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| What is "having sex"? It depends who you ask |
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by Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services Advocates for Youth has long argued that one of the many problems with abstinence-only programs is that people have differing definitions of "sex" and "what it means to remain abstinent." New research from the journal Sexual Health confirms that this is, in fact, a problem. Researchers surveyed adults ages 18-96 and found wildly differing ideas about what people define as an act of sex. For instance, only 1/3 of young men ages 18-29 and 60% of young women ages 18-29 classified performing oral sex as "having had sex," while almost 80% of men and women ages 30-64 classified performing oral sex as having had sex. Young people were also less likely to consider anal intercourse "having had sex." Confusion about these definitions has played a role in sexual behavior for some time. In a study of youth ages 12 to 17 who had abstinence education, young people's definitions of abstinence included many sexual behaviors while consistently avoiding only (vaginal) intercourse. In a study of college freshmen and sophomores, 37 percent described oral sex and 24 percent described anal sex as abstinent behaviors. And finally, in a study of those who took "virginity pledges," researchers found that among those who reported having only oral and/or anal sex, pledgers were over-represented.
Why does it matter what people think "having had sex" means? Because unprotected acts of oral and anal intercourse carry the risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Is an emphasis on preserving one's virginity and refraining from vaginal intercourse in abstinence-only programs, and in our culture as a whole, inhibiting honest conversations about other sexual activity? Learn more about adolescent sexual behavior and get tips for helping your teens protect themselves: The Facts Adolescent Protective Behaviors: Abstinence and Contraceptive Use |
