ORAL SEX (Josh McDowell research 2006 to present) “ORAL SEX LINKED TO THROAT CANCER” “A virus contracted through oral sex is the cause of some throat cancers, say US scientists.” “The New England Journal of Medicine study said the risk was almost nine times higher for pope who reported oral sex with more than six partners.” “HPV infection is the cause of majority of cervical cancers, and 80% of sexually active women can expect to have an HPV infection at some point in their lives.” “The John Hopkins study took blood and saliva from 100 men and women newly diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer which affects the throat, tonsils and back of the tongue.” “Oral sex was said to be the main mode of transmission of HPV, but the researchers said mouth-tomouth transmission, for example through kissing, could not be ruled out.” “But she added: ‘People should be reassured that oropharyngeal cancer is relatively uncommon and the overwhelming majority of people with an oral HPV infection probably will not get throat cancer.’” “But whether the vaccine would protect against oral HPV infection is not yet known.” “We know that after age, the main causes of mouth cancer are smoking or chewing tobacco or betel nut, and drinking too much alcohol.” (“Oral sex linked to throat cancer,” BBC News, May 10, 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6639461.stm) ______________________ “ORAL AND ANAL SEX INCREASING AMONG TEENS” “In examining the 1994 medical records of 2,598 12- to 25-year-olds, and the 2004 medical records of 6,438 subjects of the same age, attending STD clinics in Baltimore, Erbelding and colleagues found that over the 10-year period the prevalence of self-reported oral sex in the previous 90 days doubled among males (from 16 percent to 32 percent) and more than doubled among females (from 14 percent to 38 percent).” “There was also an increase in rectal sex among young women, ‘but it was a lot less common than oral sex,’ Erbelding said. Among young women, the prevalence of self-reported anal sex over the period rose from 3 percent to 5.5 percent.” Oral Sex – Research 2006 to present
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(Megan Rauscher, “Oral and anal sex increasing among teens,” Reuters, May 2006, www.today.reuters.com) ______________________ “ORAL SEX AND CONDOM USE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM” “Results: Fifty-six percent of survey respondents had experienced fellatio or cunnilingus, including 22% of those who had not yet engaged in penetrative intercourse. Of young people who had vaginal intercourse, 70% had previously had oral sex. Among those who had experienced fellatio once, 17% had used a condom, but only 2% of respondents who had engaged in fellatio more than once reported consistent use. Reduced pleasure and lack of motivation, desire and forethought were reasons given for not using condoms during fellatio; hygiene, avoidance of the dilemma of whether to spit or swallow ejaculate, and taste were commonly cited as trigger for use.” (Nicole Stone, Bethan Hatherall, Roger Ingham and Juliet McEachran, “Oral Sex and Condom Use Among Young People In the United Kingdom,” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(1):6-12) ______________________ “ORAL SEX AT THE SYNAGOGUE” “I asked the girls I teach and love last Sunday, ‘When you offer oral sex to a boy who does not love you and may not even like you and who will most probably destroy your reputation by telling his friends what you will do, are you proud of yourself? Do you think you are making your parents proud of you? Do you think this is what God wants you to do with your body? You are better than that. You are much better than that.’” “I asked the boys I teach and love last Sunday, ‘When you ask or beg or plead or coerce or manipulate a young girl who likes you and just wants to be popular to go down on you, are you proud of doing that to her? Do you think you are making your parents proud of you? Do you think that is what God wants you to do with your body? You are better than that. You are much better than that.’” (Marc Gellman, “Oral Sex at the Synagogue,” MSNBC, November 2005, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9979345/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098) ______________________ “ORAL SEX COMMON AMONG U.S. TEENS” “More than a third of males aged 15-17 reported having had vaginal sex. In addition, 28% reported giving oral sex to a female and 40% reported receiving oral sex from a female.” “For men aged 18 to 19, two-thirds reported having vaginal sex. About half report giving oral sex to a woman, and two-thirds report receiving oral sex from a woman.” “Among females aged 15-17, 39% report having had vaginal sex, 30% report giving oral sex to a male, and 38% report receiving oral sex from a male. By age 18-21, the percentage of women who had had vaginal sex was similar to those who had had oral sex.” Oral Sex – Research 2006 to present
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“Some teens reported having oral sex but not vaginal sex (13% of males and 11% of females aged 1517)” “Nine out of 10 men called themselves heterosexual, 2.3% called themselves homosexual, 1.8% called themselves bisexual, nearly 4% selected ‘something other,’ and about 2% didn’t answer.” “Among women, 90% called themselves heterosexual, 1.3% called themselves homosexual, 2.8% selected ‘something other,’ and 1.8% didn’t answer.” (Miranda Hitti, “Oral Sex Common Among U.S. Teens,” WebMd, September 2005, www.webmd.com/content/article/111/110203.htm?printing=true) ______________________
“ORAL SEX: HARMLESS FUN?” “What’s oral sex?” “Oral sex is contact of one person’s mouth or tongue with the genitals of another person. Even though some young people do it, many have no idea what’s at stake.” “Emotional risks” “In addition to the risks of STDs, oral sex can really mess with your mind. You may feel serious regret over your loss of innocence, self-control, or self-respect. You might get a reputation you don’t want or memories you can’t forget. Oral sex is powerful enough to not only damage existing relationships, but future ones, as well. Why risk it?” (“Oral Sex: Harmless Fun?” The Medical Institute brochure, 2003. www.medinstitute.org) ______________________ “ORAL SEX IS SEX, AND MOST TEENS DON’T KNOW IT”
“How rampant has this sexual act become among teens?” “Check out these statistics:”
“Some 36 percent of teens ages 15-17 admit to having had oral sex. These numbers increase among teens and young adults ages 15-24.”
“About 75 percent of teens ages 15-17 who have had intercourse have also had oral sex, while 13 percent of teens ages 15-17 who have never had intercourse have admitted to engaging in oral sex.”
“Nearly 25 percent of 10th graders in an upper middle class school district in New England reported having multiple oral sex partners within the last year. The females reported having three to four partners.”
Oral Sex – Research 2006 to present
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“Why are so many adolescents engaging in such an intimate act?” “The media heavily influences the way kids act, feel and respond to sexually related issues. The messages communicated by the media are that sex outside of marriage is okay (and expected!), oral sex is not as big a deal as intercourse, and exploring multiple sexual partners and experiences should be encouraged. And these messages are becoming more common and explicit in relation to oral sex.” “Another factor is the varied perceptions that teens have about oral sex. A 2003 series of national surveys conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and Seventeen magazine revealed that half of all teens ages 15-17 do not believe that oral sex is ‘sex.’ And why should we expect anything different? Teens are bombarded with the message that it's okay, yet where are the voices telling them otherwise?” “As they mature and get older, teen views on oral sex only get worse. A survey of undergraduate students revealed that 59 percent of college students do not define oral sex as sex. Many are merely following the lead of former president Bill Clinton, whose message came across loud and clear when he said he did not consider his actions to be ‘sexual relations.’” “In the March 2003 edition of the Journal of School Health, directors and leaders of federally funded abstinence programs were surveyed regarding their definition of abstinence. This group could not even agree on a definition. Some considered oral sex as acceptable behavior for abstinent teens!” “Postmodern thinking is also evident in the decisions teens make. They no longer rely on God's objective truth to dictate what is right and wrong. Rather, they rely on their feelings to determine whether or not something is right ‘for me’ at that moment. If they think oral sex will make them ‘feel good,’ they'll give in. Until we teach kids to integrate their faith into all of life we should not expect anything else.” “Another reason students are tempted to have oral sex is social pressure. More than 92 percent of teens think being a virgin in high school is good. But, in the eyes of many teens, you can have oral sex and still remain a virgin. One-quarter of sexually active adolescents report engaging in oral sex as a strategy to avoid intercourse! The belief that ‘everybody's doing it’ may lead some teens to believe it's alright for them. A 2004 survey by KFF revealed that 61 percent of teens and young adults believe ‘waiting to have sex is a nice idea but nobody really does.’” “Oral sex is becoming so common among teens that many only consider it ‘third base.’ Peer pressure undeniably plays a large role. Guys are often the initiators of oral sex encounters, but more and more girls are willingly and enthusiastically participating. In some circles, it has become expected behavior for girls. Girls with lower self-esteem will often engage in oral sex just to remain in the group or to keep guys from leaving them.” “Drugs and alcohol hinder the decisions teens make regarding their sexual activities as well. Students who use drugs or alcohol are three times more likely to participate in oral sex than nonusers.” “Finally, a lack of knowledge about the dangers and risks of oral sex leaves many students to make uninformed decisions. For example, 40 percent of adolescents consider oral sex to be ‘safer’ sex, while 20 percent of teens do not even know that STD transmission can occur through oral sex. The Medical Institute for Sexual Health clearly states that, ‘oral sex is sex, and is not part of the repertoire of Oral Sex – Research 2006 to present
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abstinent behavior. Oral sex is likewise neither ‘safe' nor ‘safer' sex." Nobody is telling our teens these simple truths. STDs can be transmitted through oral sex. Of sexually active teens, one out of four will contract an STD every year.” “What can we do?” “First, we need to define oral sex, sex and abstinence. Oral sex IS sex. Engaging in oral sex is not part of abstinence. Pam Stenzel bluntly but accurately defines sex this way in her book, Sex Has a Price Tag. ‘Any genital contact at all, whether hand to genital, mouth to genital, or genital to genital, is sex.’ She goes on to say, ‘if you've had any genital contact at all, you've had sex.’ We need to make these definitions clear to young people.” (Chris Wagner, “Oral Sex Is Sex, and Most Teens Don’t Know It,” Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, http://www.cpyu.org/pageview_p.asp?pageID=18565) ______________________ “URETHRITIS IN MEN LINKED TO ORAL SEX” “FRIDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) – New research suggests that the gonorrhea-like condition known as urethritis, perhaps the most common sexually transmitted disease, can spread to men when they’re on the receiving end of fellatio.” “‘This one really nails it down,’ said Dr. Hunter Handsfield, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington who wrote a commentary about the findings.” “Urethritis, a condition related to a number of health problems, such as urinary tract infections and some sexually transmitted diseases, causes inflammation of the urethra. It can lead to genital discharge, burning during urination and redness and swelling at the tip of the penis, said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The symptoms ‘usually signify and infection due to a germ, like a bacteria or virus,’ he said.” “Urethritis usually goes away on its own or is easily treated with antibiotics, Klausner said. But in some cases, it can result in serious complications, including permanent damage to the urethra in both men and women, especially if it’s not treated.” (Randy Dotinga, “Urethritis in Men Linked to Oral Sex,” Yahoo News, January 2006, www.news.yahoo.com) ______________________
Oral Sex – Research 2006 to present
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