Why painful sex can plague women at any age

By Erin Blakemore Your brain may be ready for sex. But what if your body refuses to cooperate? Women desiring intimacy with their partner sometimes experience pain instead of pleasure. Painful intercourse can happen even without other health issues — and it’s more common than you might think. In a nationally representative 2013 survey, 1 …

These Badass Women Are Fighting To Close The Orgasm Gap For Good

by Carrie Arnold The big O can boost your mood, help you sleep better, strengthen your immune system, improve your relationship, and more. But it makes everyone—and we mean everyone (doctors, universities, government agencies)—flinch. WH investigates why women are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to getting off, and talks to …

How to Enjoy Sex Again If You’ve Experienced Sexual Assault

Up to 94% of sexual assault survivors experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.  By Amanda MacMillan Surviving a sexual assault, no matter what the circumstances were or how long ago it happened, can change the way you experience sex. For some, sexual contact can trigger upsetting memories or physical reactions, or leave them feeling sad or …

How Sexual Assault Can Impact Your Physical Health, Even Years Later

The body’s natural reaction to dealing with the trauma of sexual assault can have negative effects on a person’s long-term physical health. by Leah Campbell When Amber Stanley was 23 years old, a friend’s boyfriend raped her. They had all been at a party together. She had fallen asleep in one of the spare rooms. …

Building Strength And Resilience After A Sexual Assault: What Works

By April Fulton The wrenching testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, who is accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of a sexual assault years ago, raises questions about the long-term emotional and physical toll this kind of trauma takes on survivors and how our society responds to those who come forward long after the assault. Emily …

Meet the Swedish feminist bringing ethical porn to Spain and the world

By Ellie Day Erika Lust has spent the last 14 years creating feminist, ethical porn. In 2004, discouraged by the mainstream porn she found on offer, the Barcelona-based Swedish filmmaker set out to put forward an alternative to adult content. “The men who control the porn industry seemed to have the emotional intelligence of a …

What It’s Like to Reclaim Your Sex Life After Sexual Assault

Survivors share their stories. By Zahra Barnes When she was 16, Lindsay Marie Gibson was raped. After her assault, life continued, as it does. Years later, in college, she met the man who would become her husband. She fell in love. They got married. Life was good. Yet her assault from years before still wreaked …

Deciphering the sex scenes in Spain’s medieval churches

Experts meet to discuss the meaning of highly explicit sculptures made 1,000 years ago By Manuel Morales Why is that man showing off his enormous phallus, which seems to be pointing straight at us? What about that other bearded fellow who is apparently masturbating? And what is the meaning of that woman who is exhibiting …

Pelvic floor physio: Treating pain during sex and other common women’s health issues

By Maryse Zeidler Pain during intercourse. Incontinence. A prolapsed uterus. Pelvic floor physiotherapist Anniken Chadwick helps her clients with problems rarely discussed at the dinner table, but that are common nonetheless. “Mostly my job is oriented around women’s health, and we just don’t do that well with women’s health in our medical system,” Chadwick said, …

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 …