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“I created this series of photos in response to Iran’s president Ahmadinejad’s naive comments that we do not have homosexuality...
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“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a...”
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Watch Nicki Minaj Casually Dismantle Sexism While Applying Her Eyeliner, via Upworthy
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Check out IPPF’s new Keys to youth-friendly services! There are downloadadble resources on:
- Understanding evolving capacity;
- Obtaining informed consent;
- Celebrating diversity;
- Ensuring confidentiality; and
- Adopting a sex positive approach
French and Spanish translations to come!
Sex Myth 016 - You can get pregnant from french kissing.
- Did you have sex only with yourself? Masturbation does NOT pose risks of pregnancy.
- Have you not had any kind of sex at all (and were not sexually assaulted), but are worried because of something like touching a partner’s hand then touching yourself, or using a towel that may have had dried semen on it? These kinds of scenarios do NOT pose risks of pregnancy. Sperm and ovum need specific conditions in which to co-create a pregnancy, and these ain’t them.
- Did you have the same kinds of genitals as the other person you had sex with, or who sexually assaulted you, as in, you have a vulva and they had a vulva, or you have a penis, and so did they? Same-genital-to-genital contact can NOT create a pregnancy.
- Were you only kissing, having oral sex, manual sex and/or dry sex, where everyone had clothes on and/or no one ejaculated on or very near anyone else’s vulva? These kinds of sex do NOT present any pregnancy risks, though some present risks of STIs.
- Were you or a partner using a reliable method of birth control (like an IUD, the ring, condoms, an injection, etc.) properly for either that incident, or for ongoing methods (like the pill or fertility charting), for the whole of a cycle? If so, pregnancy is not likely. If more than one method was used perfectly, it is WAY unlikely.
If any of the above scenarios describe the situation you’re worrying about, it’s anywhere from very unlikely to downright impossible that you have or will become pregnant. With those scenarios, you or your partner are most likely NOT pregnant and will NOT become pregnant unless you do or have done very different things than those.
More here.
Sex Myth #15
Bigger is better
Hmm let’s think about this one for a bit shall we?
When we think about ‘bigger’ in the context of sexuality, we often mean penises. Society tells us that bigger penises are better penises, they make you manly and powerful, and great in bed. But is that actually true? Um NO!
For starters penis does NOT equal man and a bigger penis certainly does not make you a better man. Gender is so much more (bigger) than genetalia (eh you see what I did there?) it’s about how you perceive yourself and how you engage with what society defines as ’man’ & ’woman’.
Now, onto size. Penis size is a touchy subject, mostly because there are these (unrealistic) expectations of what is ‘average’ and what is ‘big’. So to get the low down on penises check out Dr. Petra’s AMAZING article here
And lastly, bigger = better sex? Sex is more than your penis! Good sex, nay great sex is NOT dependent on your penis! What is important is that the lines of communication are open between you and your partner(s) and as the saying goes ‘it’s not the size of the wave but the motion of the ocean’
More resources to check out:
Sex Myth #014
People with disabilities and chronic illnesses are NOT sexual people.
Your sexuality is not dependent of your gender, race, age, faith, political views, favourite teevee show etc. It may influence how you interact with your sexuality, but it does not describe it. It’s the same for people living with physical and mental impairments. We are all people and we all have sexual rights.
Check out the following sources for more info :)
Sex Education for Physically, Emotionally, and Mentally Challenged Youth.
Common Myths about Sexuality and Disability
EDIT: Just discovered this amazing website Sexuality and Disability
Sex Myth 013
There is no cure for HIV but “treatment can keep the virus under control and the immune system healthy*”
And we all know the concept of virginity is a myth too, so there you have it two sex myths for the price of one.
…wait the concept of virginity is a myth? Yup, turns out the there is no such thing as a “brittle” membrane (aka hymen) that breaks during sexual intercourse, instead there are “multiple folds of mucous membrane” called a vaginal corona and it “is a permanent part of a woman’s body throughout her life”.**
Okay so the hymen doesn’t exist, but you’re still a virgin if you’ve never had sex right? Well that depends on what you define as ‘sex’, can you only lose your virginity if you have heterosexual vaginal intercourse?
What’s also interesting is how society views ‘virginity’. The term is often used to refer to someone’s purity & innocence, and what’s the opposite of innocence -GUILT. Does that mean that once you lose your ‘virginity’ and your ‘innocence’ you’re guilty? That doesn’t seem fair, sex isn’t dirty or something to be ashamed of.
Check out Jessica Valenti’s book and documentary ‘The Purity Myth’ to find out more!
* HIVAware
Sex Myth 012
Having ‘too much’ sex will make your vagina loose!
The vagina isn’t a tube of skin. It’s a muscle. Exercise will make it STRONGER, and more capable of tightening, if anything. Yes, it loosens during sex, but that’s not permanent, it’s a temporary result of arousal.
~Having sex sex is not wrong, it will not ruin a person, we are, as a species, built for it~
Sex Myth 011
Sex Myth 010
Sex Myth 009
Sex Myth 008
Sex Myth 007
Sex Myth 006
