Lesbian and bisexual girls may not be taking steps to protect themselves during sex with other females, a study finds. A focus group was made up of sexually and non-sexually active American teenage girls between 14 and 18 years of age. The study found the teens also didn't know what tools, such as dental dams, are available to them for protection. The was done in conjunction with the Centre for Innovative Public Health an American non-profit that develops technology-based health interventions for sexual minority youths. Creating an inclusive environment, where teachers take the initiative to talk about sexual minorities may also make students feel more comfortable asking questions, Gilber said. A new program is also helping teachers develop lesson plans in all subjects in Western Canada.

Gynecologic Issues for Lesbians

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Both health care professionals and the medical research establishment have historically ignored the so-called sexual minorities, including lesbians. Much of what was known was derived from anecdotal experience and volunteer surveys. As a basic principle, most health concerns of lesbians are no different from those of heterosexual women. However, there are unique factors in four areas. First, the sexual behaviors of the lesbian include all those available to the heterosexual woman except for penile—vaginal intercourse, and she needs to know if these behaviors place her at risk for disease. This question is most urgent regarding human immunodeficiency virus HIV transmission risk.
More from Sex & Relationships
Illustration by Shawna X. It should come as no surprise to Broadly readers that most of the world is organized around men. A man, Jacques Derrida, even created the word to express the idea: phallogocentrism. In short, the phallus defines the world, and for millennia it has defined sex. The insertion of a penis into a woman has been the defining line between virginity and its absence. How then, could two women—neither of whom happen to posses a penis—lose their virginity? How do they cross the slippery rubicon from innocence to experience? For instance, Blank points out, the Greeks thought all the human plumbing was one tube—nose connected to throat connected to vagina connected to butt hole—and that a woman's whole physiology would thus change after being penetrated for the first time.
Arch Intern Med. We performed this study to assess whether women who identify themselves as lesbians have a history of sexual activities with men that have implications for receipt of preventive health screening. The sample included self-identified lesbians from all 50 US states.