What's sex? At a glance -
What's sex? At a glance -
People define "sex" in different ways. It can include vaginal, oral, and anal sex, and other activities.
Vaginal, oral, and anal sex have more risks (like pregnancy or spreading STDs) than other sexual activities.
If you're going to have any kind of sex, it's important to make sure you (and your partner) both feel ready and are protecting yourselves against pregnancy and STDs.
What?s sex?
People define "sex" in different ways. Some people believe that it only counts as sex if a penis goes into a vagina, but this isn't true for everybody. There are lots of different ideas about what sex can be:
Vaginal sex (penis-in-vagina intercourse)
Oral sex (mouth-to-genital contact)
Anal sex (penis-in-anus intercourse)
Dry humping or genital rubbing
Fingering or hand jobs (hand-to-genital contact)
Masturbation
Most sexperts like us believe "sex" includes any or all of the above.
However you define it, being sexual with another person takes a lot of responsibility. Before you have sex, think about what things you feel comfortable doing, and if there are consequences to them (like STDs or pregnancy). It's just as important to think about what you DON'T feel comfortable doing. And if you're in the middle of doing something that you thought you wanted to do, but change your mind, that's OK, too. You can stop any time you want to.
If you're going to have vaginal, oral, or anal sex, talk with your partner about how you'll protect yourselves against STDs.
If one of you has a penis and the other has a vagina, and you're having the kinds of sex that can cause pregnancy, it's also important to use birth control if you don't want to get pregnant.