Sexual Health
Our sexuality is part of our being human. Intimacy, passion, and commitment are all part of our sexual lives from infancy through old age. Healthy relationships, reproduction, and disease prevention are all connected to our sexuality as well.
For LGBTQ people, it’s important to be aware of how anti-gay and anti-transgender discrimination can complicate achieving and maintaining our sexual health. Embarrassment that stems from stigma can challenge our bringing up concerns or asking questions to physicians or other health care providers. Further, few LGBTQ people are raised in environments that have adequate information or healthy attitudes about same-sex relationships or about the wide variation of possible gender expression.
There are many areas of interest for LGBTQ in sexual health: reproductive justice, sexuality education, healthy relationships, sexually transmitted disease prevention, HIV prevention, sex and aging, use of erotic materials, sexual obsessions and compulsions, and more.
Men, women, and transgender people all have concerns about sexuality.
- How best to get pregnant or how best to avoid it
- Low sex drive or sex overdrive
- How to find a sexually-fulfilling relationship
- Worries about sexual functioning
- Understanding common changes in sexual health during aging
- How normal are my sexual organs
- How to maintain a healthy and enjoyable sex life at any age
- Maintaining exclusive sexual relationships
- Talking to our children about sex and our sexual orientation
- Addressing sexually transmitted infections
While it is normal to have concerns about sexuality and sexual functioning, these issues are further complicated by bias and discrimination in society and in our health care and educational institutions. But we know that LGBTQ people in Wisconsin want to have healthy sex lives that they can discuss with health professionals who are trained and competent.
Learn more about our programs related to sexual health: