A bill proposed by Oklahoma state Sen. Anthony Sykes (R) would mandate that all couples seeking a marriage license undergo a blood test "for the discovery of syphilis and other communicable or infectious diseases." » 2/19/15 7:45pm 2/19/15 7:45pm

If you live in California, Texas, Michigan or New York, you probably know someone who has the clap. If you’re in Alaska, it wouldn't be unwise to just assume you have the clap. » 10/06/14 1:00pm 10/06/14 1:00pm

Birth control for everyone! Planned Parenthood services are available online if you live in Minnesota and Washington state and need medication and, soon, counseling for sexually transmitted diseases. They’re basically a nurse in your purse. » 9/11/14 10:40am 9/11/14 10:40am

A team of bioengineers have developed a dissolvable "tampon" that delivers medication that prevents HIV minutes before having sex. Currently in clinical trials, the hope is that the product will eventually allow us all to raw dog it. » 8/12/14 12:30pm 8/12/14 12:30pm

Got a worrisome pustule on your crotch that's probably an ingrown hair but could theoretically be something more serious? Well, there's now an app called First Derm that'll allow you to text a doc a pic of your, ahem, situation. Finally, you can stop pestering your friends in the medical profession about your oozing… » 6/24/14 6:20pm 6/24/14 6:20pm

It turns out that herpes simplex virus 2—the penis/vagina/butthole kind with which 25 percent of American humans are currently infected—is a result of some ancient bestiality between our ancestors and chimpanzees, which lends a whole new meaning to "hot monkey love." » 6/17/14 9:30am 6/17/14 9:30am

Since knowledge is power, Vox would like you to know that you definitely, probably most likely have herpes. Don't you feel powerful? » 4/23/14 12:40pm 4/23/14 12:40pm

You can't open an internet browser these days without hitting a loud opinion about how the decline of marriage — or, for less ambitious traditionalists, monogamy — is tearing society apart. Everything from hormonal contraception to gays have been blamed for the falling marriage rate in the US, and marriage proponents… » 3/12/14 9:30pm 3/12/14 9:30pm

News flash: Americans tend to be idiots about a lot of stuff — global warming, vaccines, not standing on the left side of the goddamn escalator. The latest thing about which a surprising number of us are idiots is on what familiar internet terms mean. Because many Americans are old. » 3/04/14 9:30pm 3/04/14 9:30pm

Americans have long been told that sex without a condom is "unprotected sex," which leaves you at risk for HIV and a multitude of other sexually transmitted diseases. Now, after pressure from health community advocates, the Center for Disease Control is changing its language and replacing "unprotected sex" with… » 2/24/14 1:50pm 2/24/14 1:50pm

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their data on rates of STD infection among sexually active Americans in 2012 today. Merry Public Health Employee Christmas, one and all! » 1/10/14 5:00pm 1/10/14 5:00pm

Talking to your ex is hard. Talking to your ex in the context of "Hey, you should get tested because I think I may have given you an STI during our halcyon days as lovers" is even harder. And, because humankind has an endless capacity for Relationship Cowardice, this sort of very awkward but extremely necessary… » 11/15/13 3:00pm 11/15/13 3:00pm

Here's some 90's nostalgia we can all get behind: back in those halcyon days, the condom use of youths was on the rise. A decade ago, condom use amongst 15-19 year-olds reached its peak at around sixty percent. Since then, the rate has stalled; alarmingly, its even declined in certain demographics. Although a study… » 11/12/13 6:20pm 11/12/13 6:20pm

Despite the tireless consciousness-raising efforts of Michael Douglas and Lena Dunham's fictional Twitter account that existed in a single episode of Girls, a new survey from the Center for Disease Control shows that the vaccination rate for teenage girls against HPV has remained dangerously low. » 7/26/13 6:10pm 7/26/13 6:10pm

Don't do it. Don't Google "difference between genital warts and razor burn" or "what is gout exactly" + "images." Don't do it, because you'll end up diagnosing yourself with brain cancer or mono — all online hypochondriacs eventually come to that fork in the road — when all you have is an ingrown hair, but also… » 7/15/13 3:40pm 7/15/13 3:40pm

Like everything on the Bravo network, condoms are both terrible and great. They're terrible because they're inconvenient, expensive, and deliver a diminished genital-on-genital experience. But they're great because they block all sorts of unwanted things from getting into your body — like Chlamydia and babies! » 7/02/13 1:40pm 7/02/13 1:40pm

So maybe you hate giving blowjobs. Maybe you love giving blowjobs. Either way, there's something you might want to consider on the way to spit-or-swallowtown. » 5/09/13 10:00am 5/09/13 10:00am

Meet Pam Stenzel. Pam Stenzel is a highly-paid* lecturer who speaks about the virtues of abstinence. Stenzel spoke on Monday at George Washington High School in Charleston, WV and created quite a stir when she allegedly made comments like, "If you take birth control, your mother probably hates you," and "I could look… » 4/12/13 11:40am 4/12/13 11:40am

Shaving and waxing the bikini area is behind the surge in cases of a viral infection that causes warts. According to experts, such grooming methods create a "micro-trauma" of the skin that raises the chance of contracting a pox virus called Molluscum contagiosum that is also sexually transmitted. » 3/19/13 1:20pm 3/19/13 1:20pm