Is Oral Sex “Sex”? The Original Matryoshka Doll

According to an article by Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health a study conducted in 2007 by the Department of Family Studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington indicates that only about 20% of the participating 477 university students regarded oral-genital contact as “sex.” The article cites similar data collected in 1991 where approximately twice the amount of survey participants regarded oral-sex as sex. Students surveyed in 2007 had a lot more information readily available and more efficient tools to access it than students in 1991. So it can’t be that today’s college students don’t get it… but rather that they just disagree with their predecessors.

STI Awareness Month

Throughout ASHA’s history – and especially during Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Awareness Month – we’ve focused on the “nuts and bolts” of education and prevention: STIs are at epidemic levels, you should use condoms, get tested, and so on.

Sexual health is a mixed bag, though: STIs are there, but emotional, social and cultural elements are also in the game. So is pleasure. They all overlap and each impacts the others. There is so much more to a good sexual health discussion than “wear a rubber and if you didn’t, well, then everybody go pee in a cup and get a blood test.” With that in mind, earlier this year ASHA launched new online and print resources that address these topics (and more) that are all a part of being healthy, happy, and sexually fulfilled. Let’s look at a few key points.

What does sexual health mean to you?

For almost 100 years ASHA has been talking to you about sexually transmitted diseases/infections (STDs/STIs). In that time we’ve helped millions learn how to protect themselves, talk to their partners and parents, know what to do if they have an STD/STI and much more. We have thousands of stories from people letting us know how helpful we’ve been. It’s time to do more, though.

We believe that the answer is to start talking about sexual health. No, sexual health is not just about protecting yourself from an STD/STI, which is ASHA’s history. STD/STIs are certainly a critical piece of the sexual health puzzle but being sexually healthy is about much more.

So to get us started, we asked you what you thought sexual health was and you answered.