Whether you hear them from your school friends, films or even porn, there are loads of sex myths out there which can have a real impact on your sexual health and wellbeing. Not only does believing these falsehoods make you look a bit silly; they could prevent you from properly taking care of your sexual wellness. Here are some of the strangest myths we’ve heard about sex:
1. Anal and Oral Sex are Safe: While oral and anal sex cannot cause pregnancies, that doesn’t mean you’re entirely safe. You can still get sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) via anal and oral sex – the risk is particularly high in anal sex – so you should always use a condom for any sexual activity.
2. Paying Attention to Your Partner’s Breasts Will Make Them Grow: A lot of people believe that pressing, sucking or fondling a woman’s breast will make them bigger, but, if that were true, the plastic surgery industry would not be in as good shape as it is now. While fondling a woman’s breasts causes blood to flow into them (which makes them perkier and bigger), this is a temporary state of affairs and will end as soon as your partner is no longer aroused.
3. Masturbation Can Lead to a Host of Conditions: Some of the top conditions that are said to develop from masturbation include blindness, hair on the back of the arm, infertility, hair loss, weight loss, weaker erections and a lack of semen or sperm. These myths likely come from the fact that masturbation is seen as “bad” or “wrong” by society, and so we’re warned off it through the fear of health conditions. Let’s clear this all up right now; masturbation does NOT do any of these things. End of story.
4. Intercourse Should Last for Hours: Whether you’ve seen that bit of The Notebook where they basically have sex for an entire weekend, or you’ve just watched the odd porno, you might be under the impression that sex should last all night. This can be somewhat disheartening if things only last three or four minutes but, rest assured, that’s the worldwide average. Men aren’t supposed to last for hours, so don’t believe every film you see.
5. You Don’t Need Contraception on Safe Days: While it is possible to have unprotected sex on safe days and not get pregnant, figuring out which days are safe is incredibly difficult. Technically, you might be safe to have unprotected sex on days one to seven of your period and from day 19 to the start of your next cycle. However, working out these days is tricky and many women have irregular periods, so there’s no way of knowing. Plus, even if unprotected sex on these days doesn’t lead to pregnancy, there’s still the risk of STDs. Just use a condom – it’s much simpler in the long-run.
6. Women Must Orgasm Through Vaginal Sex: It seems as though the penis is the best man for the job, but most women do not have orgasms from vaginal intercourse alone. A lot of women need clitoral stimulation, and some women can orgasm from a variety of different erogenous zones – breasts, legs, back, calves, etc. There are also women who simply cannot orgasm through regular sex but with digital penetration of the vagina. Just find what works – and have fun experimenting!
7. Only Penetration Counts as Sex: While we’re discussing penetrative sex, it’s important to realise that everything falls under the ambit of sex, from kissing to penetration. Society only equates vaginal intercourse with sex, but the proper scientific term for all non-intercourse sexual activities is outercourse.