Sexual health

Analysis and Comment (12)

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Women whose partners accepted their bodily changes after cancer are more likely to feel positive and sexy. Christophe Karaba/EPA

Sex, sexuality and cancer: let’s break the taboo

By Jane Ussher, University of Western Sydney

Angelina Jolie has attracted much attention for revealing her recent experience of a double mastectomy. But her personal attractiveness draws attention to a neglected aspect of cancer treatment and survival…
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Up to 80% of people who contract herpes remain completely asymptomatic. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is herpes?

By Dyani Lewis, University of Melbourne

When it comes to sexual health, the virus that causes those tingling blisters and angry sores of genital herpes is often the most reviled and feared. Most cases of genital herpes in humans are caused…
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Some people need assistance and support to express their sexuality in satisfying ways. Image from shutterstock.com

Why the NDIS should cover the services of sex workers

By Matthew Yau, James Cook University

Sexual expression is a fundamental part of being human, with most of us able to choose our sexual partners and, to varying degrees, meet our intimacy needs and desires. While not all people with disabilities…
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Spermatorrhoea was said to be ‘the most dire, excruciating and deadly maladies to which the human frame is subject.’ Guillaume Duchenne

Spermatorrhoea, the lesser known male version of hysteria

By Elizabeth Stephens

MEDICAL HISTORIES – The second instalment in our short series examines how the spermatorrhoea epidemic changed the scope of medicine. Every period arguably invents its own illnesses, medical disorders…
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Starting a conversation about sex early in a child’s education is important. Image from www.shutterstock.com

Worried about the sexualisation of children? Teach sex ed earlier

By Jenny Walsh, La Trobe University

When should sex education begin for children? According to some parent groups who advised the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), not until grades 5 and 6. Under this pressure…
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Around 90% of men with erectile dysfunction have a predominantly physical basis for their condition. Horia Varlan

Monday’s medical myth: erectile dysfunction is all in your mind

By Doug Lording, Monash University

It’s perfectly normal for men to have an occasional problem gaining or sustaining an erection. But for some men, these difficulties are frequent and severe, making penetration impossible. This condition…
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FIFO sex workers shouldn’t be blamed for rising rates of HIV and STIs. High heel image from www.shutterstock.com

Mining, sex work and STIs: why force a connection?

By John Scott and Victor Minichiello

Can the mining boom be blamed for the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in some states? The Australian Medical Association thinks so, with its Queensland president Dr Richard Kidd…
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Raising the handlebars a little compared with the height of the saddle can reduce genital numbing in female cyclists. Bruce Thomson

Cyclists beware! Pressure from seats can do lasting damage

By Ian Gibbins, Flinders University

Riding bicycles is undoubtedly good for us: great for fitness, cardiovascular health, and burning off those delicious high-energy foods when we over-indulge. But a range of insidious chronic ailments can…

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