Sex is pleasurable. It should feel safe too.

Summary of Sex is pleasurable. It should feel safe too.

by NPR

24m•January 21, 2026
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Overview of "Sex is pleasurable. It should feel safe too."

This episode of NPR's It's Been a Minute (host Brittany Luce) centers a 2026 reframing of sexual health: moving from risk-first “safer sex” messages toward a pleasure-centered approach that gives people the tools, knowledge and access to make confident, health-forward sexual choices. Guests Dr. Leisha McKinley‑Beach (founder & CEO, Black Public Health Academy / PrEP in Black America) and Dr. Jasmine Abrams (research scientist, Yale School of Public Health) discuss findings from research with Black women, cultural barriers to prevention (especially PrEP), and practical steps individuals and systems can take to support pleasurable and protected sex.

Key points and main takeaways

  • Safer sex definitions are expanding. People describe safer sex as a mix of concrete actions (condoms, testing, PrEP) and intangibles (trust, comfort, consent).
  • Trust often functions as a gatekeeper: feelings of trust and connection frequently lead people to stop using condoms or avoid testing conversations—sometimes framing testing as a sign of distrust.
  • Conversations about sexual health can be fraught, especially for Black women, because of cultural norms that stigmatize discussing sexual activity with providers, partners or family.
  • PrEP awareness and access are uneven and racially skewed. Early PrEP rollout and marketing focused on white gay men, producing uptake disparities for women and Black communities.
  • Misinformation and advertising (e.g., phrasing that a PrEP product is “not for those assigned female at birth”) have contributed to confusion and the belief that PrEP isn’t for women.
  • COVID normalized public‑health conversations (testing, exposure, mitigation) in a way that could serve as a model for normalizing sexual-health conversations and reducing stigma.
  • The guests emphasize reframing the goal from just “safer” to “pleasurable”—pleasure-centered sexual health includes safety, consent, screening, prevention tools and dignity.

Topics discussed

  • Definitions of safer sex: condoms, testing, communication, consent, physical safety, trust and pleasure.
  • How trust shapes decision-making about condoms and testing.
  • Social stigma and stereotypes activated when partners ask about testing (e.g., “you don’t trust me,” assumptions about sexuality or promiscuity).
  • PrEP: what it is, public awareness gaps, and inequities in prescribing and outreach.
  • Advertising and messaging failures that excluded women and Black communities.
  • Biomedical prevention tools beyond PrEP: DoxyPEP for bacterial STI prevention was briefly mentioned.
  • Public-health messaging lessons from COVID for sexual-health normalization.
  • Structural and provider-level barriers (medical stigma, dismissive clinicians).

Notable quotes and insights

  • “I’m not even going to define it as safer. I’m going to define it as pleasurable.” — Dr. Leisha McKinley‑Beach
  • “Trust permeated decision‑making… that comfort then helped them to feel more comfortable with engaging in unprotected sex.” — Dr. Jasmine Abrams
  • Advertising missteps led many women to believe certain PrEP products were simply “not for those assigned female at birth,” discouraging uptake.
  • COVID showed that routine, nonshameful conversations about testing and exposure are possible and helpful.

Data and context mentioned

  • PrEP (approved in 2012) has been available for about 13 years.
  • Transcript cites CDC 2022 estimates suggesting roughly 94% of eligible white people (and 91% of white men in a related stat) have been prescribed PrEP—a contrast used to highlight disparities in uptake across race and gender.

Note: numbers were quoted in conversation; check current CDC or public-health sources for the latest, validated figures.

Practical recommendations and action items

For individuals

  • Learn your options: ask your clinician about PrEP formulations appropriate for people assigned female at birth and other prevention tools (e.g., DoxyPEP).
  • Get regular STI/HIV screening and insist on transparent verification if you want it (examples: MyChart, shared provider records).
  • Normalize conversations: discuss testing history, consent, and boundaries before sex.
  • Center your pleasure and safety together—protective measures support both.

For clinicians and health systems

  • Proactively offer prevention options (PrEP, DoxyPEP) to all eligible patients, not only populations stereotypically associated with HIV.
  • Avoid stigmatizing language; make it routine to discuss sexual activity and prevention.
  • Diversify public-health outreach and advertising to reach women, Black communities and other underserved populations.

For advocates and communicators

  • Reframe sexual-health messaging toward pleasure and dignity, not only disease risk.
  • Use inclusive imagery and placement strategies so campaigns reach diverse audiences (not only white gay men).
  • Apply lessons from COVID-era public-health communication to normalize testing and prevention.

Guests

  • Dr. Leisha McKinley‑Beach — Founder & CEO, Black Public Health Academy; founding member of PrEP in Black America. Focuses on equitable public‑health access and culturally relevant outreach.
  • Dr. Jasmine Abrams — Research scientist, Yale School of Public Health. Conducted research on Black women’s sexual-health decision‑making with UMBC and Yale.

Closing takeaway

Sexual health in 2026, as framed by the episode’s guests, should be pleasure‑centered and equity‑minded: people need accessible biomedical tools (PrEP, DoxyPEP, condoms), routine testing, nonjudgmental care, and public-health messaging that includes and affirms women and marginalized communities. Normalizing open conversation about sexual health—like we did around COVID testing—will help make safer, more pleasurable sex possible for everyone.