Everyone has a unique experience of sex and sexual health, and we acknowledge that there are many equally valid approaches to sexual activity.
Our content aims for total inclusivity. All individuals deserve equal access to healthcare information, whether they have sex with people of the same gender, with people of other genders, or with multiple partners or do not engage in sexual activity at all.
For inclusivity, it’s important that our sexual health content is:
When talking about sexual health, it’s important that we take a holistic approach by considering people’s mental, physical, and emotional wellness.
We take a sex-positive approach. We believe that safety, agency, and pleasure are core to a healthy relationship with sex.
Our sexual health content aims to promote safer sexual activity by educating readers about hygiene, barrier methods, pregnancy, and STI transmission and prevention.
Sexually Transmitted Infections
When talking about STIs, we’re careful to use neutral, stigma-free language that doesn’t place blame on any individual.
This means steering clear of phrasing like “infected,” which has judgmental connotations. (And this is something we do for all cases of communicable conditions.)
Although our content strives to always put people first, we can often create more positive reader experiences in our STI content if we don’t focus on the individual. This helps us eliminate the potential for blame.
So, we might say, “HIV spreads through sexual contact” instead of, “You can spread HIV when you engage in sexual contact.”
Infect
Acquire
Transmit
Contract
If you’re infected with chlamydia → if a person contracted chlamydia
Clean (in regards to a test)
Negative
If your STI test was clean → If you had a negative test result
Promiscuous
Has multiple sex partners
If you’re promiscuous, you’re at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV → People with multiple sex partners who engage in penetrative sex without using a barrier method may be more likely to contract HIV
Associating certain types of sexual activity with a person’s moral character has historically led to groups being excluded from society or being seen as “abnormal” or “amoral.”
Using neutral language in sexual health does not make suggestions as to who someone is as a person. Rather, it provides information in a way that does not shame, judge, or assign blame.
Providing accurate, empathetic, and non-judgmental sexual health information is the first step in preventing unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV through the promotion of healthy sexual behaviors.
Associating certain types of sexual activity with a person’s moral character has historically led to groups being excluded from society or being seen as “abnormal” or “amoral.”
Using neutral language in sexual health does not make suggestions as to who someone is as a person. Rather, it provides information in a way that does not shame, judge, or assign blame.
Our Sexual Health Guiding Principles
While it would be much easier to list the definitive do’s and don’ts of language, that is not possible — context is critical. Language is always changing and evolving, and any list would soon be out of date. This is why we're always listening for changes. Additionally, there are no definitively "right" or "wrong" answers about what language to use. Context is important, and what works for us might not work for you. While specific word choices will change over time, our community approach first ensures that we are prioritizing those who are the most important to what we do: our readers. See full approach here.