FIVE SEX MYTHS DEBUNKED BY ZOE

Zoe LaFemina, Reporter

I’m not an expert but I did some research.

1. Everyone I know has had/is having sex. I must be the only virgin in college!
False! While the average age people start having sex is 17, 61 percent of American 18-year-olds reported having had sex in a study from the University of Maryland published in April 2013. That means about 30% of the incoming freshman reported that they hadn’t had sex yet. It definitely seems like our society obsesses over virginity. If you’re having sex, cool, good for you, be safe! And if you’re not, cool, good for you, that’s normal! Virginity is a social construct. I know it’s easier said than done, but virginity really isn’t anything to stress about!

2. Men and women orgasm the same amount, and at the same time.
Unfortunately, no. The National Health and Life Survey says that while 75 percent of (straight) men always reach orgasm during sex, only 29 percent of (straight) women report the same. Researchers call this the “orgasm gap”. Adult women in America have one orgasm for every three that a man experiences. Not to brag or anything, but in a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, lesbian women had the highest orgasm rate at 74.7 percent. This could be attributed to lesbian women being more comfortable with female anatomy, hormone levels, or a variety of other factors.

3. My dick is too small to please my partner.
Nope! The average length of a hard dick in America is slightly over 5 ½ inches. The average girth of a penis in America is about 5 inches around when hard, according to a 2014 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Of course I can’t sit here and say size doesn’t matter to anyone; of course some people wish their partner was bigger or smaller or thinner or thicker. However, research shows that sexual satisfaction is more influenced by psychological connection, intimacy and relationship satisfaction rather than genital size. If I had any suggestions to sex-havers out there, I would say spend less time worrying about the size of your peen and spend more time finding different ways to please your partner.

sex column

4. Sex always hurts the first time.
NO! The first time you have sex shouldn’t be any different from any other time you have sex, pain-wise. If the sex is hurting to the point where it is uncomfortable for anyone involved, you should stop. For some people, a little pain is good. For other people, a lot of pain is good! But this is something you need to communicate with your partner. If the sex is hurting and you don’t like it, tell them. In the cases of straight sex and strap-on sex, penetration could hurt due to lack of lubrication.

5. The pull-out method is a fool-proof way to avoid pregnancy.
Noooo. No, it’s not. First of all, you can’t half-ass safe sex. Pulling out provides absolutely no protection against STD’s. In a study by the National Institutes of Health, researchers analyzed samples of pre-cum immediately and found that about a third contained live sperm. So even if you pull out before ejaculating, pregnancy can still happen. Out of 100 average couples using the pull-out method, also called withdrawal, 22 will get pregnant in a year. It’s not impossible, but it’s also not fool-proof. Pulling out requires lots of experience, self-control, and trust with your partner.