Below are three assignments to help facilitate reflection and conversations about safer sex; “A Sexual Education Reflection,” “The Initial Conversation,” and “Reviewing Your Lab Results.”
If you have read “A Matter of Trust: Safe Sex Conversations” and “Sexually Repressed or Sexually Disciplined?” you may already be familiar with these assignments. I have compiled them here in one place for readers to access independently without all of the background information from which these assignments were derived.
I believe that participating in self-reflective practices, having conversations with our sex partners, adequate testing, and understanding our results will we be able to reduce the transmission of STIs and prevent the stigmatization of people with STIs.
The more we talk about STIs, sex, and testing, the more common we will know STIs are, and the more we will be able to trust each other.
A Sexual Education Reflection Assignment
In a notebook, answer the following questions:
- Where do your earliest memories about sex come from?
- What did you learn about sex in school? Church? Friends?
- Take five minutes to write about those specific memories
- How are those experiences shaping or not shaping your present ideas about sex?
- What do you think about sex in general?
- What do you think about having sex?
- How do you feel when you have sex?
If you have a partner, ask your partner the questions above.
- Do you feel like your ideas about sex are similar or different from your partner’s ideas of sex?
- How does this information help you to understand your partner better?
The Initial Conversation Assignment
Sit down with your partner and engage in an open and honest conversation about sex before having sex by answering the questions below.
You are not engaging in this conversation to determine whether or not they are good or bad people, but to determine the level of care, you will need to take with each other if one or both of you test(ed) positive for an STI.
If either one of you tests positive for an STI, you may want to go to the doctor together to help you both determine the next steps for your sexual health and relationship that will keep you both safe.
- When was the last time you were tested for STIs?
- What were the results of your last STI test? Don’t be afraid to ask to see their results.
- Do you know what STIs you were tested for?
- How many sexual partners have you had since your last test? How safe were you? Do you usually use condoms? Dental dam?
- Would you be willing to get tested with me if I asked?
Reviewing Your Lab Results Assignment
If you haven’t been tested recently, then it is time to call your primary care physician, gynecologist, or local clinic, and get tested. Then do the following:
- Take a look at your last STI lab results by logging into your patient portal or contacting your doctor’s office to see which STIs you were tested for and which ones were missing from the test.
- If you noticed you weren’t tested for one or more STIs, talk with your doctor about whether or not you should be tested. Remember, most STIs are asymptomatic or present symptoms that aren’t as obvious as we think they would be.
- Take the time to look at, touch, and examine your genitals. Have you noticed any changes? Really think about how you’ve been feeling to see if there have been any changes in your body. The doctor will surely ask if you’ve had any symptoms, and it’s important to take the time to think about whether or not you really have.
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Previously Published on medium
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