There’re lots of ways for people who are transgender, non-binary, or both and their partners to practice safer sex! Transgender and non-binary people’s bodies, and how they like to have sex, can be different from one person to another. So it can help to talk before you have sex! You can talk about some important things like boundaries, pregnancy, STI risks, and words people use for their body parts.
Talking about sex can be hard and uncomfortable for a lot of people. But it’s an important part of safer sex. It can also make sex better for everyone involved! It can take time to find comfortable ways to talk about safer sex and that’s okay!
How can trans and non-binary people talk about safer sex?
Transgender and non-binary people often have words they like to use for themselves or their body parts. You can talk to your partners about what words they like to use. Sometimes people don’t know what words work for them. That’s okay too! Playing around with different words can be a fun way for transgender people to talk about safer sex if everyone enjoys it.
Some people might have parts of their bodies where they don’t want to be touched. It might make them stressed or uncomfortable. They might have also had surgery and some of their body parts might be sensitive or healing. Talking about these things before sex can help everyone feel safer!
It’s especially important to respect everyone’s boundaries and talk about them before sex. This helps make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable!
STIs and safer sex for transgender and non-binary people
Transgender and non-binary people have sex in many different ways. That means there are lots of different ways to prevent STIs. Some STIs can spread through oral sex, front hole sex, or back hole sex. Others can spread from skin to skin contact like kissing and dry humping.
Trans and non-binary can do lots of things to lower their risks for STIs. Here are some ways for example:
- Use lube
- Use barriers like dental dams, internal and external condoms
- Wear latex gloves
- Take PrEP
- Sterilize sex toys
- Get tested regularly
Pregnancy and safer sex for transgender people
To get pregnant, there needs to be a uterus and sperm. Even if a trans person with a uterus is taking testosterone and doesn’t have their monthly bleeding, there’s a chance they can get pregnant. And, even if a transgender person who can make sperm is taking estrogen, there’s a chance they can also get someone pregnant.
Some trans people don’t want to take hormonal birth control methods that contain estrogen. Some might worry that the estrogen will make their bodies look more feminine. Others worry that it will mess with the testosterone they take.
Thankfully, there are lots of birth control options that don’t have estrogen. You can use:
- Condoms, which are cheap and also prevent STIs
- The estrogen-free mini-pill, which won’t interfere with testosterone.
- The Depo Provera shot
- The copper IUD, which works for many years. IUDs are also fairly easy to get in Montreal.
Emergency contraception for transgender people
If you had front-hole sex without birth control, you can use emergency contraception to lower the risk of pregnancy. There’s an estrogen-free morning after pill from Brands like “Plan B”, “Option 2” and “ella” that you can get at any pharmacy with RAMQ or at clinics like Head and Hands.
You can also get a copper IUD. It doesn’t have any hormones and people can use it as emergency contraception. If you have any questions or worries, it might help to talk to a pharmacist or a doctor.
