Adolescent Sexual Health

PERCEPTION THAT TEENS FREQUENTLY SUBSTITUTE ORAL SEX FOR INTERCOURSE A MYTH

Oral Sex “Epidemic” Not Supported by Facts

I thought that this article was really interesting, especially because I think that the media often focuses on really strange/misinformed aspects of teenage sexual health. For instance, I remember there were tons of Dateline (or whatever) news specials about the rash of oral sex parties and teenage promiscuity a few years ago. These reporters would go to small towns and shock happy families with their newscasts about sex parties, and teenagers using oral sex as a way to maintain their label of virginity while still engaging in wild acts at parties.

According to new research being published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, something like 25% of teens who consider themselves virgins engage in oral sex, but 80% + of sexualy active teenagers are also engaged in oral sex. The study also suggests “that teens initiate a range of sexual activities around the same time, rather than substitute one for another.”

However you might feel about teenagers being sexually active, it is clear that they are not using oral sex as a way to postone or replace intercourse. Instead, oral sex is simply another aspect of their sexual experimentation. This has clear education and policy implications, because it’s clear that just teaching abstinence will not prevent people from experimenting, and that better sex ed will not cause an epidemic of oral sex among teenagers abstaining until marriage.