Autostraddle Article: Safer Sex Tips For Lesbians.
Lesbian Safe Sex 101: The Doctor Is In (Also, the Cartoonist)
It’s hard out there for a sexually active lesbo — how do you get the safe sex info you need when you’re afraid of the gyno and lesbians are ignored in sex ed? WELL WE’VE GOT A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE. Also; a cartoonist. Really you have to see the cartoons.
Meet Sarah! She’s a third-year medical student obsessed with women’s health issues, especially those regarding queer women, and WILL NOT stop talking about the subject with her friends. So we thought we’d let her talk about it with you!
Our very own Technostraddle editor Taylor has provided some cartoons for you to enhance your learning experience. For more of Taylor’s cartoons, you should check out DoodleShroom!+
+
Before writing the following piece, I read Natalie’s Why Are Gay Ladies So Afraid of the Gyno? Everyone seemed to have a lot of questions about sexual health and I was hoping I could help answer some of them! Unfortunately, I also noticed some antagonism towards doctors in general, which seemed to be fueled by the negative experiences a lot of you have had. Believe me, I get it – I’ve been there.
But, speaking from the perspective of someone who’s inside the system, choosing not going to the doctor is not the answer! While medicine is a patriarchal and hierarchical institution, there are plenty of us who are working to change that.
I personally conduct a lot of LGBT health education and there’s a real push to ensure that the next generation of medical professionals is one that’ll recognize that not all women are heterosexual baby-makers (nothing wrong with those!). Change takes time, sure, but your health shouldn’t suffer because of a doctor who isn’t as enlightened as you’d hope.
Girl You Need To Get Yourself Checked Out
It can be pretty difficult to discuss queer women’s health issues ’cause there just hasn’t been much research done on the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV in women who like to ride the hobby horse with other women.
I’ve learned just from talking to my friends and other sapphically-inclined ladies that most of y’all are not having safe sex! We don’t worry about unplanned pregnancy and most lesbians seem to think that we don’t have to worry about contracting STIs from our partners either.
Howevs, statistics show that at least 75% of women who identify as lesbians have had sexual intercourse with men and approximately two-thirds of the time, those women were engaging in unprotected sex 1.
This means that if you or your partner have Had the Sex with a dude, and hasn’t been tested, your risk for STIs and HIV is comparable to that of a heterosexual woman!
So hayyy you should get tested. As Natalie discussed in her articles, queers (like other marginalized groups of women) tend to frequent the gyno less often for a lot of reasons.
But don’t let negative experiences with narrow-minded providers stop you from taking responsibility for your sexual health and for your partner’s sexual health. If you don’t have insurance, most free clinics do STI testing at very little cost, or for free. Do it!
+
STIs: Getting Them & Getting Rid of Them
This is by no means a comprehensive list of the STIs out there, but I want to hit on some of the more common infections and the ones that stick with you once you get infected.
HPV
Human Papilloma virus is probably the most common STI in the USA, with some statistics estimating that up to 75% of sexually active adults in the US demonstrate a history of the infection 2. HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact. This means that even if you only have sex with women, you’re still at risk for infection. This virus is sneaky too, because it can lay latent in your body, so without being tested, you may never know you have it. If you have had sex with a man in the past, you are at increased risk for contracting (and transmitting!) HPV. This is important, because a history of HPV infection is the single most significant risk factor for developing cervical cancer.
Some strains of HPV cause genital warts and two strains in particular have been identified to cause over 75% of cervical cancer. Butttt some strains aren’t cancerous. In fact, some even clear up on their own!
But how do you know which strain you have? Get a pap smear! Cervical cancer takes years and years to develop, so going to the gyno and having them take a look-see gives you a darn good chance of never having the disease progress any further.
Also, if you’re under the age of 26, you may want to think about getting Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, which covers two strains of HPV that are responsible for 75% of cervical cancer and another two strains that cause up to 90% of genital warts AND is covered by many insurance companies now. But it’s worth noting that being vaccinated is a personal decision and should be an informed one, so read up — there’s been a lot of controversy around Gardasil. Perhaps you have feelings?
GONORRHEA & CHLAMYDIA
Two fairly common STIs and another reason to get tested. Gonorrhea and chlamydia can be transmitted through sharing toys, bodily fluids, and genital contact. These infections can be silent, or can present with symptoms like burning when you pee, discharge and stomach pain. Luckily, both are easily treated with a quick dose of antibiotics. Without treatment, however, gonorrhea and chlamydia can progress to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and serious infections, among other things.
BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS
Bacterial vaginosis is another easily treatable sexually transmitted infection. Interestingly enough, queer women seem to be at increased risk for transmitting and acquiring the infection. This one can also be silent, or may announce itself with white-ish discharge and a fishy smell, but is usually not itchy or painful. We’re not exactly sure how it’s transmitted, but the likely routes are through sex toys, oral and oral-anal sex 5. One important note about this infection: usually when one partner has it, the other partner is often infected too. If you happen to find yourself with this infection, bring your partner with you to the doctor, and have her get tested as well.
YEAST INFECTIONS/CANDIDIASIS
Special Comment: HEY BITCHES! The doctor is out for a bit and you’re gonna have to listen to me, your anonymous expert on yeast infections and how to get rid of them. This is important ’cause lesbians give each other YIs all the damn time.
It’s a touchy subject with women’s health experts: most docs refuse to prescribe Diflucan (the YI pill) unless you come in for an appointment, even if they’ve successfully diagnosed you in the past. COME ON NOW. (See: Tales of my Vagina, Or Why Women’s Health is Totally F*cking Unfair) Butttt… apparently someone just invented a Vagisil Screening Kit, so perhaps our luck is changing?
Personally, I found my chronic yeast infections cleared up when I gave up men and the pill, except for this one time my lady-lover and I gave each other yeast infections which is sort of a long story. Also, she had a boyfriend. You know how it is.
Anyhow, plenty of gay ladies get YIs for a number of reasons, like taking antibiotics or chilling out in your Dinah Shore bikini for a bit too long, and 75% of all ladies will get at least one in their lifetime. I’ve never experienced the discharge most women do, but the itchiness and redness can be bad enough in & of itself, espesh ’cause it’s taboo so you can’t whine about it like you can when you’ve got a migraine or something.
The following things never helped: Monistat, AZO, Gyne-Lotrimin, tea tree oil, yogurt, cotton underpants, acidophilus, hydrogen peroxide douching, garlic, etc.
Diflucan, a prescription-only pill, takes a few days to work, but it’s worth it ’cause there’s no mess. Howevs, as aforementioned, you’ll often need a doctor’s appointment which’s a pain in the ass then as well as being a pain in the vadge.
Some friends tell me their YIs go away on their own. Lucky bastards. There was one proposed DIY remedy that sounded particularly bogus to me, and trust me it shocked my socks off when it turned out to be the only thing that works: BORIC ACID.
You get “0″ empty vegetable capsules at your local health food store, pick up a tub of boric acid (in powder form) just about anywhere, and try not to freak out that it’s often advertised as a roach-killer. Fill a capsule or two with the powder and pop those babies inside you every night ’til the infection goes away. It can also be used preventatively if you feel a YI coming on, that’s the best part!
You should definitely check out this website, it’s a great resource because as the author points out, “to my mind, the conventional treatment of vaginal yeast infections is a nutshell of what’s wrong with the way our society deals with wimmin’s health issues.”
Okay, back to the doctor now…
These Things Never Leave
So, we saved the best and by best I mean worst infections for last! Herpes! And HIV! ‘Cause see once you get HIV or Herpes, you’ve got it for life.
Herpes can be transmitted through oral or genital sex. There is treatment for herpes, which will cause you to have fewer outbreaks, but won’t cure you. The tricky thing about herpes is, even if you do not have an active sore, you can still transmit the infection to your partner. However, there are ways to predict when you are infectious, so talk to your doctor.
HIV can be transmitted through blood, genital secretions and breast milk, but not saliva. There aren’t a lot of statistics out there on risks of HIV transmission in queer women. Overall, the general consensus seems to be that transmission is possible 3. However, as I’ve stressed before, if you are a woman who has unprotected sex with men on a regular or occasional basis, then your risk for HIV infection is comparable to that of a heterosexual woman, and if you are not tested, your partner’s risk of infection is also increased.
Safe Sex: Not Just For Straight People
Sex is sexy! Talking about safe sex, on the other hand, can be a bit of a drag. Get over it! Knowledge is sexy and I’m about to make you smokin’ hot.
Dental Dams
Dental dams are one barrier method that can help prevent the transmission of STIs.
Brief interlude between our Editor-in-Chief Riese & Executive Editor Laneia, which took place as we were tag-team editing this article –
Riese: can we just be straight about dental dams
like do people really use them
Laneia: i don’t know?
like, i want to use one now
b/c i honestly want to know what the fuck’s up
Riese: i have some
given to me by planned parenthood
Laneia: there’s a mention of dental dams in some erotica i read two weeks ago,
she needed it for anal
oral anal on the butch top
you still with me?
Riese: oral anal to a butch top
not gonna lie
i am not going to be giving oral anal to anyone
probs never in my life
which is fine, i’m not judging
but
well, bacteria
i dunno
Laneia: but if you DID, you’d use a dental dam
Riese: oh yeah
Laneia: then you could lick from ass to vadge w/out worrying about spreading anything
Riese: or i could just not do it
Laneia: mhm or that
i don’t know if i’d necessarily want to either, but i’m not ruling anything out
especially if there’s saran wrap involved
AND YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT
Riese: i’ll do anything that involves saran wrap
package food
eat ass
make love to AIDS
swaddle marijuana for cross-country air travel
Laneia: mte
Riese: do you ever see porn with people using dental dams in it
Laneia: no, but i haven’t watched a lot of porn
Riese: me neither
Laneia: i bet if you emailed someone who does, they could tell you. you could email sugarbutch.
Riese: but i don’t know if i want to be like, hey whats up, ever used a dental dam
Laneia: noooo you’d be asking if they’ve ever watched PORN in which a dental dam was used
Now back to the article…
However, if dental dams aren’t your bag, there are still plenty of things that you can do to insure a safe and sexy time is had by all. Most are pretty much common sense.
1. Wash your hands before getting down and dirty.
2. Don’t share sex toys and if you do, use a condom, or properly clean them with soap and water before switching to a new user 4.
3. And finally, one of the best things that you and your partner can do to protect yourselves and one another, is to communicate! Talk about your sexual history, whether you’ve had sex with men in the past, if you’ve been tested before and if you haven’t been tested, (once more, with feeling! … ) get tested!
I hope that this overview was informative and answered questions that some of you might have had. I would love to hear any comments, questions or other topics you’d like to hear about!
1. Diamant AL et al., Lesbians’ sexual history with men: implications for taking a sexual history, Archives of Internal Medicine, 1999, 159(22):2730-2736.
2. Marazzo, JM. Genital human papillomavirus infectioin in women who have sex with women: a concern for patients and providers. AIDS Patient Care STDS 2000; 14: 447.
3. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/wsw.htm
4. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/LGBhealth/Pages/lesbianhealth.aspx
5. Carol, NM. Gynecologic and obstetric care for lesbians. Uptodate. January 2010
Article: Understanding HIV Infection In The Lesbian Community.
Lesbians and HIV
By David Salyer
April 2000
Over the past year I’ve met three self-identified lesbians with HIV. All three believed they could trace their infections back to a male partner. Since we already know male-to-female transmission is easier than female-to-male transmission, I started to wonder about female-to-female transmission. Are lesbians at risk of contracting HIV from one another?
The Centers for Disease Control have documented a handful of cases of woman-to-woman transmission. HIV is in vaginal juices and menstrual blood, so yes, the risk is real. Unfortunately, after two decades into this epidemic, no published studies exist examining the risks for women who have sex with women. Worse, of more than 100,000 female AIDS cases reported through 1998, the data about whether those women had sex with other women is missing in half the cases. Either the doctor didn’t ask or the patient didn’t tell. Via sloppy research or perhaps through sheer indifference, the CDC does not include female-to-female transmission in its AIDS reports. As a result, many lesbians mistakenly believe they are not at risk.
HIV is transmitted when blood, vaginal fluids, breast milk or semen from an infected person enters your bloodstream. So it follows that lesbians can be infected with HIV through having unsafe sex (with women or men), sharing injectible drug works (needles), and piercing and tattooing with unsterilized equipment. Still, given the total lack of data on transmission between women, many lesbians who only have sex with other lesbians may view the whole risk scenario as completely hypothetical.
Time for a reality check: Whether sexual behaviors are safe or unsafe depends on the chances of your partner’s bodily fluids coming in contact with your blood. Women who have sex with women might want to consider these guidelines:
- Wet kissing is safe unless either of you have sores or cuts in your mouth or bleeding gums. After you brush your teeth or floss, wait a half an hour or so before kissing.
- Touching your lover’s breast, massage, and body to body rubbing are safe — as long as no suckling of breast milk is involved.
- Cuts or sores in the mouth can increase risk during oral-vaginal (lips, tongue and mouth on vagina) and oral-anal contact (lips, tongue and mouth on anus). Unprotected oral sex is especially risky when your partner has her period, a vaginal infection or a rectal discharge involving blood. To make it safer, cover her genital area (vulva) or anus with a latex dam (also known as a dental dam), or cut open a condom to make a barrier. You can also use clear Saran Wrap as a barrier. (The non-microwavable kind only!) If a woman is infected, her menstrual blood, vaginal secretions and ejaculate will have the virus in it.
- Cuts or sores on the fingers create risk during vaginal masturbation (fingers or hand in the vagina). Cover hands with latex gloves or buy individual finger cots in the first aid section of most drug stores (they’re like little condoms for your fingers). The same applies for buttplay.
- When sex toys are used (such as vibrators or dildos), they should not be shared. Example: Don’t remove a dildo from your vagina or rectum and insert it into your partner without first putting a condom on it or disinfecting it with warm water and soap.
- Consensual S&M or rough sex is safe if there is no blood involved. If you are piercing each other, clean the needle with bleach, disinfect the body areas to be pierced with alcohol and wear latex gloves. If shaving the vaginal area, do not share razors.
Dozens and dozens of studies have been conducted on every kind of sex involving men. Now, finally, the CDC has funded a research project on lesbian HIV transmission. The study was launched in May 1999, after another unrelated study, the HIV Epidemiology Research Study of HIV Positive Women (known as HERS), found that 18 percent of the women reported having sex with women. The CDC’s project will use virus-matching techniques to identify potential cases of female-to-female transmission.
A second study funded by the National Institutes for Health is also underway. This one examines lesbian injection-drug users to determine if their risk is higher than that of heterosexual female injection-drug users.
Until that data comes in, I hope lesbians and women who sometimes have sex with other women will continue to speak out. Whenever possible and appropriate, be clear with your chosen medical professionals about your risks for transmission of HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Lesbians are often the invisible minority in this country. Indeed, research suggests that women who have sex with women are typically reluctant to share this information with their primary physician or gynecologist. Sometimes we have to encourage doctors to ask the right questions and answer our questions, regardless of how much personal squeamishness it may cause us or them.
Shocking Allegations: Did US Open Tennis Champion Rafael Nadal Admit To Cheating During The Men’s Final?
Did Nadal Admit to Cheating During the U.S. Open Final?
Nadal tells Spanish newspaper that his support team told him where to serve. Joella Klinghoffer
Rafael Nadal’s amazing accomplishment in winning his first U.S. Open and a career grand slam at age 24 is the talk of tennis fans everywhere. The final itself featured some thrilling exchanges between Nadal and a battling Novak Djokovic, as well as a heartwarming presentation ceremony where the respect between the two finalists was apparant to all. An especially nice moment came when Nadal praised Djokovic, who smiled despite the tough loss, for his positive attitude, and lauded him as a “great example for the kids.” This was well-said by Nadal, and reflected credit on both men.
Nadal’s head must be spinning these past few days, as he makes the media rounds. In addition to various appearences on American television, he granted an interview to journalist Juan Jose Mateo of the Spanish newspaper El Pais. During the course of the interview came the following puzzling exchange:
“Interviewer: You look to your bench, and you are so nervous that you ask: ‘Where?’ ‘Where do I serve?’ Was it so difficult?
Nadal: It was in the last game, when I was serving for the match . . . I didn’t know where to serve. Down the center, to the middle or to try the classic play of the wide serve and then try to hit the forehand. They told me to serve wide and that’s where I served.”
To read the full Spanish interview, click here
Unless there was an error in transcription, it appears that Nadal is freely admitting that he both asked for and received advice on where to place his serve during the last game of the match. Such an exchange is quite obviously coaching, and is against the rules. It’s extremely surprising that Nadal would admit such a thing, especially since there have been several controversies, including a recent one, regarding coaching in his career.
In 2006, Roger Federer complained that Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni Nadal was advising him from the stands, but subsequently made clear that he had no idea whether Rafa was paying attention to the advice. “My frustration was directed more at Toni”, he later explained, “I wasn’t accusing Nadal of cheating.” At this year’s Wimbledon, Nadal was fined $2,000 for receiving coaching during his third round match. At the post match press conference, Nadal allowed that “sometimes in the past Toni talk maybe too much . .. but not today, in my opinion.”
However what Nadal appears to admit to in El Pais goes far beyond having an enthusiastic coach who struggles to hold his tongue. He’s stating that during a stressful time in the match, he both requested and received tactical instruction from his support group. That’s cheating.
Given that Nadal was already ahead by a double break, the exchange surely did not affect the ultimate outcome of the match. He was on the cusp of a historic achievement, his mind paralyzed with nerves. Still, as he eloquently pointed out during the presentation ceremonies, top athletes are often role models for kids. Positive attitude is important, but so is following the rules. Unless he has been unfairly misquoted, Nadal owes the tennis world a public apology.
Joella klinghoffer
Wonderful News: You Go Girl Oscar Winning Actress Jennifer Hudson Says She Lost 20 More Pounds!!!
Jennifer Hudson: ‘I lost 20 more pounds’
- “I didn’t expect to go as far as I did!” Hudson says
- She launched a campaign, which teaches families how to prepare healthy low-cost meals
- Hudson marked her 29th birthday on September 12
(PEOPLE.com) — Since she revealed her amazing body transformation in April, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson has lost an additional 20 lbs.
“I didn’t expect to go as far as I did!” the Weight Watchers spokesperson told PEOPLE in New York City, where she launched the Lose for Good campaign, which teaches families how to prepare healthy low-cost meals in an effort to help fight hunger and obesity.
“People are like, ‘Okay Jennifer don’t lose anything else!'” Hudson, who marked her 29th birthday on September 12, still hasn’t gotten used to seeing her slimmer reflection in the mirror.
“I go into the store and they try to put me in 4s and 6s and I’m like [she looks over both shoulders] ‘Who are you trying to talk to?'” says the former size 16 star. “My mind hasn’t caught up yet.” But no matter what, “I’ve always been a person who’s comfortable with myself whether it’s plus-size, small size it doesn’t matter,” says Hudson.
Sad News: Lindsay Lohan May Not Comeback She Admits To Failing A Drug Test!!!
Lindsay Lohan Admits Failing Drug Test
By Marisa Laudadio
Saturday September 18, 2010 01:40 AM EDT
Lindsay Lohan
Pool/Getty
No more excuses.
Lindsay Lohan admitted Friday night that she failed a random drug test – an offense that could send her back to jail for 30 days.
“This was certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I’m prepared to face the consequences,” the actress writes on her Twitter page.
Lohan, 24, who was released from rehab Aug. 24 after serving nearly two weeks in jail in a DUI case, thanks her fans and family for their support. She says she’s “keeping my faith” and remains “hopeful.”
“Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn’t go away over night,” she writes. “I am working hard to overcome it and am taking positive steps forward every single day and doing what I must do to prevent any mishaps in the future.”
Lohan says she’s ready to go back before Superior Court Judge Elden Fox. So far, the judge has not yet set a hearing in the matter.
Shocking Celebrity News: Actor Admits To Stabbing His Ex Girlfriend Twenty Times Because She Moved On With A New Man!!!
’40-Year-Old Virgin’ actor: I stabbed girlfriend by mistake
- “40-Year-Old Virgin” actor Shelley Malil testifies about stabbing his girlfriend 20 times
- Malil insists he never intended to kill or hurt Kendra Beebe
- The trial will continue with cross-examination Monday
(PEOPLE.com) — The “40-Year-Old Virgin” actor Shelley Malil testified Thursday he stabbed his girlfriend 20 times when he wrongly thought that she was somebody else going after him in the dark.
“I’m sorry,” Malil, 45, said in a Vista, California, courtroom. “I had no idea. I saw the pictures (of her wounds) for the first time, I was stunned. When I look at those pictures, I still can’t believe the knife I was holding was responsible for all those injuries.”
Taking the stand in his own defense, the actor insisted he never intended to kill or hurt Kendra Beebe, 38, at her San Diego County house one night in August 2008. But then “chaos” broke out, some of which he says he still can’t remember clearly.
PEOPLE.com: Actor arrested in attempted-murder probe
Malil, who played one of Steve Carell’s electronics store coworkers in the movie, pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and residential burglary. He could get 21 years to life in prison if convicted.
Malil told the jury that when he arrived at Beebe’s house, he found her sipping wine with her pal David Maldonado. Malil says he felt threatened because he thought Maldonado was about to come after him.
“I heard the chair behind me backing up,” he recalls. “I reach for the knife. … I grab half the handle and he’s pulling my arm, and I’m pulling away from him.”
PEOPLE.com: Tom Brady walks away unhurt after car collision
After a tumble, Malil says he realized Maldonado no longer had the knife. “I assume he’s going for something else,” he says. “I follow him to the kitchen.”
But on the way, Malil says Maldonado was headed to his car. “I’m almost positive this guy’s got a gun and coming after me,” he says. “I come around the corner. It’s eerily quiet. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I get hit from the back on the side of the head. It felt like cold granite countertop.”
That’s when Malil, still carrying a knife at this point, started slashing out in defense in the dark. “It was going crazy,” he says. “It seemed like it was going for a minute.”
It wasn’t until hearing Beebe shout, “Call 911!” that Malil realized she was the one he was stabbing.
PEOPLE.com: Britney dismisses accuser as a fame seeker
“That’s the first time I look and see it’s Kendra I’m fighting with,” he says.
The trial will continue with cross-examination Monday, and closing statements are expected Tuesday.
Gayblackcanada 