The Wyoming Health Council works to ensure that all people can access equitable, inclusive, high-quality, and affordable reproductive and sexual health care. | |
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Embracing Sexual Health for All Abilities 🌟
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Education Matters: Comprehensive and accessible sexual health education should be available to everyone, regardless of ability. This empowers individuals to make informed choices about their bodies and relationships.
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Communication is Key: Open, honest discussions about sexual health can help dispel myths and misconceptions about disability and sexuality. This fosters understanding and acceptance.
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Access to Resources: People with disabilities should have access to the same sexual health resources as everyone else, including healthcare services, counseling, and adaptive devices if needed.
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Respect and Consent: It’s essential to respect the autonomy and consent of people with disabilities. They deserve the same rights and considerations in their sexual lives as anyone else.
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Celebrating Diversity: Every person’s sexual health journey is unique. By embracing diversity in sexual health, we create a more inclusive, supportive, and healthier society for all.
Let’s work together to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, can enjoy a fulfilling and healthy sexual life. 💖
#DisabilityAwareness #SexualHealthForAll #InclusivityMatters
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All people are sexual beings, no matter what their bodies can or cannot do physically or what type of support they may need from time to time or all of the time. It’s important for young people living with disabilities or differently abled young people to learn about sexuality. AMAZE | |
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People With Disabilities have Sex Too-So Why Do Some Doctors Think Otherwise?
Disabled people have sex. They even enjoy it.
I’ve interviewed disabled people about their intimate lives for over two decades. I’ve also spoken to countless parents, carers and professionals about issues that relate to this. When I heard that Kat Watkins, who is a wheelchair user, said a doctor assumed she didn’t have sex because of her disability, I wasn’t surprised. This is a story I’ve heard many times before as part of my research and is something many disabled people have experienced.
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If we don't talk about disability and sex, fertility or gynecological health-nothing happens
Going through the egg freezing process as a disabled woman, Jennifer McShane reflects on her experience and hopes other disabled people will share their stories to encourage education on a vastly understudied topic.
I felt physically sick – and I hadn’t even started the daily barrage of injections yet. The fertility midwife was kind and soothing, but I felt so uncomfortable. Already, I winced in pain as my leg muscles stretched beyond their capabilities and tried to stay in the stirrups. I kept tensing and my left leg wouldn’t cooperate so another nurse was called into help. “Was that okay?” she asked. Lying naked from the waist down on the bed that wasn’t quite a bed, none of this felt okay, but what choice did I have?
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Disability Advocate Alice Wong on Sex, Intimacy, and Everything In Between
When it comes to sex and intimacy, author and disability rights activist Alice Wong wants the whole damn dim sum cart. Be it fairy-tale romances, spicy fantasies, or close friendships, disability intimacy goes so far beyond the trite mainstream coverage it often receives. Still, while researching disability intimacy, Wong found that the internet's understanding could be summed up in a few "basic AF" topics. Google was a dead giveaway, offering "people also ask" queries like "Can people with disabilities find love?" the majority of which fail to encapsulate the honesty, vulnerability, or depth actually involved. Sex and intimacy within the disability community is, indeed, as multifaceted as a cart of dim sum, but you wouldn't know it by the way it's often discussed.
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National Disability Independence Day
July 26
National Disability Independence Day commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26th, 1990.
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Mental health affects us all, and everyone deserves the inherent right to have access to mental health support, resources, and care. Still, not everyone has equal and equitable access to these crucial services because of stigma, shame, or fear of judgment. These factors create significant barriers that prevent individuals from seeking mental health care.
This July, inspired by Bebe Moore Campbell’s unwavering commitment to eradicating stigma in minority communities, NAMI is dedicated to eliminating stigma and shifting mental health culture through the power of conversation. Join us in elevating the voices of those in communities that have been historically neglected and marginalized, ensuring they receive the best support, understanding, and resources they need to thrive, and no one is left behind.
Through education, advocacy, and community support and empowerment, we can create a future where mental health is a priority for all. Together, we can heal communities. It starts with one conversation.
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The healing power of native American culture is inspiring psychologists to embrace cultural humility
The healing power of heritage
Mental health professionals can begin to equip themselves to foster healing in Native American populations by understanding the history of colonialism, learning about the values and traditions of tribal communities, and incorporating spirituality and other sources of strength into treatment. There are 574 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes in the United States, and psychologists should be aware that the strategies vary within each community because tribes differ in their beliefs (U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs, 2022).
“By understanding that what we have learned in school is quite limited in helping these communities, we can begin to see how much they can teach us,” Blume said. “We can learn Indigenous wisdom and explore the strengths that helped them overcome major challenges in history.”
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For Chicago’s new migrants, informal support groups help ease the pain and trauma
Interviews with more than 30 people reveal the emotional toll migrants face, and the efforts of individuals and organizations that are trying to fill the gaps of a frayed mental health system.
Some of those efforts are catching the attention of leaders in other big U.S. cities also coping with large influxes of newly-arrived migrants.
For many, their journeys here were terrifying. A young girl who fell into a river, her pregnant mother struggling to hold her small hand, so the current wouldn't whisk her away. Women who were forced to have sex with gang members to get from country to country. People who walked over the dead in the jungle, or are wracked with guilt over the sick and injured left behind.
Their stories have unfolded across Chicago: in the quiet space of a therapist's office, at an informal healing circle in the back of a store, with a nurse at a folding table propped up outside a police station.
But for many migrants, taking care of their mental health might not be a priority.
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Ritchie Torres on How Struggling With Depression Makes Him a Better Congressman
Congressman Ritchie Torres has spoken out about his struggle with depression and the importance of mental health in the wake of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)’s recent hospitalization for clinical depression.
Torres, a Democrat who is the first openly gay Afro-Latino member of Congress, told “GMA3” hosts DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim on Tuesday that he had “an obligation to tell” his “story in the hopes of breaking the shame and silence, and stigma that too often surrounds the subject of mental health.”
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Even before he was elected to Congress in 2020, Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from the Bronx, spoke openly about his history with depression.
During his campaign, he talked about his past suicidal ideation, being hospitalized for the condition, and using medication to manage his mental health. Three years later, Torres, 34, has become one of the members who talks most freely about his personal experiences with mental illness. When Senator John Fetterman was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment for depression last month, Torres was among the first to express his admiration and support.
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National French Fries Day
July 12
We all love a good French Fri and we also love CONSENT!
Grab your fries and your kid, friend or partner and do some education on consent on July 12th!
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How To Teach Your Child About Consent
Experts, including the Academy of American Pediatrics (AAP), agree that children need to be taught about bodily consent and body autonomy and that conversations around this should start at an early age. But these can be difficult subjects, and it’s understandable that many parents feel unsure about how to bring these concepts up with their kids.
Let’s take a look at why teaching about consent is important, and the best way to go about it—from the preschool years through the teen years.
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What is Consent? How to Practically Apply Aonsent Before sex
I get all kinds of questions from Teen Vogue readers about the specifics of sex itself, but I don’t often get asked about how to employ consent in a sexual situation. Perhaps it’s because by the time most of your questions get to my inbox, something has already gone wrong. But for obvious reasons, it’s important to know about how consent works before any type of sex occurs.
I can’t stress how essential this one concept is when it comes to sex. It is, in a fundamental way, the building block of everything that happens during a sexual encounter, from the first makeout to the final goodbye.
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Financial Sextortion Schemes Mostly Target Teenage Boys
Teenage boys are the most frequent targets of financial “sextortion” schemes that are often conducted through Instagram and other social media platforms, according to a new report.
The report was released jointly by technology company Thorn and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) on Monday and examined more than 15 million reports made to NCMEC’s CyberTipline from 2020 to 2023.
The report defines sextortion as “threatening to expose sexual images of someone if they don’t yield to demands.” The report found that about two-thirds of all the reports involved demands for money.
The research noted that in the past, sextortion schemes frequently affected girls and included demands that were “sexual or relational in nature.”
However, the latest report found that most victims of financial sextortion are now boys. The report found that 90 percent of victims of financial sextortion were boys between the ages of 14 and 17.
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Activate’s Latest Resource on Sexual Cyberbullying
The Activate Center has released a new resource that defines various forms of sexual cyberbullying and reports on the prevalence of these online behaviors. Among the key takeaways, our resource demonstrates that the risk for and prevalence of sexual cyberbullying varies by gender identity, sexual orientation, and age. The brief shows that current research may underestimate the prevalence of cyberbullying among populations likely to be at elevated risk such as youth who experience the child welfare and/or justice systems, homelessness, and/or disconnection from school and work. Use this resource to prevent sexual cyberbullying among young people in your work.
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Birth control gel aims to protect against condom ‘Stealthing’
Nonconsensual condom removal, otherwise known as "stealthing," has gone from a little-known phenomenon to something that is increasingly catching the eyes of lawmakers, starting with a landmark 2017 legal study that brought the issue to the forefront. A recent study found that 32% of women and 19% of men have been victims of stealthing.
Already illegal as a form of rape in the UK, as well as Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland, California became the first U.S. state to codify the act as a civil offense in 2021.
As the laws catch up to what rape and sexual assault survivors and advocates say is a cut-and-dry sex crime, one biotech company is marketing a new kind of birth control as a way for women to protect themselves from stealthing.
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Body Positivity and Sexual Confidence: How To Boost Your Body Image and Sex Life
Do you look at yourself at the mirror and worry about being judged by your partner in your intimate moments? Feeling conscious about the way one looks naked can be very common for a person of any gender. If you don’t feel confident in your own skin, those insecurities are likely to reflect in your sexual life as well. Let us dive deeper into this relationship between body positivity and sexual confidence!
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9 Places to Get Naked Outdoors on National Nude Day
I started traveling abroad for work and was frequently plunged into different sets of cultural norms around nudity.
These experiences underscored for me how arbitrary body shame is, and how nudity is only sexualized and inappropriate if we make it so. Of course, I’m not advocating for you to show up to your office naked on Monday—context matters. But what better place to get comfortable with your own natural body than, well, nature?
Whether you’re a full-fledged nudist or just wanting to bare a few toes, National Nude Day is coming up on July 14. Consider venturing to one of these nude-friendly destinations.
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National Orgasm Day
July 31
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A Shocking Number of People Orgasm From Just Tickling Study Finds
This will tickle your pickle.
A quarter of respondents surveyed in a new study say they’ve orgasmed from being tickled.
The research, conducted by scientists at University Medical Center Mainz in Germany, aimed to analyze “how adults use tickling in connection with sexual activity.”
“Previous studies on ticklishness have mainly focused on the sensory consequences and playful aspects of tickling,” lead scientist, Dr. Shimpei Ishiyama, declared in a news release about the research. “In our study, we investigated the role of tickling in a sexual context for the first time.”
The scientists recruited 719 people who professed to having a tickling fetish to see whether they experienced arousal from the act.
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8 feel-good benefits of Masturbation
(other than the obvious)
Yeah, sex with a partner can be great and all, but the health benefits of masturbation are pretty hard to ignore—regardless of your gender and relationship status. However, for people with vaginas, in particular, solo action doesn’t always get the love it deserves. In the US, it tends to be shrouded in stigma and shame—which sucks, because it can feel freaking fantastic.
“Our society tends to focus on men’s desire and places less importance on women’s sexual pleasure,” Erica Montes, MD, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist based in Scottsdale, Arizona, tells SELF.
Now, there isn’t a ton of science on the subject (cultural misogyny runs deep), but many experts believe masturbating can improve your well-being in various ways. Plus, you’ve really got nothing to lose: It’s generally safe, easy, and free—plus, no need to worry about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), or getting pregnant.
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More to Celebrate, More to Learn... | |
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Non-Binary Day
July 14
Understanding What It Means To Be Nonbinary
The term “nonbinary” can mean different things to different people. Essentially, it’s used to describe someone whose gender identity can’t be described as exclusively woman or man.
Some people who are nonbinary experience their gender as both man and woman, and others experience their gender as neither man nor woman.
Nonbinary can also be used as an umbrella term, encompassing many gender identities that don’t fit into the man-woman binary.
Although being nonbinary is often regarded as a new phenomenon, history tells us that nonbinary identities have existed for many centuries.
In fact, nonbinary gender has been recorded as far back as 400 B.C. to 200 A.D., when Hijras were referenced in ancient Hindu texts. Hijras are considered a “third gender” community of people who don’t identify exclusively as man or woman.
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Omnisexual Visibility Day
July 6
Understanding Omnisexual Attraction
Omnisexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person is attracted to people of all genders, including men, women, nonbinary people, and other gender identities. Omnisexuality falls under the LGBTQ+ umbrella—an acronym that describes a worldwide community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-heteronormative identities.
As society evolves its understanding of diverse sexual identities and gender expressions, the LGBTQ+ spectrum continues to expand, welcoming a rich tapestry of sexual orientations and identities. Omnisexuality is a term you may have encountered but might not fully understand.
This article explains the meaning of omnisexual attraction and the differences between pansexuality and omnisexuality. It also provides tips on discussing omnisexuality and where to find support. It sheds light on the meaning behind the colors of the omnisexual flag.
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Hepatitis and Sex: Frequently Asked Questions
It’s widely known that viral hepatitis can spread through consuming contaminated food or sharing dirty hypodermic needles. But the liver-destroying disease can also sometimes be spread through sexual contact. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself.
How many kinds of viral hepatitis are there?
Scientists have identified at least five types of viral hepatitis that lead to liver problems. In the U.S., the main threats are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C....
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World Day for International Justice-July 17
17 July is the Day of International Criminal Justice. It marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute on 17 July 1998, the founding treaty of the ICC, which seeks to protect people from genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
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All people should be able to enjoy the full range of human rights, without exception.
However, every day, across the globe, people face discrimination and violence because of their sex, gender, or sexuality, or their perceived sex, gender, or sexuality.
We all have the right to make decisions about our own health, body, sexuality, and reproductive life, without fear, coercion, violence, or discrimination. But, people’s freedom to make these decisions and their ability to access their rights are often controlled by the state, medical professionals, or even their own families.
Women and girls around the world routinely face unequal treatment and violence. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other gender-non-conforming people face stigma and criminalization.
We all have the right to make decisions about who we are and what we want to do with our lives. Yet all over the world, many are persecuted for making their own choices and many more are prevented from making any choices at all.
Discrimination against women and LGBTQI+ people and the denial of sexual and reproductive rights are rooted in unequal power relationships and the attempt to control people’s bodies and choices.
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Rare Fungal STI Outbreak in US: Symptoms to Look Out For
Healthcare officials are sounding the alarm after a highly contagious sexually transmitted ringworm infection was detected in the U.S. for the first time. But what is ringworm and how do you know if you have it?
Trichophyton mentagrophytes can present like a regular ringworm infection, with a ring-shaped red rash across the skin, particularly around the thighs and genital area. However, his doctors warned that infection with Trichophyton mentagrophytes can be more inflammatory and result in abscesses and scarring if left untreated.
The report's first author, Avrom Caplan, added that the rash may also look more like an eczema flare-up rather than the typical circles formed by ringworm.
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Ignorance could be fueling rising spread of STDS, Poll finds
Many sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the United States, and a nationwide poll indicates that ignorance about how they're transmitted could be fueling their spread.
About a third of Americans (34%) falsely believe sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only be transmitted through sexual intercourse, poll results show. In fact, they can also be transmitted by kissing, sharing needles and during childbirth.
It also found that 1 in 5 Americans (20%) think they only need to be tested for STIs if they are experiencing symptoms.
“We’re likely still experiencing some of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic when STI prevention services were completely shut down,” researcher Dr. Jose Bazan, a professor of clinical internal medicine with Ohio State University’s Division of Infectious Diseases, said in a news release.
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June 28, 2024
SCOTUS Overturns Chevron, Ends Deference to Administrative Agencies
Today, the US Supreme Court ruled in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo that courts must no longer defer to administrative agencies in interpreting federal statutes. Today’s ruling expressly overrules the Court’s 1984 ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, ending the doctrine of Chevron deference: that when a statute is ambiguous, unclear, or silent on an issue, courts should defer to federal agencies’ rules interpreting those statutes as long as the interpretation was reasonable.
The Court’s Loper Bright ruling is technically 6-2, with Justice Jackson recused from the case. However, this ruling also applies to a companion case in which Jackson did participate, Relentless, Inc., v. Department of Commerce, making the overall vote effectively 6-3.
Loper Bright holds that the “Administrative Procedure Act [APA] requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, and courts may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.”
Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the majority, states that "agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do."
Today’s ruling will significantly alter how regulations (such as for Title X) are challenged and evaluated in courts, because courts are now empowered to assert their views over the expertise of federal agencies.
NFPRHA is analyzing this ruling and will have more to say in the coming weeks. If you have questions, please contact Robin Summers, Vice President and Senior Counsel, at rsummers@nfprha.org.
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2024 STI Prevention Conference
The STI Prevention Conference is a biennial conference that brings together international leading researchers with government experts, clinical STD care providers, and state and local public health administrators. The 2024 STI Prevention Conference is organized by the American Sexual Health Association, the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Coalition of STD Directors. Join more than 1,200 conference attendees September 16-19, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia, for four days of scientific updates and cutting-edge sessions on science, program, and policy. We hope to see you there!
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WYOMING HEALTH COUNCIL
111 S. Durbin, Suite 200
Casper, WY 82601
Call Us: (307) 439-2033
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