Know important health issues for lesbians and women who have sex with women — from sexually transmitted infections to depression — and get tips for taking charge of your health. All women face certain health risks. However, sexual minority women, such as those who identify as lesbian or bisexual as well as women who have sex with women, have some specific health concerns. Although your individual risks are shaped by many factors beyond your sexual orientation and practices — including family history and age — it's important to understand common health issues for sexual minority women and steps you can take to stay healthy.
Sexual orientation versus behavior—different for men and women?
Sexual health for lesbian and bisexual women - NHS
The OCSLS survey was taken online between and by more than 20, students from 21 four-year colleges and universities. Both men and women took the survey, but here we focus just on women. Table 1 at the end of this post details what we found. We show the percentage of all college women who have participated in various sexual activities with men and women. We then show what percentage of women who identified as heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, and unsure have participated in these activities. It is now commonplace to see women kissing other women on the dance floor or in public at parties.
If you know which sexual orientation people identify with, how much does that tell you about whether they have sex with women, men, or both? How similar or different are the links between identity and behavior for women and men? Detailed tables, along with how we generated our measures, are in the Appendix at the end of this post. Here we focus on a few specific questions:. How common is it for heterosexual men and women to have sex with same-sex sexual partners?
Objectives: To provide data about the sexual histories of a large sample of lesbians and bisexual women, to inform those who provide health care or carry out research with women who may be sexually active with other women. Main outcome measures: Self reported sexual history and sexual practice with both male and female partners. First sexual experience tended to be with a man median 18 years old , with first sexual experience with a woman a few years later median 21 years.