Health Risks in Lesbian Sex

Lesbian sexual practices are sexual activities where the participants are woman. The participants can belesbian or bisexual women, though some prefer to refer to themselves as woman who have sex with woman and dispense with sexual identification. As with most interpersonal relationships, any physical expression of intimacy between women depends on the context of the relationship along with social, cultural and other influences.

Lesbian sexual activities may be of a penetrative or non-penetrative. These behaviors include fingering (digital stimulation; which may or may not be penetrative), non-penetrative sex, or oral sex (which may or may not be penetrative), stimulation of nipples or other orogenous zone, tribadism (sometimes known as scissoring), and there are various sex position.More rarely used is anal-oral sex.

Lesbians face unique challenges within the health care system that can cause poorer mental and physical health. Many doctors, nurses, and other health care providers have not had sufficient training to understand the specific health experiences of lesbians, or that women who are lesbians, like heterosexual women, can be healthy normal females. There can be barriers to optimal health for lesbians, such as:

• Fear of negative reactions from their doctors if they disclose their sexual orientation.
• Doctors’ lack of understanding of lesbians’ disease risks, and issues that may be important to lesbians.
• Lack of health insurance because of no domestic partner benefits.
• Low perceived risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases and some types of cancer.

For the above reasons, lesbians often avoid routine health exams and even delay seeking medical care when health problems occur.

What are important health issues for lesbians to discuss with their doctors or nurses?

• Heart disease. Heart disease is the #1 killer of all women. Factors that raise women’s risk for heart disease — such as obesity, smoking, and stress — are high among lesbians. The more risk factors (or things that increase risk) a woman has, the greater the chance that she will develop heart disease.
• Exercise. Studies have shown that physical inactivity adds to a person’s risk for getting heart and cardiovascular disease, as well as some cancers. People who are not active are twice as likely to develop heart and cardiovascular disease compared to those who are more active.
• Obesity. Being obese can make you more likely to get heart disease, and cancers of the uterus, ovary, breast, and colon. Many studies have found that lesbians have a higher body mass than heterosexual women. Studies suggest that lesbians may store fat more in the abdomen and have a greater waist circumference, which places them at higher risk for heart disease and other obesity-related issues such as premature death.
• Nutrition. Research supports that lesbian and bisexual women are less likely to eat fruits and vegetables every day. More research on food consumption and dietary differences in relation to health and lesbians and bisexuals is needed.
• Smoking. Smoking can lead to heart disease and multiple cancers, including cancers of the lung, throat, stomach, colon, and cervix. Lesbians are more likely to smoke, compared to heterosexual women. Researchers think that high rates of smoking in this population are a consequence several things, like social factors, such as low self-esteem, stress resulting from discrimination, concealing one’s sexual orientation, and tobacco advertising targeted towards gays and lesbians.
• Depression and Anxiety. Many factors cause depression and anxiety among all women. This may result from the fact that lesbian women may also face:

1.  
   1. Social stigma
   2. Rejection by family members
   3. Abuse and violence
   4. Being treated unfairly in the legal system
   5. Hiding some or all aspects of one’s life
   6. Lacking health insurance

Lesbians often feel they have to conceal their lesbian status to family, friends, and employers. Lesbians can also be recipients of hate crimes and violence. Despite strides in our larger society, discrimination against lesbians does exist, and discrimination for any reason may lead to depression and anxiety.