Terms starting with P

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• PangenderGender & identityA gender identity that includes many or all genders, experienced at once or across time.
• PansexualOrientationsDescribes a person whose attraction is not limited by gender, who may be attracted to people of any gender identity.
• PaperclippingDating-app slang & abbreviationsWhen someone keeps popping up with occasional messages just to remind you they exist, without any real intention of moving things forward.
• Parallel polyamoryRelationships & datingA style of polyamory in which each relationship runs largely separately, and metamours have little or no contact with each other.
• ParaphiliaPsychology of intimacyParaphilia is a clinical term for an intense and persistent sexual interest in something outside typical sexual interests; it becomes a disorder only when it causes distress or involves harm or non-consenting people.
• Parasocial relationshipPsychology of intimacyA one-sided emotional bond with someone who does not know you personally, such as a celebrity, influencer, streamer or fictional character.
• Partner notificationSTIsPartner notification is the process of letting recent sexual partners know they may have been exposed to an STI so they can get tested and treated.
• PartneredDating-app slang & abbreviationsOn a dating profile, a note that the person already has a partner and is dating with that partner's knowledge, typically as part of ethical non-monogamy.
• PassingGender & identityBeing perceived by others as the gender one identifies with, or as cisgender, without one's trans history being noticed.
• Passionate lovePsychology of intimacyPassionate love is a state of intense longing for union with another person, combining strong emotion, physical attraction and preoccupation.
• PCOSBody & healthPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal condition that can cause irregular or absent periods, higher levels of androgens, and many small follicles on the ovaries.
• PDADating-app slang & abbreviationsShort for "public display of affection": holding hands, hugging, kissing or other affection shown in front of other people.
• Pearl IndexContraceptionThe Pearl Index is a measure of contraceptive failure: the number of pregnancies per 100 women using a method for one year of exposure.
• PebblingDating-app slang & abbreviationsSending someone small things you came across, such as memes, videos or links, as a way of saying "I thought of you".
• Pelvic floorBody & healthThe pelvic floor is a hammock-like group of muscles and connective tissue at the base of the pelvis that supports the bladder, bowel and, where present, the uterus.
• Pelvic inflammatory diseaseSTIsPelvic inflammatory disease is an infection of the upper reproductive organs, often caused by untreated STIs such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea.
• PenisBody & healthThe penis is an external genital organ in people typically assigned male at birth. It carries urine and semen out of the body through the urethra and becomes erect when its spongy tissue fills with blood.
• People-pleasingPsychology of intimacyPeople-pleasing is a habit of putting other people's wishes and approval ahead of one's own needs, often to avoid conflict or rejection.
• PEPSTIsPEP is a 28-day course of HIV medicine taken after a possible exposure to HIV to stop the virus from taking hold; it must be started as soon as possible, ideally within 72 hours.
• Performance anxietyPsychology of intimacySexual performance anxiety is worry about how one will perform or be judged during sex, which can itself interfere with arousal and enjoyment.
• PerimenopauseBody & healthPerimenopause is the transition before menopause, often lasting several years, when hormone levels fluctuate and periods become irregular.
• PerineumBody & healthThe perineum is the area of skin and muscle between the genitals and the anus. It supports the pelvic organs and is part of the pelvic floor.
• Personal-ad codesDating-app slang & abbreviationsCompact abbreviations from classified personal ads describing the writer and who they seek, such as SWM (single white male) or M4F (man seeking woman).
• Peyronie's diseaseBody & healthPeyronie's disease is a condition in which scar tissue (plaque) forms inside the penis, causing it to bend or narrow when erect and sometimes causing pain.
• Pic for picDating-app slang & abbreviationsA request to exchange photos, one for one. It can mean ordinary face photos or, in some contexts, intimate images.
• Pill-free intervalContraceptionThe pill-free interval is the break of usually seven days, or the run of inactive tablets, between packs of the combined pill.
• Platonic relationshipRelationships & datingA close, affectionate relationship without a romantic or sexual component.
• Play party 18+Kink & BDSMAn organised private event where adults may engage in kink activities, usually under published rules about consent, conduct and safety.
• PMDDBody & healthPremenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual distress in which depression, anxiety, anger or mood swings in the days before a period significantly disrupt life.
• PolyamoryRelationships & datingThe practice of, or openness to, having more than one loving, committed relationship at a time, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
• PolyculeRelationships & datingThe network of people connected through polyamorous relationships, including partners and partners' partners.
• PolyfidelityRelationships & datingA polyamorous arrangement in which a fixed group of partners agree to be exclusive within the group.
• PolygamyRelationships & datingMarriage to more than one spouse at the same time, usually within a religious, cultural or legal tradition.
• PolysexualOrientationsDescribes a person attracted to many, but not necessarily all, genders.
• Postcoital dysphoriaPsychology of intimacyFeelings of sadness, tearfulness, anxiety or irritability after sex, even when the sex was consensual and enjoyable.
• Power exchange 18+Kink & BDSMA consensual arrangement in which one person agrees to take control and another agrees to give it up, for a scene or as part of an ongoing relationship.
• Power imbalanceConsent & boundariesA power imbalance exists when one person has significantly more influence, authority or resources than another, which can make it harder for the less powerful person to say no freely.
• Poz and negDating-app slang & abbreviationsShorthand for HIV status: "poz" means HIV-positive and "neg" means HIV-negative. Profiles often add "undetectable" or "on PrEP".
• Pregnancy testContraceptionA pregnancy test detects the hormone hCG, which the body starts making after a fertilised egg implants in the uterus, in urine or blood.
• Premature ejaculationBody & healthPremature ejaculation means regularly ejaculating sooner than a person or their partner would like, with little sense of control, in a way that causes distress.
• Premenstrual syndromeBody & healthPremenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a set of physical and emotional symptoms, such as bloating, breast tenderness, irritability or low mood, that appear in the days before a period and ease once it starts.
• PrEPSTIsPrEP is medicine taken by HIV-negative people before possible exposure to greatly reduce their chance of getting HIV.
• PriapismBody & healthA long-lasting, often painful erection that is not caused by sexual arousal and does not go away. It can be a medical emergency.
• PRICK (personal responsibility, informed consensual kink) 18+Kink & BDSMA kink ethics framework that adds personal responsibility to informed consent: each participant owns their choices, research and communication.
• PrideOrientationsCelebration of LGBTQ+ identities and community, and the marches and events, often held in June, that mark it.
• Primary partnerRelationships & datingIn non-monogamous relationships, the partner who holds the most central place in someone's life, often through shared housing, finances or long-term plans.
• Progestogen-only pillContraceptionThe progestogen-only pill is a daily contraceptive tablet containing only a progestogen hormone, taken every day without a break.
• PronounsGender & identityThe words used to refer to someone in the third person, such as she, he or they. Many people share theirs on profiles and email signatures.
• ProstateBody & healthThe prostate is a walnut-sized gland below the bladder, in people typically assigned male at birth, that makes part of the fluid in semen.
• Protest behaviourPsychology of intimacyActions a person takes to get a reaction or reassurance from a partner when they feel the connection is under threat, often linked to anxious attachment.
• Protocol 18+Kink & BDSMAgreed rules, rituals or forms of behaviour that express a power-exchange dynamic, such as particular forms of address or ways of greeting.
• PubertyBody & healthPuberty is the stage of development when a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, driven by rising sex hormones.
• Puberty blockersGender & identityMedicines that pause the physical changes of puberty by suppressing the hormones that drive it. They are used for early puberty and, in some countries, for young people with gender dysphoria.
• Pubic liceSTIsPubic lice are tiny insects that live in coarse body hair, mainly pubic hair, and spread through close body contact, including sex.
• Purity culturePsychology of intimacyPurity culture is a movement, most prominent in American evangelical Christianity from the 1990s, that promoted sexual abstinence before marriage through pledges, events and strict modesty norms.