By Chinwe Uzoechi
Lesbianism is a much debated topic now-a-days
Orthodox minded people and religions often get furious on the thought of lesbianism as they believe that this practice is an attempt to rewrite all the conventional attitudes of people regarding sexual life. Some ladies have been fed many lies; such as it’s safe ,no pregnancy is involved, no heart break , no sexual transmitted diseases can be contracted to mention a few. while they so called lesbians try to woo them into seeing the benefits of becoming one, thereby neglecting the health hazards that is associated with this act. The woman brings to you the possible risk in this unholy act.
Possible causes of lesbianism: Lesbianism can be caused by both mental and physical reasons. Many a times a person develops lesbian traits at the early childhood itself.
Certain physical conditions back lesbian mentality. Today, lesbianism is no more concerned as mental disorder. But it is proved that lesbianism is more a mental orientation than a physical disorientation. Psychology says that a great number of lesbians have developed homosexual desires as a regression to the earlier stages of development.
There are two common models of lesbianism. If a girl experiences the company of other girls or girl more than that with a boy, she may possibly become a lesbian. On the other hand, if a girl, by whatever reasons, happened to hate a boy or boys, she may become a lesbian. In
fact, lesbianism can be derived from uncommon attachment to a girl or from hatred to boys. The physical reasons include sexual disabilities of different kinds.
Health effects: Obtaining accurate information about health and sensitive health care can be a challenge for women who identify as lesbian or bisexual. There are relatively few studies of women’s health that specifically identify lesbian women and fewer still that ask questions relative to lesbian health. A review of the studies which do exist generally shows that any difference in the prevalence of certain diseases is due to the numbers of women who have certain risk factors such as obesity, null parity (never having had a child), or increased alcohol or tobacco use. Simply identifying as a lesbian is neither a disease nor a risk factor.
By far the greatest impact on lesbian health is the tendency for lesbian women to avoid seeking help or not returning for follow-up due to discomfort with the medical system (See Coming out to your Doctor Fact sheet). For example, women who aren’t comfortable with their doctors and who don’t have children may have a tendency to get fewer pelvic examinations resulting in a higher risk of undetected cervical conditions and cancers.
Although being a lesbian or bisexual woman is neither a disease nor a risk factor, there are certain issues women who love women should be knowledgeable about.
Breast Cancer: Lesbians are less likely to give birth by age 30 and this increases risk. So does increased body weight and alcohol use. Control what you can and be sure to have regular doctor’s visits and practice breast self-exam.
Cervical Cancer: It is not known whether lesbians have increased risk. Lesbian women may have less risk of acquiring HPV (a virus that is a risk factor in cervical cancer) if they have less sexual intercourse with men. However many lesbian and bisexual women do or
have had sexual intercourse with men and HPV can be transmitted between women during sex. Having regular pelvic exams and Pap tests is crucial to monitoring cervical health.
STDs: It is a commonly held misconception that lesbian and bisexual women have little or no risk for sexually transmitted diseases. The risk varies according to the disease but transmission is possible. For example, Herpes, HPV (the virus that causes genital warts), and
bacterial vaginosis are transmitted fairly easily between women. HIV, hepatitis B, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia are much less likely to be transmitted but transmission is possible.
Heart Disease and Stroke: Obesity and smoking are two well-known risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Lesbian women have been documented as weighing more and desiring a significantly heavier ideal body weight than heterosexual women have. .
Emotional Injury: Exposure to public hate violence, whether direct or indirect, can cause emotional and psychological injury. Conditions such as phobias, post-traumatic stress disorders, eating disorders, chronic pain syndromes and especially depression can result from the experience of violence. If a woman is experiencing any of these symptoms or has experienced violence, getting safe, supportive medical or psychological care from someone with whom you can be completely frank is of the utmost importance.
It is important to note that domestic violence, either verbal or physical, can occur in woman to woman relationships. Seeking help for such violence is critical but often difficult
Finally, it deserves repeating that by far the largest factor in determining the health of lesbian and bisexual women is the tendency to avoid regular health check-ups either because women think they don’t need them or because they are uncomfortable with the medical
help they have received. Finding medical help that you can trust and be completely open with is a critical factor in maintaining good health. This fact sheet gives examples of issues to be aware of but is not exhaustive and is not intended as a substitute for expert
medical care. The Project is providing this important fact sheet because it recognizes that education about women’s health must include understanding the health needs of lesbian and bisexual women.
Curled from Nigeria Newspoint
