Posts Tagged ‘sense project’

Ask Anything: Seal

How to break seal of a girl??

This is a question that we often get in classroom workshops, and it’s great that we got this as a web question because there are a lot of myths circulating about this topic.

I’m assuming that by “seal,” you’re referring to the hymen, which is a membrane surrounding the vaginal opening. This membrane tends to wear out as one gets older, through day-to-day activities like walking, playing sports, horseback riding, or masturbation, all of which can reduce the size or consistency of the hymen. To make sure that you have a good visual, in a vast majority of cases, hymens are not like a glass window that has to be broken, but more like a donut or a large spider web.

So, by the time somebody with a vagina decides to have (vaginal) penetrative sex for the first time there are often already openings in their hymen. We often attribute the bleeding during first vaginal penetration to the “breakage” of the hymen, and that’s often what we mean when we say someone has “lost their virginity”. However, the hymen is not the seal of virginity. More often than not, the cause of bleeding during the first penetration(s) is less the hymen itself and more other factors like stress and/or not knowing yet what works for your body. This combination will probably make your body tense and your vagina less lubricated, which can make penetration harder or more painful, and could cause some bleeding. Some ways to counter this would be by letting yourself take your time and figure out what feels right for you, communicating openly with your partner(s) about the process, and having plenty of lube on hand to use…and even after your first few times, lube can be one of your best partners whenever you’re having sex. You can always get safer sex supplies, including lube, for free at Head & Hands!

Ask Anything: Squirt Versus Urine

When I masturbate with a showerhead, I squirt. Is that urine or real squirting? It’s never yellow.

Masturbation with a showerhead is a great thing, but in the case of your question it complicates my answer! I’m assuming that you’re masturbating with the water spray, which means there’s a lot of water involved, all around your body and possibly inside your vagina. This makes it harder to distinguish the color, consistency, and quantity of liquid that comes out of your body when you masturbate.

What I can say is that typically people don’t (involuntarily) pee when they’re having sex alone or with somebody else. Here are some things to consider in your personal investigation of the ejaculate-versus-urine question: Often, before squirting you can feel a tingling sensation similar to what you feel when you’re about to pee…but you won’t pee. If you keep going beyond that tingling sensation and ejaculate, try to find a way to look at the liquid that comes out. That’s where the shower context makes it hard investigate. In any case, the ejaculate liquid shouldn’t smell like pee; it’s more likely to be fragrance free or to smell like your vaginal fluid when you’re aroused. As for consistency, it’s closer to water and vaginal fluid than male ejaculate; it’s more liquid. Finally, the color should be on the scale of clear to white rather than yellow like urine. Good luck with your investigation!

Ask Anything: When to get tested?

Do you have to get tested after every time you have sex? If not, how often?

I wouldn’t recommend getting tested after every time you have sex. First off, for some people or at certain times in a person’s life, this would mean getting tested many times a week…which could be time consuming! Secondly, and most importantly, there is a technical aspect related to getting accurate test results.

A lot of STIs have what’s called a “window period”. This relates to the amount of time between the transmission of the STI (when someone is infected) and when a medical test would be able to detect the STI. To state it simply, the window period is the time where an STI is alive in your body, is totally contagious, but is still undetectable by a test. For example, Chlamydia’s window period is 3 to 10 days, but HIV’s window period is 3 to 6 months. This means that if you’ve had sex and are worried about having contracted HIV, you have to wait 3 to 6 months to get accurate test results (in most cases, the test will be accurate after 3 months but to be sure, it’s important to get tested after 6 months as well).

So in general, when you are sexually active, you should get tested for STIs every 6 months even if you use protection – that way, you cover all the window periods of the different tests. People sometimes choose to get tested every year, or even less often, if they have one partner and they’ve agreed on a monogamous relationship.

You can also download are bilingual STIgma Zine to get more information on different STIs, safer sex and communication with partners about these things!

Special Edition Faggity Ass Saturday: Hanky Code!

Reviving an old Faggity tradition, this weekend’s theme is hanky code! What is hanky code?

“IT’S HOW YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF! WEAR HANKYS TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TURNS YOU ON, WHAT GETS YOU OFF, AND WHAT CAN MAKE YOU SCREAM! THE HANKY SYSTEM IS EASILY AVAILABLE BY GOOGLING IT (SO READ IT CAREFULLY! YOU WANNA MAKE SURE YOU’RE SENDING THE RIGHT VIBES TO THE RIGHT PPL) BUT YOU CAN ALSO MAKE UP YOUR OWN! ALL HANKYS ARE GOOD AND GAY HANKYS!”

Bring your favorite hanky or buy one at the door to cruise for someone whose (wet) dreams match yours! Wear it to the left if you wanna do it to someone (dom/top), to the right if you want it done to you (sub/bottom), and in the middle if you’re flex. Traditionally you flag from your back pocket, but you can also put your hanky around your wrist, around your neck, in your hair, in your boot, or anywhere else it’ll grab someone’s attention. Says your host for the evening, Princess Johnston Newfield, “It’s approachable and dirty to be able to express your (perhaps sometimes hidden) sexual desires through clothing – especially when everyone’s doing it! It’s a bonafide free-for-all of sexy cravings!”

Fall is back-to-school, which means the Sense Project is gearing up for a year of queer-positive, trans-positive, empowering sex ed! Featuring a performance by Vincent Chevalier and DJs Tamika and Sam behind the decks at the Royal Phoenix, this FAS is a perfect start to your September.

Ça Marche

Photo: Neal Rockwell

On September 30th, Head & Hands supporters, staff, and board, will take to the streets as part of Ça Marche, the Farha Foundation’s annual HIV/AIDS walk.

And as you may have heard… we don’t walk the walk…we DANCE IT!!!

Join us as we shake our groove thang to raise $15,000 for our work around HIV testing, education, and support: our three weekly medical clinics and the Sense Project peer-based sex-ed program. Last year Head & Hands services were accessed over 22, 000 times by Montreal youth, and this year we want to make sure we can do even more!

Love Head & Hands? Want to get involved?

Join our team, collect pledges and walk with us on September 30th! Sign up online!
Donate by making a gift through the Farha Foundation’s secure website, or at Head & Hands (5833 Sherbrooke O). All gifts above $20 will receive a charitable tax receipt.

For more info, please check out our Facebook event or contact Fundraising and Development Coordinator Juniper at 514-481-0277 or membres@headandhands.ca.

Want to be a Sense Animator?

We are currently seeking new volunteer animators for the 2012-13 school year!

Interested in facilitating sex ed workshops with youth in high schools? Getting involved with the Sense Project at Head & Hands is a fantastic opportunity to support the well being of youths in Montreal.

Some need-to-know info about applying to be a Sense Project animator:

New animators must be aged 25 and under
We’re looking for people who can commit to being an animator for the entire school year (Sept-early Dec, Jan-May)
Animators should be committed to Head & Hands principles of anti-oppression, harm reduction, and non-judgment.
Animators should have at least some availability on weekdays during the day. Last year’s animators volunteered an average of 70 hours each throughout the school year, but how much you end up volunteering depends on your schedule and your availability.
Bilingualism is not mandatory, but it’s an asset! The training will be bilingual (FR-ENG).
It is also an asset if you have previous animation experience or experience working with youth, but it’s not a requirement.
It is mandatory to attend the full animator training.

Animator training dates
Tuesday Sept. 11^th 6-9pm	Thursday Sept. 13^th 6-9pm	Saturday Sept. 15^th 11-4pm
Tuesday Sept. 18^th 6-9pm	Thursday Sept. 20^th 6-9pm	Saturday Sept. 22^nd 11-4pm
Tuesday Sept. 25^th 6-9pm	Thursday Sept. 27^th 6-9pm	Saturday Sept. 29^th 11-4pm

If you meet these criteria, please complete the Volunteer Form and send it to Gabrielle at healthed@headandhands.ca. We’ll then book a short screening interview with prospective volunteers. The deadline to apply is Monday, August 6^th.

If you have any questions, feel free to call Gabrielle at (514) 481-0277!

Volunteer Call-Out: SERVE 2012

SERVE 2012 is around the corner and we are getting ready to bump, set, and spike for the 7th year in a row! This year’s annual SERVE Volleyball tournament is gearing up to support Sex Ed and raise awareness to support the Sense Project, our peer-based sex education project. For more info about this cutting edge, harm-reductive and queer/sex/trans-positive sex ed program, check out Sense’s page.

The SERVE tournament is an exciting, fun, and sexy event that engages the vibrant bar and restaurant community in a fresh approach to fundraising and provides us with a unique opportunity to share our holistic vision of youth empowerment and wellness with Montrealers at large.

The tournament will be held on Sunday, July 29th 2012 at Jeanne-Mance Park. We are currently looking for approximately 60 volunteers to help make SERVE 2012 a success! We need volunteers for a huge variety of roles so if you are interested please contact Shanice ASAP at intern.headandhands@gmail.com or at 514-481-0277 to sign up! You will all have a chance to hit up the BBQ, grab a beer or two and ride our Slip ‘n’ Slide. Most importantly, you will help us reach our ultimate goal of $35,000 for the Sense Project! For more information about SERVE 2012, visit us on Facebook!

Allies in HIV Work: CATIE Youth Symposium Opened Many Dialogues

(This article was originally published on CATIE’s website! Our two Health Educators attended and enjoyed this symposium earlier this year.)

It’s been 22 years in the making but worth the wait. On February 4-5, 2012, healthcare and frontline service providers, youth leaders, researchers, and policy makers, from across the country serving youth living with, or affected by HIV, gathered in Toronto to discuss their work and the communities they serve at the second national HIV and youth knowledge exchange symposium.

The first national conference that focused on HIV and youth was held back in 1992, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Organized by Toronto-based Youthlink-Inner City and its Program Manager Laurie Edmiston, coincidentally now CATIE’s Executive Director, the conference aimed to raise awareness about the issues and effects of HIV/AIDS on youth, and to act as a catalyst for developing strategies to cope with the epidemic. Twenty-two years later, the evidence suggests that youth, and marginalized youth in particular, continue to be at risk for HIV, HCV and STIs. In 2009 alone (the latest available statistics) 582 new cases of HIV among Canadian youth were reported. The continuing fact of Canadian youth being at risk of contracting the virus underscores the importance of facilitating young people’s understanding and ensuring an ongoing dialogue around issues concerning sexual health and harm reduction. (more…)

STIgma zine: Sexualité et relations avec des ITSS

Sexually Transmitted Infections. They’re incredibly common, yet they’re shrouded in silence and shame. What gives? At Head & Hands, we know that talking about sexual health and STIs can feel awkward or scary – especially if you have an STI. Because of the stigma, people hesitate to ask for support, more information, or treatment for their STI. Fear of judgment and rejection prevents people from talking to their partners about it. Silence even prevents people from getting tested for STIs in the first place! It’s clear to us that stigma spreads STIs. So that’s why we made this zine, to get our heads out of the sand!!!

While the focus of mainstream sex education tends to be about not getting an STI, we think that it’s equally important to talk about what happens if you do get one. Where do you go to get support? Who can you tell? Can you still have sex? How do you deal? To demystify the experience of living with STIs, we asked people to tell their stories – and we were overwhelmed by the responses we got. We can learn a lot from the stories in this zine. We can learn how other people cope; how they take care of their bodies; how those conversations went when they disclosed to a sexual partner (and then another, and then another). We also learn about the power of sharing these stories – breaking the silence can really be cathartic!

You can use this zine however you want. It might be a resource, an inspiration, or even a companion, so you know you’re not the only one out there. We hope to equip people to make decisions that feel good and healthy for their own bodies and lives. In the stories that follow, you’ll find lots of examples of people doing just that.

Download the zine here, or drop by our office for a copy!

Now Hiring: Health Educator!

Head & Hands is seeking a new Health Educator to join our team!

The Health Educator aims to empower youth through health education. The main responsibilities of this position include the coordination of the Sense Project (Head & Hands’ peer-based sex education program); animating health-related workshops with youth in a diversity of settings; providing one-on-one support and information to youth accessing our services; and establishing and maintaining partnerships with schools and community organizations.

For full posting, please see our Join Our Team page.

Please note that the deadline to apply is Monday, May 14th at 10am.

Head & Hands

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