“Can You Get An STI If Both People Have Never Had Sex???” —a question box answer by Dr. Joanna Palmieri

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“Can You Get An STI If Both People Have Never Had Sex???” —a question box answer by Dr. Joanna Palmieri

So the short answer has to start with,”How do you define having sex?” Sex encompasses the physical activity between people that involves touching each other’s genitals. That touching can happen in many different ways including genital to genital, anus or mouth, as well as fingers and even objects.  All of these can lead to the transmission of an STI or sexually transmitted infection, so let’s define that while we are at it.  An STI results from the exchange of infected bodily fluids or skin cells. Bodily fluids including semen as well as pre-ejaculate, vaginal fluids and blood. Other STIs can be passed to partners via skin to skin contact with an infected body area.  

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Iceland’s Outstanding Progressive Values About Sexuality--by Dr. Allie Melendez

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Iceland’s Outstanding Progressive Values About Sexuality--by Dr. Allie Melendez

Sprakkar - an ancient Icelandic word meaning “outstanding women”

Eliza Reid, The First Lady of Iceland, has lots to say about Iceland’s historic and present attitude toward women to give us non-Icelanders proof that closing the gender gap is possible. Upon hearing that Eliza was promoting her book, Secrets of the Sprakkar, at a local temple in Los Angeles, I proceeded to order a ticket, purchase her book, and binge it. Like the lifelong learner I am, I did my homework.

Six years ago, Eliza was given a role with little to no job description when her husband, Gudni Johannesson, was elected President of Iceland.

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Destigmatizing Pleasure to Dismantle Sexual Shame

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Destigmatizing Pleasure to Dismantle Sexual Shame

Even as a very young child, I was aware of the stigma and taboo surrounding the subject of sex. Society’s discomfort with sex was apparent in the hushed tones people tended to use when speaking of it; it was apparent in the flustered demeanor my parents adopted when I would ask a question about a line in a movie, or a song; and it was apparent in the fact that, when I was 10 years old, my mom took me out of the house (“an outing, just the two of us”) in order to have “the talk” in private.

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