
Abdomen
Constitutes the stomach, intestines, liver, reproductive organs, and other organs around the region.
Abortifacient
A drug, herb, or device that can cause an abortion.
Abortion
The termination of pregnancy before birth.
Abstinence
Refraining from sexual intercourse.
Abstinence Only Curricula
Sexuality education programs that advocate sexual abstinence before marriage. They do not provide information about contraception, safer sex, or sexual orientation.
Acquaintance Rape
Sexual intercourse coerced by someone known to the victim.
Acute
Refers tointense, short-term symptoms or illnesses that either resolve or evolve into long-lasting, chronic disease manifestations.
Adultery
Sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not his or her spouse.
Age of Consent
The age at which one is considered old enough to decide to have sexual intercourse.
Age of Majority
The age at which one becomes a legal adult.
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
A set of conditions associated with the last stages of HIV disease.
Alveoli
Sacs inside the breast that produce milk.
Anal Intercourse
Sex play in which the penis enters the anus.
Androgens
Certain hormones that stimulate male sexual development and secondary male sex characteristics. They are most abundantly produced in the testicles of men but are also produced in small amounts in women's ovaries. The most common androgen is testosterone.
Androgyne
A person who adopts characteristics of both genders in order to become gender neutral as a way to have fun, entertain, make a political statement about gender roles, or gain emotional satisfaction.
Androgyny
A gender identity that allows expression of both gender roles.
Anorexia
An eating disorder often caused by poor body image in which people, usually women, don't eat or eat very little to remain or become thin.
Anorgasmia
The inability to have an orgasm.
Anti-choice
Opposed to the belief that women have the right to choose abortion.
Anus
The opening from the rectum from which solid waste (feces) leaves the body .
Aphrodisiac
A substance that is supposed to increase sexual desire.
Areola
The dark area surrounding the nipples of women and men.
Asyphyxophilia
A paraphilia in which sexual arousal becomes dependent on being strangled up to the point of passing out.
Autoerotic
Providing sexual stimulation for one's self.
Autoerotic Asphyxiation
Self-strangulation for sexual arousal.
Autonomy
The ability to freely exercise one's own will.