Myths About Safe Sex and Recommendations for Safer Sex

Sex education classes are becoming more commonplace now than ever before, and that is due in part to increasing rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Teaching abstinence is clearly not working as effectively as one would hope for teens, and for adults who make the adult decision to have sexual relations, it is important to learn what's real and what's myth about 'safe sex'.

My daughter is currently a college student, and she has a core group of friends whose ages range from 18 to about 25 years of age, all in various stages of their sexual lives. Some of her friends are virgins, two couples in her group are married with one of the couple having two children already, and then some are sexually active single friends.

I was fortunate enough to sit with a group of 21 high school and college students and discuss their views on sex and safe sex for a magazine article I was commissioned to write, and decided to share some of the findings. This article is about the myths and beliefs of these students, all legal adults, as they had learned them.

Sex Myth #1 - Condoms Equal Safe Sex

Truth: Condoms might make sexual activity safer, but they are not safe.

When discussing with the male college students who were sexually active, the number one problem with condoms was user error. They all blushingly admitted that while there was talk about wearing condoms, no one ever taught them how to properly use and wear a condom, and while one young man was brave enough to admit he had practiced putting one on so he would not be embarrassed in front of his girlfriend, most of the men in the group had never practiced wearing and using a condom prior to needing to use one.

User error is the number one reason a condom will fail, which could result in pregnancy or disease transmission. One of the married male college students admits that his first child was conceived while improperly using a condom with no other birth control.

Love and relationships can be rewarding, and sex can enhance those relationships when sex is as safe as possible.

Credit: Ayhan Yildiz

Copyright: Ayhan Yildiz (used with licensing premission)