S4 E8 Intimacy Starts with I: Women, Self-Love, and HIV with Michelle Lopez
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Release Date: 12/05/2023
The Clitoris and Its Friends with Rachel Gross
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Did you know the visible part of the clitoris is less than one-third of its actual size? Cliterally just the tip of the iceberg! In this second part of our series with Rachel Gross, Rachel and Tammy’s excitement sparks an important conversation about this understudied organ and its friends--the vagina, vulva, and pelvic floor. Afterall, it is not common knowledge that (gasp) all sexual organs differentiate from the same embryonic root, or that close to 10,280 nerve endings were counted in one clitoris. By taking an interdisciplinary approach to sexual health, Rachel reveals how pleasure is...
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Dr. Ina Park Unwraps the CDC’s New 2023 STI Report
Coming Together for Sexual Health
CDC’s 2023 STI Report is in, and for the first time in years, there’s good news. Tune in to our latest episode with Dr. Ina Park, a nationally recognized expert on STIs, to learn why she is cautiously optimistic about the new data trends in chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Dr. Park expertly navigates the report with our host, Tammy Kremer, explaining how the previous surge in STIs has begun to slow, while prevalence continues to be high in certain “STI microclimates." Dr. Park stresses the importance of maintaining momentum through increased testing, focused prevention efforts for...
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Vagina Obscura: A Conversation with Rachel E. Gross
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Meet Rachel E. Gross, science journalist and author of Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage. In this first part of a two–part conversation, Rachel shares how her personal experience with bacterial vaginosis inspired her to write a book that investigates what we know about different parts of female anatomy and how that knowledge (and lack thereof) has been developed. Vagina Obscura is Tammy's favorite read of the year! Rachel highlights the often-overlooked clitoris and vagina, exploring how these body parts are still unfamiliar or awkward for many, including healthcare...
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Harm Reduction Compilation
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Check out a complilation of three previous episodes on harm reduction. Hear from each of our guests and then go back and listen to one of the full episodes: S4 E1: Narcan Queen Kochina Rude on Drag and Harm Reduction S4 E2: Harm Reduction by Heart with Braunz Courtney S4 E3: America’s War on Drugs and Harm Reduction Around the World with Tanagra Melgarejo Pulido
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Trailer
Coming Together for Sexual Health
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S4 E9 From Red Ribbons to Leather Straps: Rodney McCoy’s Trailblazing Tale of HIV Prevention and Pleasure
Coming Together for Sexual Health
In this episode, Rodney McCoy, a Black queer man with over four decades of experience in HIV prevention and education, shares his journey as a Leatherman of color and discusses the intersection of BDSM, kink, and HIV prevention. From his entry into the kink community to becoming a titleholder in the American Leatherman competition, Rodney emphasizes how the kink community provided a safe space for self-discovery and empowerment. The episode explores the link between pleasure, power dynamics, and HIV prevention, highlighting the importance of honest conversations, sex positivity training, and...
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S4 E8 Intimacy Starts with I: Women, Self-Love, and HIV with Michelle Lopez
Coming Together for Sexual Health
CW: Mention of abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, incest, molestation At 24 years old, in the early 90’s, Michelle Lopez was riding a train in New York with her newborn baby and saw an advertisement that spoke to her. It said, “If you’re a woman and you’re enduring substance abuse, homelessness, or battery, call this number.” Michelle picked up a phone and began her new life. Her and her daughter were diagnosed with HIV, and it was her mission to get clean, understand her own trauma, and help others with similar stories. Michelle, a bisexual Caribbean woman,...
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S4 E7 Dan Savage on the Magic Question “What are you into?” & Dr. Ina Park on How Providers Can Help
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Dan Savage is a sex-advice columnist and podcaster, and Ina Park is a sex positive STI researcher, physician, and author. The two come together in this episode to discuss desire, pleasure, and how to communicate about what feels good with partners and providers. Dan delves into discovering kinks, pleasure as we age, and trying new things alone and with partners. Ina reflects on her experiences as a provider, having conversations with patients around sex and pleasure as bodies, needs, and abilities change. Dan says that gay people might be better at sex, “not because we're...
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S4 E6 Family Planning as Gender Affirming Care with Trans and Nonbinary Patients
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Director of Gender-Affirming Care for UC Davis Health, Miles Harris, FNP-BC, advocates for the integration of gender-affirming care with primary care and family planning. He shares that “so much of gender affirming care is not about hormones” and that “it is often so easy as a health care provider to do the thing that someone needs that changes their life.” He breaks down misconceptions: hormone therapy and contraception for trans folks is relatively simple, taking testosterone and not having a period does not prevent pregnancy, and there are no contraceptive methods...
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S4 E5 Lesser-Known Forms of Birth Control and Downplayed Side-effects: Providing Empowering Contraceptive Care
Coming Together for Sexual Health
Family doctor Jennifer Karlin, MD, PhD, and health educator Mariana Horne, join host Tammy Kremer to talk through forms of birth control that are not as well-known, including self-injectable Depo Provera, internal condoms, and the fertility awareness method. They go into side effects of birth control methods that are not always named, such as changes in mood and blood pressure. Mariana shares how she has supported clients who’ve faced coercive birth control practices in getting the care they want and how her background helps her connect with monolingual Spanish-speaking...
info_outlineCW: Mention of abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, incest, molestation
At 24 years old, in the early 90’s, Michelle Lopez was riding a train in New York with her newborn baby and saw an advertisement that spoke to her. It said, “If you’re a woman and you’re enduring substance abuse, homelessness, or battery, call this number.” Michelle picked up a phone and began her new life. Her and her daughter were diagnosed with HIV, and it was her mission to get clean, understand her own trauma, and help others with similar stories.
Michelle, a bisexual Caribbean woman, realized that women living with HIV continue to be ostracized for both wanting and having sex. Michelle knew she had to combat this and teach herself and others about self-love, pleasure, and intimacy. She has spent her career advocating for HIV prevention and treatment, women’s health, mental health, sexuality, and how to unlearn feelings of shame. She says, “I recognized getting clean would give me more power to fight against situations and circumstances and stand up for my rights. I had to learn what it is to love Michelle and deal with the trauma that I endured.” Michelle shares how she utilizes her experiences from childhood to the present to educate others through clinical work, research, and advocacy. Her story is one of empowerment, celebration, and making lemonade with the lemons she was given.
Download the transcript of this episode.
Resources:
Michelle Lopez LinkedIn
CAPTC World AIDS Day Page
Bio:
Michelle Lopez is a tireless advocate for public health among Black and Latinx communities. Over the last 30 years, Michelle has worked in HIV and AIDS prevention and health care navigation and substance use services. Michelle has served on boards of directors and advised on policy development that impacts the lives of marginalized communities. Michelle is now focusing on research designs methodology to meaningfully engages community members.