The Truth: MYTHS and FACTS
MYTH: A girl won’t get pregnant if she jumps up and down right after sex.
- Sperm does not care what position you are in. Any time semen comes in contact with the vagina, the girl might get pregnant. There are no exceptions to this rule. There are no safe positions or safe times from having sex without risking pregnancy.
MYTH: You can tell if someone has an STD just by looking.
- Actually, the most common symptom of an STD is having NO SYMPTOMS. Some STD infected people might have an unusual discharge or have sores, blisters, or warts around the genitals, but most people will not. The only way to know if you have an STD is by getting tested. Click here to find more information and STD testing sites near you.
- In fact, the number of high school students having sex has gone down in recent years. More than half have never had sex and 2 out of 3 aren’t having sex right now. So when you hear, “Everyone’s doing it,” just remember these statistics.
MYTH: Oral sex isn’t risky.
- Unfortunately, some people think oral sex isn’t “real” sex. Even if you believe this, you need to know that you can get an STD from oral sex. Herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, hpv, and hepatitis B can all be passed through oral sex. So can HIV, though this is rare.
MYTH: You can get HIV from using someone else’s comb or hairbrush.
- HIV is only transmitted during the exchange of the following body fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. This exchange usually happens when people engage in unprotected oral, anal, or vaginal sex, through sharing needles with an infected person, or from an infected mother to her baby. You can’t get HIV from every day casual contact with an HIV infected person, such as hugging, touching, sharing eating utensils or drinks, or even from mosquitoes or toilet seats.
FACT: Using a latex (or polyurethane) condom during sex reduces the chance of getting a sexually transmitted disease, including HIV.
- For people who are having sex, condoms do a really good job at reducing one's risk of getting an STD. When they are used correctly every time, condoms reduce the risk for pregnancy and STDs, including HIV. However, abstinence – choosing not to have oral, anal, or vaginal sex – is the only 100% sure way to prevent pregnancy and STDs. Click here to learn ALL about condoms.
FACT: Every year, over 750,000 teenagers become pregnant.
- When you break it down, that’s about 2,000 teenagers becoming pregnant every day. Many of the young women who become mothers as teenagers end up living in poverty during their 20s and 30s.
Sex Myths Video
Click here to watch a video about sex MYTHS and FACTS.