Earlier this week while sitting around chewing the fat with a couple of friends the subject of safe sex reared its ugly head. What I found is that there are four schools of thought on the subject.
At each end of the spectrum are two extremes. Those who believe that it just feels better without a condom and those who preach that the safest sex is no sex.
In between the two extremes are the people who believe that condoms alone get the job done. And then there are people like me.
I belong to a small, conservative but wise group who insist on being absolutely, positively sure about the status of their partner. I need a blood test, mouth swab and his complete medical history.
Well, maybe not the medical history and I might be willing to exchange the mouth swab for a few of those skin cells their always talking about on “CSI”.
Aunt Ophelia (who has been quoted by many) always said, “Better safe than sorry.”
Let’s say that you have a choice of having sex with three equally beautiful people. They have clean nails, fresh breath and all have recently bathed. The catch is that one of them has herpes. Which one will you pick or will you pick at all?
Suddenly those abstinence freaks don’t seem so crazy after all. And the rest of you who choose to take your chances with a condom or without are the real crazy ones.
How can you trust people you don’t really know. Memphis and Shelby County have the highest number of syphilis and HIV cases than any county in this region. And you can just throw caution to the wind and sex up any Henry or Henrietta Horny.
All jokes aside, it’s time to live smart and start taking sex seriously. It is not just a release, contrary to popular opinion. It’s the joining of two people body and mind.
For the short period of time that the two of you are intertwined you are one person. This includes bodily fluids, even those fluids filled with the yucky stuff that transmits STDs.
That it just feels better line is just crap. And condoms often break when they are not put on properly. And we all know that birth control pills, shots and patches are not protection against STDs.
Learn about your partner’s sexual history, then have fun with your bodies. Ask the hard questions and be confident enough to turn down the heat if they aren’t willing to give you what you need to know. The smartest thing of all for you to do is to get yourself tested. Don’t be a statistic.
