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Doctors, nurses available daily online for ‘consultation’ on sex matters at new Web portal
YOUNG people who are curious to find out about the birds, the bees and other sex-related questions can now access information at a new Web portal – sexxie.tv.
 An initiative by Singapore’s resident Dr Love, Dr Wei Siang Yu, the portal has doctors on standby to answer questions about sex, sexuality, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy and masturbation, among other topics.
Aimed at providing young people with interactive online sex education in Singapore and the region, the portal was launched here and in Indonesia last week and will be manned by a team of three doctors – a paediatrician, a gynaecologist and a general practitioner – as well as three nurses.
These medical professionals will be available for “consultation” between 9am and 5.30pm every day. On top of that, the site will also have a pool of specialist volunteer doctors from areas like urology and dermatology who will provide information to users.
Free Web seminars, or webinars, will also be conducted by doctors on the site. Dr Lewis Liew, a urologist from Gleneagles Hospital, has volunteered to conduct one such webinar, on topics such as erectiledysfunction and premature ejaculation later this month.
“It’s important for health-care professionals to take an active role in providing accurate and relevant information,” he said.
Referring to sex education in schools, Dr Wei said that one- or two-hour lessons are not enough to get everyone up to speed. He believes that the portal will complement the sex education curriculum in schools, and empower people through different stages of their lives.
When asked what are the most commonly posed sex questions from Singapore’s young people, Dr Wei said that they are on masturbation and pregnancy.
“It is also becoming more and more common for those of this age to ask questions about aesthetics. For example, they want to know whether masturbation increases acne and whether their busts are too big or too small,” he added.
While Dr Brian Yeo, a psychiatrist who specialises in child and adolescent psychiatry, is wary that such a portal might be “misconstrued as medical acceptance of certain behaviour”, Dr Carol Balhetchet, directorof youth services at the Singapore Children’s Society, said that the provocatively named portal is useful because of its anonymity.
“Whether moral or not, these youths have these questions. We cannot ignore them, or pretend they are not there. If we don’t answer them out of fear that we are teaching them that it’s morally OK, it is like hiding your head in the sand. The questions will not go away.”
In 2008, 791 teens were diagnosed with STIs, more than three times the number in 2002, according to the DSC Clinic, a public clinic under the Health Ministry, which deals with sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
The clinic, which supplies information and articles to the portal, also has a site dedicated to providing information on sexual health, although it is not focused on youth. The site, www.dsc-sexualhealth. com.sg, has a section for visitors to ask an expert a question.
The Health Promotion Board site, www.hpb.gov.sg, is another site that provides professional information on sexual matters.
sexxie.tv has received about 8,000 hits since its launch.
For almost a decade, Dr Wei has been dealing with various facets of sex education in Asia and Europe under the brand name Dr Love. He has used a range of media – such as television shows, a radio show and columns in newspapers – to share information about sexual issues.
Told of the launch of the portal, 24-year-old undergraduate Ajit Kumar thinks that the portal will be especially useful for Asians.
“We are extremely shy and do not dare ask questions about some things. An online channel will really help,” he said.
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