What is sex?
It seems like a simple question to answer…but in reality sex can mean different things for different people. It’s been described as a way people communicate with their bodies. It can be a fun, exciting and pretty emotional thing. It can also be uncomfortable, less than satisfying and sometimes risky (for our health and our heart!)
People have different opinions about sex based on lots of different things (for example, religious or faith-based beliefs, personal preferences and past experiences)
Often when people hear the word sex, they have one idea about what it means. In fact, there are quite a few “types” of sex.
Here are some you may have heard of:
Touching: this includes rubbing, fingering, hand jobs and “dry humping” or “dry sex”
Masturbation: this is when a person touches themselves for sexual pleasure (can be done in lots of different ways, depending on what feels good)
Oral sex: this is when someone uses his or her mouth to sexually stimulate another person’s genitals. The terms “blow job” (oral sex on a guy) and “eating out” (oral sex on a girl) are common slang for this. (awesome pamphlet on oral sex)
Vaginal sex: this is when the penis enters the vagina, and is often referred to as vaginal intercourse
Anal sex: this is when the anus is penetrated by the penis or fingers or object
With any kind of sexual activity, it’s crucial to be SAFE! Of course, the safest thing is to practice abstinence (this has different definitions, but generally means a person doesn’t have sexual intercourse or oral sex).
That said if someone is going to take part in a sexual activity, they should know how to make sure the experience is the safest it can be.
Check out the Sexual Health page to find out more about risks and safety.