More than half of American teens age 15 to 19 have engaged in oral sex, increasing to nearly 70 percent for those who are 18 and 19, according to the largest federal study of the nation's sexual practices.
The study also found that 11 percent of women age 18 to 44 reported having had at least one homosexual experience in their lifetime, up from 4 percent in the last study, conducted in 1992.
Taken together, the two findings suggest a possible shift in sexual practices, in which women and girls are using oral and gay sex "as a safer alternative than [vaginal] sex with men," said epidemiologist William Mosher of the National Center for Health Statistics, the study's lead author.
"If it is seen as a safer alternative, it is an interesting response to the campaigns to reduce teen pregnancy and to reduce sexually transmitted diseases and HIV," he said.
The study, however, found that only 9 percent of the teens reported using condoms during oral sex. Studies have shown that gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes and the human papillomavirus can all be transmitted in this manner.
I don't know. I'm all for sexual expression, but is this a positive development?
No comments:
Post a Comment