Popular Sexual Health Myths That People Still Get Wrong

Research shows that teens who choose to be sexually active average 4 partners each. Here’s a chart of information from the Centers for Disease Control about exposure and risk of sexually transmitted infections. When you have sex with a person, you are exposed to everyone they’ve had sex with in the past 10 years. "The pill is one of the most studied medicines of all time," Johnsen said.

Additionally, new trends and technologies have led to a rise in bogus information. Several scientific studies and medical papers have shown that sex ed makes teens more well-equipped to navigate sex and relationships in their present and future. Condoms are 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.Condoms are 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.

Transsexual is an outdated term to describe a person who has a different gender identity to the sex a doctor assigned them at birth. As for the notion that frequent masturbation can cause erectile dysfunction, Morgan explained that it, too, is a false concern. However, she added that what could happen in some cases is that a man may become used to a certain practices — for instance, “quickies” — that could then take over in partnered sex, as well, with unwanted results. This is the age-old belief that a woman’s hymen is a good place to look to if you desire to know whether she’s still a virgin — or, at least, if she has engaged in vaginal intercourse.

A myth has persisted for years that men have a "sexual peak" in their teenage years and women "peak" in their mid-thirties. What's getting lost in a lot of the fear about birth control is all of the benefits. It can reduce cramps, cause more regular periods, or cause periods to go away — which, according to science, is perfectly healthy.

When not surgically induced, menopause is a natural process that facts and myths about sex starts, on average, in your 40s and ends by about age 51. You’ve reached the official menopause mile-marker once you’ve gone 12 months without experiencing a period. More than 75 percent of reported rapes are between people that know each other. This includes partners, spouses, classmates, neighbors, relatives, and coworkers.

So they can pass that infection to their sexual partners without even knowing it. While over the decades there has been a shift towards including more sexual health education in school curriculums, it’s not always enough to debunk the common myths surrounding sexual health many people still have. In fact, as of 2017, only about half of adolescents (57% of females and 43% of males) admitted they received formal instruction about contraception before they had sex for the first time. Depending on how your partner defines being a virgin, it is possible for them to have contracted an STI. Your partner might not have had vaginal sex, but may have had oral sex with someone , putting themselves at risk for an STI.

The anus -- the opening between your buttocks -- can be a very sensitive area. Not only is it full of nerve endings, but it's close to the genitals. Some people, men and women, do have orgasms if that opening is penetrated or stimulated.