Current Events > New research: Most gay/bi girls did not know you could get STIs from lesbian sex

(+) Yeah! (+)

Having sex with anyone can mean you might contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI), but according to a new study, most LGBT girls don't think sex with other girls counts.

Researchers from the U.S. non-profit group Centre for Innovative Public Health Research, led the study, along with those from the University of British Columbia and City University of New York.

They learned that most teens knew little about how to have safe sex with other girls, and few used any sort of protection. One said she "literally had never heard of dental dams," which are thin sheets, often made of latex, that protect against STIs during oral sex.

Most sexual health clinics have dental dams, but anyone can make one by cutting up a condom. One of the girls interviewed in the study said she had never thought that sex with a female partner carried a risk of infection. "Like laying down a sheet of plastic over her vagina just doesn't seem very sexy."18-year-old participant in study

Several were also of the opinion that women were more trustworthy. "Because there was no risk of pregnancy with female partners, these sexual relationships were generally conceptualized as less risky than sex with boys," the study authors wrote.

And those who knew about protection left it out during sex because they thought it would be less pleasurable or ruin the experience. "Like laying down a sheet of plastic over her vagina just doesn't seem very sexy," one 18-year-old girl wrote.

The study authors cited evidence that lesbian and bisexual adolescent girls have a higher risk of STI infection and even pregnancy compared to their straight peers. And it's not just teen girls that self-identify as queer that could be at risk.

While 3.5 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 13 and 29 identified as a sexual minority in one survey, 7.5 per cent of the heterosexual respondents said they'd had sexual experiences with those of the same sex potentially widening the pool of girls who may not be protecting themselves.

Young people ages 15 to 24 make up half of the new STI diagnoses in the U.S. every year, but are only a quarter of the country's sexually active population, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

And in Canada, the rate of reported chlamydia infections among girls 15 to 19 was the second-highest of any group in 2013, second only to women ages 20 to 24. Many of the study participants said that their sex education didn't tell them much about sex with girls.

"...When my girlfriend asked her sex-ed teacher how lesbians should have safe sex the teacher looked at her and just moved on. No one teaches lesbian teens about stuff like that," one 18-year-old wrote.

Study senior author Elizabeth Saewyc said the research shows that school curricula need to be more inclusive so that queer girls can make healthy sexual choices.

Full Articles: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/01/11/most-lesbian-bisexual-girls-don-t-know-they-can-get-stis-from-other-girls-study_a_23330148/



80/80

I actually didn't want to link to Huffing Post but all the other articles said pretty much the same thing except with NSFW images.

It's a fair point tho. Not only do many schools not even have sex ed, I'd imagine the ones that do treat homosexuality the same way chefs treat well done steak. It's there and fine if you want it, but they don't want to talk about it.
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Like laying down a sheet of plastic over her vagina just doesn't seem very sexy," one 18-year-old girl wrote.

Shes right, you know.
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Tbh I never even thought about it
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Smashingpmkns posted...

Tbh I never even thought about it

And there's a good chance your daughter won't either and that's a health risk
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shockthemonkey posted...

God damn, who actually teaches real, helpful, inclusive sex ed?

You know if you are concerned you could start teaching it
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The study authors cited evidence that lesbian and bisexual adolescent girls have a higher risk of STI infection and even pregnancy compared to their straight peers

.

Wat
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shockthemonkey posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

God damn, who actually teaches real, helpful, inclusive sex ed?

You know if you are concerned you could start teaching it

Its not nearly as simple as you know people arent being educated so magically teach them.

But you knew that.

I didn't say it was simple.

I was being serious. Is it something you've ever looked into?
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Safe sex isnt sexy. Simple as that. Sex is instictive and the more planning kind of takes away.
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LordMarshal posted...

Safe sex isnt sexy. Simple as that. Sex is instictive and the more planning kind of takes away.

This is a dumb point and always has been.

If it was this cut and dry then the results should be equal across the board.

However it is not, as research like this is pointing out, gays tend to be much less secure when it comes to safe sex. As do aged 24-34 women.

How is it "simple" and "instinctive" yet differs based on social trends or age or race or sexuality?

If it's simple and instinctive then everyone should be having unsafe sex in roughly the same amounts, yet those are given proper sex ed do not do this.
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shockthemonkey posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

God damn, who actually teaches real, helpful, inclusive sex ed?

You know if you are concerned you could start teaching it

Its not nearly as simple as you know people arent being educated so magically teach them.

But you knew that.

I didn't say it was simple.

I was being serious. Is it something you've ever looked into?

Ive looked into what it takes to teach a local class and its not easy at all, and that didnt even the red tape of parents complaining that their kids are learning about sex. Both my parents were teachers and involved with schools even when not teaching and doing anything with sex ed is a giant hassle that will be fought from every side.

Kids can be a bigger hurdle. The article surprises me because I remember my sex ed classes 25 years ago saying this was possible (though at the time is was for male on female oral that was the larger concern), yet like good condom advice, some people just think it will never happen to them so everything gets ignored no matter how well you try and teach it.
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shockthemonkey posted...

For mine they separated the boys and girls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShwM7gBGjWs

"D" in this case if for disease
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There is no good evidence to show that using a dental dam (...) reduces the transmissions of STIs or HIV between WSW.

https://books.google.fi/books?id=lO5BND02eBwC&pg=PA330&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
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Hornezz posted...

The study authors cited evidence that lesbian and bisexual adolescent girls have a higher risk of STI infection and even pregnancy compared to their straight peers

.

Wat

Yeah are we not gonna address this? I get STI but wtf pregnancy?
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legendarylemur posted...

Hornezz posted...

The study authors cited evidence that lesbian and bisexual adolescent girls have a higher risk of STI infection and even pregnancy compared to their straight peers

.

Wat

Yeah are we not gonna address this? I get STI but wtf pregnancy?

I would not be surprised at all if Bisexual girls or expertimenting lesbian girls were far less likely to use protection when having sex.

And more likely to have sex too
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Oh I didn't notice they didn't include bisexuals in that sentence
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legendarylemur posted...

Oh I didn't notice they didn't include bisexuals in that sentence

What, they did
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