Once upon a time it was considered the ultimate act of intimacy between two people, but to Generation Y oral sex is nothing if not a casual, habitual thing, according to a new study.
USA Today says data collected in a “groundbreaking” study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate oral sex has occurred between more than half of teenagers 15-19 years old.
And while the circumstances surrounding oral sexual encounters were not gauged by researchers, “the report does provide the first federal data that offer a peek into the sex lives of American teenagers,” the paper said.
Oral sexual behavior among teens appears to support further CDCP data in a September report stating, “Among adults 25-44 years of age, 97 percent of men and 98 percent of women have had vaginal intercourse” while “90 percent of men and 88 percent of women have had oral sex with an opposite-sex partner … .”
The teen-specific report, the results of a $16 million six-year study based on 2002 data, found that 55 percent of boys and 54 percent of girls say they either gave or received oral sex. That compares with 49 percent of boys and 53 percent of girls in the same 15-19 age group reporting having had sexual intercourse, the study found.
Adults consider oral sex to be “extremely intimate, and to some of these young people, apparently it isn’t as much,” Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, told USA Today. “What we’re learning here is that adolescents are redefining what is intimate.”
According to the CDCP study, teens’ attitudes towards oral sex seem to support Brown’s conclusion. Many view it so casually it can occur outside of the confines of a steady, monogamous relationship. Some report it often occurs at parties and may involve multiple partners.
Some experts believe teens’ casual approach to what was once thought to be an experience so intimate it transcended sexual intercourse will have damaging effects later in life. Specifically, they worry such a cavalier perspective may rob Gen Y adults of their ability to develop long-term relationships.
“When the physical part of the relationship races ahead of everything else, it can almost become the focus of the relationship, and they’re not then developing all of the really important skills like trust and communication and all those things that are the key ingredients for a healthy, long-lasting relationship,” David Walsh, a psychologist and author of the teen-behavior book “Why Do They Act That Way?” told USA Today.
Part of the reason some child behavior experts believe oral sex is on the rise is because teens view it as a safer alternative to intercourse. With the latter, teens say, comes the worry of pregnancy and increased risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease.
According to CDCP data, the U.S. saw more than 32,000 new cases of syphilis, 834,000 new cases of chlamydia, and 351,000 cases of gonorrhea in 2002.
And, say other U.S. experts, oral sex can definitely put you at risk for contracting HIV.
“Since the dawning of the AIDS age, oral sex has become far more popular. This is only natural since many believe oral sex is a safe activity,” writes M. Sara Rosenthal, PhD., for online medical reference site WebMD.com. “… As more research is showing, it is a high-risk activity.”
Though the CDCP studies show hard data, they don’t explain why more of today’s teens are putting oral sex ahead of intercourse, or what sort of long-term effect casual oral sex may have.
Others have expressed less concern, tying teens’ oral sexual behavior with overall sexual behavior as adults.
“The fact that teenagers have oral sex doesn’t upset me much from a public health perspective,” J. Dennis Fortenberry, an Indiana University School of Medicine physician who specializes in adolescent medicine, told USA Today.
“From my perspective, relatively few teenagers only have oral sex. And so for the most part, oral sex, as for adults, is typically incorporated into a pattern of sexual behaviors that may vary depending upon the type of relationship and the timing of a relationship,” he said.
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