Sex Toys Archive

Safer sex advice says “Use a Condom.” What if Your Partner Won’t?

Posted on August 15, 2011.

“I think you need to have something about how men don’t want to wear condoms,” said Carol. The “Use a condom” message is spouted by HIV prevention educators (including myself) the world over, but we know it’s not always reasonable advice. There are situations where women and men alike can’t use a condom.

Gals I Adore

Posted on August 8, 2011.

I’m fascinated by things our amazing bodies can do and what to do to help them when things aren’t going too well. Luckily, I get paid to do this: I work in HIV education/ prevention. There are some folks I visit online on a regular basis online, and I sing their praises for their generous and provocative thoughts, questions and observations.

Relationships that Count

Posted on June 27, 2011.

I had the best afternoon last week. I was in a room full of soon-to-be doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and counselors to talk about sexual health, specifically HIV, and what’s so different for women. Patients, clients, whatever they’re going to call them- it’s the relationships that count.

Sex Education or Silence?

Posted on May 9, 2011.

Have I ever mentioned the old Herman cartoon where a woman is at her doctor’s office? She says, “They had much nicer diseases when I was a girl.” Yeah, right. STIs are old news, except for HIV (although it’s been around longer than you might think). So talking about them is good IMO.

Lube To Get a Harm Reduction Boost with Microbicide

Posted on March 14, 2011.

Readers here will know I sing the praises of lube. Lubes can go a long way in helping to make sex more comfortable. It can be fun, make things slide a little smoother, and decrease the risk of tearing vaginal or rectal tissue, a risk factor in getting STIs. Using it with condoms can [...]

STI Smarts and Compassion

Posted on February 28, 2011.

I was surprised to read about a recent survey in the U.K. that revealed 20% of the respondents didn’t know that HIV could be transmitted between men and women during unprotected sex (up from 9% ten years ago). Whaaat? It’s 2011, people. I’d hoped HIV awareness was further along than that. When it comes to [...]

Condom Conundrum for Women: What to Wear?

Posted on November 8, 2010.

The trouble with condoms is that women don’t wear them. Yes, there are female condoms, and I’ll get to that in a moment. But the condom (we don’t even say “male”) is the standard: cheap, available, reliable and well-known. It’s been around for ages and has been the cultural indicator of sexual activity. If [...]

Don’t Get Your Safe Sex Info at the Movies

Posted on August 9, 2010.

We talked about the sex scenes (no spoiler alert needed) after seeing The Kids are All Right, which we both liked and disliked for various reasons. Bronwyn and I work with HIV+ women, so we can’t help but discuss how sexuality is portrayed in movies, and what kind of safe sex messaging does and doesn’t play out. I think that anyone over fourteen can get cynical about messaging around sex when you watch movies, whether you work in the sex ed field or not.