FAQsQuestionI am a lesbian, and I was wondering what happens as far as pap smears and pelvic exams? I’ve never had, nor plan on having, normal sexual intercourse, which is normally the requirement for having a pap smear. Answer In the past, the guideline for needing a Pap test has been if a woman has had heterosexual sex (the term for female-male sex rather than calling it "normal" sex.) The fact is lesbians who have had any sort of genital sex should have Pap tests too. The common view that lesbians don't need Pap tests puts lesbians at risk of cervical cancer. Any woman who has had penetrative sex should have a Pap test every two years (unless they are advised to have one sooner by their clinic or doctor). This means sex with anyone - lesbian, bi, queer, gay, tranny, hetero, any gender or sexual preference. Penetration means anything put in the vagina including fingers, toys, penis or whatever. If a woman has had no vaginal penetration at all, the risk of cervical cancer is very low. However, even if you have never had penetrative sex, it does not completely remove the risks for the cell changes on your cervix that might lead to cervical cancer. Some kinds of the wart virus, or human papilloma virus (HPV), are a risk for cervical cancer. Some 75 per cent of people between the ages of 15-49 years in Australia have one or some of these viruses, even if they haven't had visible warts, as the virus can live invisibly in your system. HPV can be passed from woman to woman during sex, by genital skin contact with vaginal secretions, or on fingers or toys. Even if a lesbian has never had sex with a man herself, she may have had partners who have. Smoking can also promote the development of the precancerous changes on the cervix that Pap tests detect. So for smokers, stopping smoking will help your cervix, as well as the rest of your health. It's also worth mentioning that other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) can also be passed from woman to woman, so safer sex practices and STI screens are important for lesbians too. A pelvic exam is an examination by a doctor or nurse of the vagina, uterus, ovaries and lower abdomen area by inserting gloved fingers into the vagina and pressing on the lower belly to feel these organs in the pelvis. The examination usually takes about half a minute. If everything is normal, it should be painless and you just feel a bit of pressure. This examination is usually offered at the same time as a Pap test and can help detect a number of abnormalities. NSW Health has produced a pamphlet 'Do Lesbians need Pap tests?' |
