQ children feel especially uncomfortable and unequipped when they try to educate them about sex and dating, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. The study examined parents’ attitudes toward talking about sexual health with their lesbian, gay, …

Masturbation hacks and consent advice: how YouTubers took over sex education

With UK schools increasingly falling short, vloggers such as Hannah Witton and Laci Green have stepped up to offer guidance on everything from body confidence to sexual pleasure By Emine Saner [W]hen Lily was at school, she remembers the boys and girls being separated for a sex education class. The boys were given one booklet; …

Sex myths create danger and confusion

By Elizabeth Thiel [S]tigmas around discussing sexual behavior often prevent vital information from being shared accurately, if at all. With all of the rumors and myths floating around about sexual health, trusting these myths can be misleading at best, and dangerous at worst. Terms like “always” and “normal” can be particularly misleading when discussing sexual …