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Hello Everybody! This is Kicesie from YouTube. Today I really want to talk to you about a trend I’ve noticed. I’m hearing about teen pregnancy rates lowering in certain areas, but not because youth are using protection. Rather, it’s because Oral and Anal sex is becoming their substitute. What seems to these teens as a clever solution to, often, their only reservation regarding sex – pregnancy – is actually something that could ultimately be a threat to their lives?
Okay, let me break it down for you. I get around one hundred messages a day from a wide range of ages, cultures from all around the world, and both men and women. Mostly, however, it’s teens and young adults who write to me. And avoiding pregnancy seems to be the greatest concerns holding them back from having sex. STD prevention is rarely something brought up. I think this is because they view pregnancy as permanent while most young people I talk to see just about every STD as ‘fixable’. To them it’s a temporary, however embarrassing, inconvenience.
So when a couple comes up with the decision to engage in oral or anal sex and simply avoid vaginal penetration as the cure to their ‘pregnancy dilemma’, there is no thought given to using a condom.
And so I hear the other emails… from people who have reaped the results of that. They write to me after their doctors have discovered they have HIV or HPV in their throat. Take a look at the fact that HPV has become the leading cause of throat cancer, over that of smoking, and I think we’re seeing evidence of this attitude of, ‘avoid pregnancy, avoid the inconvenience of condoms, and still enjoy sexual pleasure.’ The ramifications are yet to be measured, but I believe they are going to really scare us.
Now the reason this is so important to those of you reading, here, on a site dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention is the fact that anal sex is one of THE easiest ways to spread the virus, probably coming in second only to sharing needles. When you have anal sex, there is significantly more tearing of the tissues than with vaginal sex. This opens up the body to either send out the virus or to let it in. That makes anal sex without a condom and with someone you can’t absolutely verify doesn’t have HIV nothing short of Russian Roulette.
So let this be a message of caution. Getting creative and avoiding vaginal entry as your solution to any risks associated with sex is naive. Remember that with any sexual contact, protection is a must. Use a condom with every sexual act every single time. Also, because the anus doesn’t naturally produce lubricant like the vaginal canal, be sure to use an appropriate lubricant as well to reduce your chances of tearing (or to at least reduce the severity of that tearing as micro-tears are nearly guaranteed).
And as I always say, remember that I’m not a doctor. I’m just a peer-educator who cares about your safety, happiness and well-being. So if you have additional questions, talk to your doctor, talk to your local health clinic. Educate yourself! The professionals are there to be sure you have access to any and all information you need and above all else, stay safe. Use the research and technology out there that so many people have worked on to make sure you never have to deal with a life-threatening illness you could have avoided with the simple application of a condom.
This is Kicesie, signing out. Have a smart, safe and wonderful day!
Kicesie Drew is a Peer Sex Educator on YouTube, you may recognize her as to date she has acheived over 200 million views of her channel on YouTube .
Check out the video called “Condom 101″ below to see what she is all about or visit her website
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