Healthline is under fire for publishing an article in which it advises lesbian woman on “penis-in-vagina” sex, and warns about the risks of getting pregnant.
On August 1, medical information and lifestyle site Healthline updated a guidance article titled “How Do Lesbians Have Sex? 28 Things to Know Before Your First Time.” Like all Healthline publications, the article claims it was “medically reviewed” by a qualified doctor prior to posting, and in this case the professional listed is Dr. Janet Brito, whose bio states she is a “nationally certified Latinx sex therapist, supervisor, speaker, trainer, and author.”
The article starts out by informing readers that lesbian sex may not necessarily refer to sex between two women, and that one or both of the partners involved in the lesbian relationship may not even be female.
“‘Lesbian sex’ isn’t limited to cisgender couples. It also includes other people who have vaginas, people with penises, and people with intersex genitalia,” the article states, continuing: “So, whatever counts as ‘lesbian sex’ is really up to whoever is doing it.” The guidance also suggests both partners involved in the “lesbian sex” may have a penis, and also advises on the best positions for anal sex.
Throughout the article, Healthline asserts that a penis may be involved in lesbian sex, reminding readers that “just because you’re both women doesn’t mean you have the same genitals — for example, one person might be a cis woman with a vagina, while the other might be a trans woman with a penis.”
In a section of the guide on stimulation, Healthline provides guidance for lesbians on how to “manually stimulate someone who has a penis,” offering advice on “hand jobs” and orally stimulating the penis, scrotum, and perineum. The article also gives advice on penis-in-vagina and penis-in-anus sex.
Healthline also warns against pregnancy, advising birth control be used.
“It’s possible to get pregnant if one partner has a penis and another has a vagina,” it says, continuing: “often people assume that lesbians can’t get pregnant, or that lesbian sex can’t result in pregnancy. That’s a myth based on the assumption that both women are cisgender … If one partner is transgender and has a penis and the other is cisgender and has a vagina, they can have penis-in-vagina sex.”
The August 1 Healthline guide appears to be a re-publication of an earlier article released on July 22, though it is unclear what was changed in the update apart from the professional who conducted the “medical review.” Previously, the article had been “medically reviewed” by Jennifer Litner, who, similar to Brito, is not a medical doctor but a sex therapist.
After the guidance first began circulating on social media at the end of July, many users expressed outrage at the suggestion that lesbian sex could involve penises and risks of pregnancy, with some calling it “conversion therapy.”
Others noted that any sex that involved non-females was, by definition, not lesbian sex.
Fixed it. pic.twitter.com/wKcmeXnzRB
— Witton (@wittonlaneexile) July 23, 2022
This isn’t the first time Healthline has experienced backlash for an overly “woke” article. The site has multiple resource guides referring to women as “vulva owners,” “menstruators,” and “pregnant people.” In an article published last year, lesbianism was defined as a “non-man” who is romantically or sexually interested in “non-men.”
Speaking to Reduxx on the Healthline guidance, Canadian lesbian activist Eva Kurilova rejected the suggestions as being “outright harmful” to same-sex attracted women.
“No, HealthLine, lesbian sex does not involve a penis and does not come with the possibility of pregnancy.”
Kurilova is a journalist with Gender Dissent, an outlet and organization which describes itself as focused on “examining and exposing the powerful corporate and political connections” behind gender ideology.
“[Resources for lesbians] are already hard to find without stumbling upon pornographic content. This ‘lesbian sex’ guide contributes to the problem by erasing the reality of female homosexuality and using it for further male validation,” Kurilova said.
“It also steps right into conversion therapy territory by framing ‘lesbian sex’ as sex that might just happen to include a penis. This kind of messaging makes it harder for lesbians to maintain sexual boundaries and refuse the advances of males who ‘identify’ as lesbians.”
Activist campaigns and rhetoric targeted at demanding lesbians be sexually receptive to including trans-identified males in their dating pool have seen sharp increases in recent years, with trans activists labelling exclusive female homosexuality as “the cotton ceiling.” The term was inspired by the concept of the “glass ceiling,” which is used to describe discrimination women face in the workplace that prevents them for reaching upper management levels. The “cotton” refers to the material of a women’s underwear, and frames a lesbian’s refusal to have sexual relations with males as a form of discrimination.
In July, during the employment tribunal hearing of lesbian barrister Allison Bailey, a lawyer argued that a “cotton ceiling” workshop intended to deconstruct lesbian sexual barriers was “similar to South Africa attempting to racially integrate society.”
Over the past two months, lesbians in multiple countries have reported experiencing assault, intimidation, or abuse at pride marches or women’s activist events.
On August 7, a lesbian activist in Germany filed a police report after being assaulted by trans activists at the Dyke March Hamburg for holding a sign which defined lesbian as a “female homosexual.”
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