Hi Rose99, I’m glad to hear that you’re finding a way to explore sex without triggering anxiety, and that you can explore your sexuality in the process! I’m glad it’s a platform where you feel safe too. If I’m understanding these experiences correctly, it sounds like you’re exploring a few different...

Hey there Brian, I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling anxious about this again. Is this pregnancy related as well, or is there another anxiety too? As others have said, it may help to take a break from sexual activities that make you anxious until you feel more comfortable with the risks involved, but s...

Hey there Dontaskneverask, The whole conversation around “what is healthy porn watching” is an interesting one because it can get tied up with moral panic about things like sex, porn, and masturbation. Truthfully, there is nothing wrong with consuming sexual media, even if you’re consuming a lot of ...

Hey there Hedera, No worries at all! You’re right, it sounds like it could be spotting from the end of your period. I don’t believe that swimming in the ocean could impact someone enough to make them spot or bleed, but certainly spotting can happen after your period has finished. You can keep the po...

Ah, I hear you on the rules of that platform. It sounds like it would be hard to use those platforms to actually explain what’s going on, especially if you’d have to use euphemisms and such. Too, legal terminology is really important for you given this particular situation, so I’m glad you’ve found ...

Hey there Donnwannago, This is a perfectly good place to post this! And I hear you on how *absolutely* ridiculously uninformed some people are on talking about rape, and how that’s been really impacting how you can get support. Your experience reaching out to several platforms for help and getting r...

Hi shartyfartpoop, and welcome to the boards :) I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a pretty tumultuous last few years in this relationship, but I’m glad that you’re here and that getting this out is relieving. When you say “this is a crime, I committed a crime:” As you’re a minor currently and he is ...

Hi Phenolphtalein, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with depression recently. It sounds like you’ve been checking in with yourself before initiating sex, which is a really good thing to do always. I’m glad, too, that your partner listens when you say no. Does your partner know about your dia...

Hey there Brian, I hear your anxiety, but I want to reassure you that because it’s only been two days so far, her period technically isn’t late yet. A “normal” menstrual cycle can often vary by a few days, so this is still within a normal range. Too, as Cat said, it doesn’t seem like the activity yo...

No problem at all! Thank you, too, for sharing that resource around — it’s a great one

Hey there MistahCFS, I think there can be many reasons to have sex, one of the biggest being to experience pleasure. However, as others have said, pleasure is a really broad concept and, in practice, it’s actually quite a personalized experience. Some folks may experience pleasure during sex when th...

Update: The spacing is all nice and smooth again! Thank you to Jacob for fixing )

Hi Kimchiadobo@02, So, when you experienced pain during sex, was it at the entrance of the vaginal canal, or deeper? If at the entrance — when you’re starting to explore vaginal entry, it’s a good practice to use plenty of lubricant, and to go slowly to avoid bleeding and tears. Often, it can help t...

Ah, I hear you! It’s definitely good to start slow, as you’re doing already. Exploring other areas of the vulva before vaginal entry may help as well — and if you’d like more resources for foreplay to make insertion easier, we can send those along to you. Moving forward, I would also ask her if she ...

Hey there Jaylen23, As Latha said, bleeding during sex can occur when there’s too much friction and not enough lubricant, which can cause small tears in and around the vaginal canal. It’s really important to make sure both partners are aroused and prepared for sex before sex starts, including making...

Hi there Justnobody,

Ah, I see what you mean! Thank you for letting us know. I’ll pass this to the development team to get the spacing all sorted, and I’ll let you know when it’s good to go.

Hi there! I completely hear you, and it is really messed up that these negative messages about sex still exist. I know it’s really hard to let these messages go. Truthfully, the expectation that we can just let these messages roll off our backs is a big ask given how pervasive these ideas are, and h...

Hi there Bowler, Is the desire to wear a harness because the sensory experience feels nice? Too, is it about identity presentation or not so much? As Cat said, your comfort is most important here, but I think one reason people may be uncomfortable is if they feel that a sexual scene is being enacted...

Hey there Bowler, Could you clarify a bit of what being public with this interest would look like for you? We can definitely talk about presenting in public a certain way, but would be helpful to know exactly what you mean first. For example, are you asking whether it’s okay to wear a certain item i...

Hi there Guitarwizard, and welcome to the boards! I’m sorry to hear about the disparaging comment your mom made, and that you’re feeling a lot of guilt around sexual decision-making. Truthfully, there’s a looooot of crappy (read: unhelpful and actively hurtful) messaging surrounding sex and sexualit...

Hi sour_snakes, I’m sorry to hear the update about your older brother and the stress surrounding it. How did your parents react? I know it’s really heavy feeling the weight of all these different things going on at home, but I want to emphasize that your safety is most important here. I hear you tha...

You are very welcome! We’re happy to be able to help.

Hi there Gortiz, I think assessing the risks involved with any sexual activity is maybe not much like roulette because sexual risk isn’t a binary “win or lose” scenario. When taking into account various sources of risk like STI and pregnancy, you’ll find that with each activity, the risks involved e...

Hi there Gortiz, Plan B would still be effective in this scenario, however as Heather and Sam said, there is (EDIT: low risk, not no risk) to pregnancy here. Cramping can be caused by a number of factors, and may be related to either painful sex or the menstrual cycle. On the condom flip: here’s a h...

Hi Graham, I hear you that it can feel particularly isolating if the people in your immediate group are experiencing different responses. It sounds like you know that people have a range of sexual responses, but it’s still hard not to compare. Truthfully, I think there’s a lot in life and in media t...