Your Sex Life 101

WHAT IS SAFER SEX?  Safer sex is not about eliminating sex from your life. It is about respect for yourself and respect for your partner—talking about sex, knowing how to protect yourself, and taking precautions every time. Safer sex means enjoying sex without getting or giving sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Some STIs can be treated and cured easily. Others have no cure but can be controlled with treatment.  Remember that you are the one responsible for protecting yourself in every sexual relationship. WHAT ARE THE RISKS? To make physical intimacy as enjoyable and safe as possible, know which types of intimate contact are higher risk for STI transmission and which are lower risk. The chart below ranks sexual practices by their degree of risk, assuming no protection is used.* Activities that involve direct exposure to a partner’s semen, vaginal secretions, or blood are more dangerous. HIGH RISK << Receptive anal intercourse << Receptive vaginal intercourse ...

What is an orgasm? The highly pleasurable peak of intense sexual excitement and release of sexual tension, characterized by involuntary contractions of the muscles of the genitals, and accompanied by a dramatic increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. Orgasm is usually observed with the ejaculation of semen in males and by vaginal contractions in females. Why is the female orgasm so fickle? Males are very likely to experience an orgasm after sexual arousal; however, ladies find that the “Big O” is much more capricious or unpredictable. The answer may lie in evolutionary science which asks the question, what is the function of the female orgasm anyway? Researcher Elisabeth Lloyd, author of The Case of the Female Orgasm, observes that male orgasm is required for reproduction since it is usually associated with ejaculation and the transfer of sperm through seminal fluid. By contrast, female orgasm may be the equivalent of male nipples – an evolutionary holdover which is hard...