HPV news, the truth about the G-spot, and more weekend links

• The Sunday New York Times published interactive graphs showing the likelihood of failure of the most popular methods of birth control in the U.S., comparing typical use to perfect use.
• Sanitary panties: Not just for ladies anymore (via Chris Bobel).
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviews Dr. Penny Castellano, Chief Medical Officer at Emory Clinic, about menopause and the need to continue using birth control. The concern is sound, but the inconsistency of whether menopause describes a moment or transisional years is confusing. (Video plus transcript)
• Another ladymag publishes another story of pulmonary embolism from birth control pills. These just never get old, do they?
• The newest advocacy tool in HPV prevention and vaccine promotion: Grandmother power.
• Speaking of HPV, it may be possible to diagnose with a urine in the not-too-distant future.
• Does the G-spot exist? It’s complicated.
• The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has advocated since December 2012 that birth control pills be available without a prescription. The Republican Party has only recently jumped on the bandwagon, seemingly because unlike with prescription pills, most insurance companies would not cover over-the-counter birth control. OTC pills could cost women $600 a year, compared to $0 under the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).
• Period sex. Let’s talk about it. ‘Cause we’re doing it.
• This striking photo essay of the chaupadi tradition in Nepal was published last spring, but we missed it. Check it out now. Chaupadi is the practice of menstrual seclusion; women and girls sleep in sheds or outbuildings while menstruating, and have little contact with others. They are also exposed to the elements, and easily suffer exposure and illness.