We do suggest that folks who are sexually active have regular STI screenings; that's something you can generally talk about at a regular doctor appointment. In this case I don't think you need to run out and get tests right away, but maybe now's a good time to get started on that regular testing sch...

Have any of y'all seen the Gender of the Day blog? It's fun gender-humor tumblr that runs gender-submissions from trans folks. There's a lot of content and I find it a little hit-and-miss, but there's something deeply satisfying for me, as a person whose gender is often a bit hard to pin down, to se...

That does sound pretty upsetting, and I'm sorry that these feelings of guilt are so strong. Is this something you've talked to your boyfriend about in detail? I think that's a good place to start. You say that types of sex other than intercourse don't make you feel better about not having intercours...

At this point, your period's late enough that a pregnancy test would be accurate, so if you haven't taken one yet, I think that's a good first step. We can't know if you're pregnant or not, but intercourse - even for a very brief period of time - does pose a pregnancy risk, so there was a risk with ...

It can be hard for us to know exactly what the cause might be. It could be that she's experiencing some breast growth; often there will be some soreness or tenderness when growth is happening. But honestly, even if someone rarely experiences breast tenderness mid-cycle, that doesn't mean it's imposs...

Redskies, that dog picture was exactly what I needed to see this morning, thank you.

Even if you're taking a few pills late (and with the combination pill, you have a 12-hour grace period before a pill is officially "late"), you will still have a considerable amount of protection from pregnancy. It's possible that your pills would be slightly less effective this month, but...

Yep! Even a small break will be made larger quickly due to friction. If you don't see or notice one you can feel confident that the condom stayed intact.

Generally any fluid you see on the outside of a condom will be lubrication or vaginal fluids. They really are designed not to leak, so without a break there's no reason to assume anything from inside the condom got out!

You know, when folks choose to do sexual things they don't really enjoy "for the sake of the relationship," it's not unusual for it to feel like more and more of a chore as time goes on, because sex that's just not enjoyable is... well, not fun or enjoyable. It could be that the pain durin...

You could certainly ask if she wants to hang out one-on-one sometimes, if hanging out with her boyfriend and this guy isn't as fun. But for sure, it sounds like there's some ongoing conflict between the two of you, so if you want to just do a slow fade and not see her as much, that's fine too! Maybe...

Assuming he did keep a condom on at all times during intercourse, your risk would be quite low; even if he had fluids on his fingers that wouldn't be a risk, and it sounds like he ejaculated well away from your vagina. If he did take the condom off during intercourse, there is a bit more of a risk, ...

I've just started making shawls, including a fairly intricate lace one, so right now that's my favorite. But I'm working on improving my skills a lot lately, so I think any sort of challenge is welcome! I've enjoyed making some simple socks and am looking forward to trying out some of the more compl...

It's really not ok for her to try to push you into a relationship with anyone , and if she keeps this up it's totally fine to call her on it and ask her to stop. It sounds like she's had a history of trying WAY too hard to dictate who you're friends with, and it may be time to really clearly talk to...

Honestly, your reasons for not being really interested in dating this guy are less important than the fact that you seem to pretty clearly not want to date him. That's really the most important thing here, I think. Even if someone were to decide that your reasons are wrong or shallow (and I'm not ma...

Hi kaemariie, This really sounds like a rough situation and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. You can generally trust that the doctor performed tests on you correctly, although if you have any followup questions about how the test was performed you could ask your doctor when you discuss treatment or...

No problem. And just so you know, longer questions will be received by the text service, it's just that they're harder to respond to because sometimes they come out of order and it's harder to have a long conversation there.

As long as you follow directions on pregnancy tests, you can trust those results. I know that it seems helpful to hear our reassurances again and again, but actually coming and asking for the same answers repeatedly like this is going to be worse for your anxiety, in the long run, than it would be f...

No, condoms are designed so that they contain any fluid inside them. They wouldn't be effective otherwise!
Did you ask this question on text too? We definitely prefer that folks ask in just one place so we can keep things straight and don't have to answer the same question multiple times.

It's certainly common for intensity of pms symptoms to vary from cycle to cycle. We can't know for sure what's up but yes, it's possible that you're just having more breast tenderness than usual this time. Maybe just keep an eye on things and if you find that this pain is persisting for weeks on end...

There's some general info on choosing condoms here that might be useful: Your Map to the Condom Aisle Since the condoms are sliding up & off your partner's penis, getting a snugger-fit condom with a smaller ring size might help!

Does fiber art count as art? I'm going to say it does. I've been a crocheter for over a decade but when I learned to knit three or four years ago I really got into it (partly because it's easier on my bad wrists). I don't design patterns of my own at this point, but I really enjoy figuring out the r...

I always have a hard time pinning this down, "love" feels like such a huge thing that it's hard to break down into describable components. For me, a huge component of being in a loving relationship comes down to comfort: comfort in talking about intimate personal information, in bringing u...

It's certainly normal and ok to have sex on your mind a lot when you're finding it pleasurable! I do think that as time goes on it may become easier for you to deal with impatience or frustration at times when you want to have sex with your partner and he isn't in the mood, or circumstances are othe...

I really love hedgehogs. Alas, they are not legal pets in California, so I haven't had one as a pet in quite a while. But I love looking at pictures and videos of hedgehogs online! My favorite places are Hedgehog Calendar and Hedgehogs of Asgard . It's hard not to smile when you see a video of a lit...