Sexual Health Education
Body Image involves our perception, imagination, emotions, and physical sensations of and about our bodies. It is psychological in nature, and much more influenced by self-esteem than by actual physical attractiveness as judged by others. Some ways to have a healthy body image is to; eat when you are hungry, and to find an individual and/or team sport or activity that you can enjoy and engage in. Decide how you wish to spend your time and energy on positive body image while enjoying family, friends, school and, most importantly, life.
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Sexual Orientation is a term frequently used to describe a person’s romantic, emotional or sexual attraction to another person. A person attracted to another person of the same sex is said to have a homosexual orientation and may be called gay (both men and women) or lesbian. Individuals attracted to persons of the other sex are said to have a heterosexual orientation. Sexual orientation falls along a continuum and individuals who are attracted to both men and women are said to be bisexual.
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Healthy Relationships & Healthy Dating
Some tips for having a healthy relationship include open and honest communication, being kind to one another, listening and paying attention to your partner, splitting the responsibility, giving compliments to your partner, and by just being yourself. These along with other tips can preserve your relationship and making it stronger.
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Sexually Transmitted Infections and How to Avoid Them
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are infections you can get by having sex with someone who has an infection. These infections are usually passed from person to person through vaginal intercourse, but they can also be passed through anal sex, oral sex, and/or skin-to-skin contact. You can avoid STIs by not having sex. If you have sex, you can lower your risk of getting an STI by only having sex with someone who isn't having sex with anyone else and who doesn't have an STI. You should always use condoms when having sex, including oral and anal sex.
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“Safer Sex” Practices
Safe Sex practices are methods that can protect you from viruses and diseases when having sexual intercourse. Some methods for safe sex practices include never having any type of sexual intercourse without condoms. Refrain from excessive use of alcohol and drugs as it can alter discretion and increase risky sexual behavior.
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“Protection” during sexual intercourse is most familiarly known as ‘condom use’. Sometimes, the main interest of condom use is to help avoid pregnancy. What should also be noted is that condom use can also help reduce the risk of spread and transmission of STIs. However, condom use does not prevent 100% STIs and HIV transmission it is a great step to take to reduce that risk. A condom acts as a barrier or wall to keep blood, or semen, or vaginal fluids from passing from one person to the other during intercourse. These fluids can harbor germs such as HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). If no condom is used, the germs can pass from the infected partner to the uninfected partner.
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- Male Contraception- A male condom prevents the male partner's semen from entering their partner's vagina or anus, and also protects the male partner from coming into contact with a female partner's vaginal fluids or male or female partner's blood.
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- Female Contraception – Did you know there are also female designed condoms? The female condom creates a barrier between the woman's vagina and her partner's penis or mouth, which prevents the mixing of fluids during sexual activity. In doing so, the female condom provides users with a high degree of protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection spread via genital fluids. The female condom can also be used as a barrier for transmission of fluids and protection during anal sex.
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Student Health Services can assist with any questions and provide educational information pertaining to reproductive health and sexual health education. Networks also include Planned Parenthood and Valley AIDS Council. Campus class presentations or programming on any of the topics mentioned above are also available. To schedule a presentation, call (956) 882-8951.