February 22, 2021 by Justin Lehmiller
Most of us like to think of ourselves as having free will. We engage in behaviors—sexually and otherwise—because we choose to do so, right? But what if this wasn't entirely true? What if some of our behaviors were unknowingly being manipulated by microorganisms that entered our bodies and brains?I know what you’re thinking—this sounds kind of crazy, bordering on science...
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February 10, 2021 by Justin Lehmiller
The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) recognizes February as National Condom Month. Condom awareness and education is always important, but it seems especially timely right now given that rates of...
Safe Sex
February 4, 2021 by Justin Lehmiller
Teens across the United States have wildly inconsistent experiences with sex education. Currently, 20 states do not require sex ed, and even in those states that mandate it, the information...
Safe Sex
January 25, 2021 by Justin Lehmiller
We know that there have been multiple changes in sexual behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, which I’ve blogged extensively about before (for a summary of some of the main findings,...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
August 17, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
Our sexual behavior patterns change with the seasons. Historically, there has been a reliable peak in sexual activity during the summer months. But is our usual summer peak going to...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
June 12, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a significant public health concern, with cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia recently reaching a record high in the United States. There is much work...
Safe Sex
May 18, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
Two months ago, I published a blog post titled “Can the Coronavirus be Transmitted Through Sex?” At the time, I wrote that “there haven’t been any scientific studies as of...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
April 29, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise, and many people are curious about the reasons why. While the cause is obviously multifactorial, some have suggested that at least part...
Myth vs Fact, Safe Sex
April 27, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
April is STD Awareness Month, so let’s take a little time to set the record straight on some popular myths about sexually transmitted infections and diseases. In this post, we’ll...
Myth vs Fact, Safe Sex
March 18, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
In the last few weeks, I’ve seen a ton of headlines predicting a massive baby boom stemming from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic—and some people are making very bold claims. Case...
Media & Culture, Myth vs Fact, Safe Sex
March 16, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has prompted a lot of questions, including many questions about exactly how this virus spreads. One that I’ve been hearing a lot about lately is whether...
Safe Sex
March 4, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
People today are less likely to report using condoms than they were in the past. For example, among teens, the number who reported using a condom the last time they...
Safe Sex
February 24, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
Teens across the United States have wildly inconsistent experiences with sex education. More than 20 states do not even require that sex education be taught at all, and even in...
Safe Sex
February 7, 2020 by Justin Lehmiller
Oral sex is one of the most common sexual activities in the United States today. In fact, a majority of American adults under age 50 say they have both given and received...
Safe Sex
December 6, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and NPR’s Planet Money is one of my favorites. Generally speaking, their episodes don’t have much to do with sex or sexuality; however,...
Safe Sex
November 1, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
Why do people engage in risky sexual behaviors? This is, of course, a complex question and there are obviously many contributing factors. For example, some people take sexual risks because...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
September 18, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection and it’s responsible for a number of negative health effects. In addition to genital warts, it has the potential...
Safe Sex
August 9, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
We are getting closer and closer to eradicating HIV, a sexually transmitted infection that has contributed to the deaths of at least 32 million people worldwide since the early 1980s....
Safe Sex, Videos
July 26, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
The human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. More than one hundred strains of HPV exist and, while most of them don’t cause problems,...
Safe Sex, Videos
June 14, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
Scientists have been working on developing a birth control pill for men for years. One prominent line of research has focused on using hormones to block production of sperm; however,...
Safe Sex, Videos
June 10, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
Gonorrhea is a relatively common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can be passed along through oral, vaginal, and anal sex. It was once thought that these were the only sexual...
Safe Sex
May 31, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
A few days ago, I received several messages from friends saying they heard a segment on NPR about kink that mentioned me. Naturally, I was curious to give it a...
Safe Sex
May 10, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
When it comes to men’s options for birth control, they really only have two choices: wear a condom or get a vasectomy. While the number of options available to women...
Safe Sex, Videos
April 29, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
In the United States, the average age of first sexual intercourse is 17 for men, according to data from the CDC. The number is roughly the same for women, and...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
April 15, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
Some physicians argue that male circumcision should be a routine procedure because it can help fight the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Not only does circumcision reduce men’s odds...
Myth vs Fact, Safe Sex
March 18, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
In the United States today, adolescents' experiences with sex education are anything but consistent. Believe it or not, less than half of all states even require that sex education be...
Safe Sex
February 25, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) recognizes February as National Condom Month. For my part in helping to increase awareness of and education about condoms, I’ve put together the following...
Safe Sex
February 11, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
Vasectomies are one of the most underutilized forms of birth control, in part, because a lot of men are worried about the procedure having a number of negative effects on...
Safe Sex
January 14, 2019 by Justin Lehmiller
In 2017, we added a new word to our sexual vocabulary: stealthing. A paper published in the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law defined it as “nonconsensual condom removal during...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
November 16, 2018 by Justin Lehmiller
Condoms are one of the best tools we have available for reducing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and preventing unintended pregnancies. Unfortunately, however, they don’t provide quite as...
Safe Sex
November 12, 2018 by Justin Lehmiller
A few years ago, I decided to get the HPV vaccine. This vaccine didn’t hit the market until I was well into adulthood, so I didn’t have a chance to...
Safe Sex
October 19, 2018 by Justin Lehmiller
The state of sex education is poor for American adolescents—but you probably already knew that. However, what you may not have realized is that the state of sex education for...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
August 29, 2018 by Justin Lehmiller
Many sex education programs in the United States fail to meet the needs of sexual and gender minority students. This is especially true for programs that have an abstinence-only focus....
Safe Sex
February 2, 2018 by Justin Lehmiller
The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) has declared February to be National Condom Month. For my part in helping to increase awareness and education about condoms this February, I created...
Safe Sex, Videos
January 12, 2018 by Justin Lehmiller
Students' experiences with sex education are anything but consistent in the United States. Consider this: less than half of the states even require that it be taught at all! Moreover,...
Safe Sex
December 1, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Today is World AIDS Day, a global public health campaign that began 29 years ago in order to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and education. In support of this campaign, I'm sharing...
Safe Sex, Videos
November 27, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
New research finds that the antibiotic doxycycline reduces the odds of contracting some bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) if taken within 72 hours of condomless sex.The findings, presented earlier this...
Safe Sex
October 27, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major public health concern in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are estimated to be 110...
Safe Sex
September 4, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection. In addition to genital warts, it has the potential to cause a wide range of cancers, including cancers of...
Safe Sex
September 4, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
This past summer, I taught a study abroad course on sex and culture in the Netherlands. We covered a lot of ground in this class, including an in-depth look at...
Safe Sex
August 19, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (also known as PrEP for short) is an increasingly popular method of HIV prevention among persons at the highest risk of infection. It involves taking one pill per...
Safe Sex
June 21, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
In the final budget proposal submitted by the Obama administration last year, funding for abstinence-only sex education was put on the chopping block. They proposed eliminating abstinence-only programs entirely and,...
Safe Sex
May 29, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Condoms are one of the best tools we have for reducing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and preventing unintended pregnancies. Unfortunately, however, they don’t always provide as much...
Safe Sex
May 19, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
The next unit in my Amsterdam study abroad course focuses on sexual health and sex education. As a starting point, I shared some statistics with my students highlighting just how...
Safe Sex
May 19, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
This week in my study abroad course on sex and culture in the Netherlands, we're focusing on cross-cultural differences in sexual health and sex education. As a starting point, we're...
Safe Sex
May 10, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
As a sex educator, one of the topics I get asked about most often is anal sex. Given how curious people seem to be about this activity, I thought it...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
March 1, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
A lot of parents avoid talking to their kids about sex because they are afraid the experience will be awkward, embarrassing, or uncomfortable. However, parents aren't doing their kids any...
Safe Sex, Videos
February 8, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Sex education is wildly inconsistent throughout the United States. For one thing, only about half of the states even require it, while the other half do not. However, even in...
Safe Sex
February 6, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
February has been declared National Condom Month by the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA). For my part in helping to increase awareness and education about condoms this February, I’ve complied...
Safe Sex
January 25, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
One sexually transmitted infection (STI) that has public health officials increasingly worried is gonorrhea. Although infection rates have declined dramatically from their peak in the 1970s, research has found that...
Safe Sex
January 23, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a massive public health issue in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 110 million infections in...
Safe Sex
January 16, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Abortion is one of the most controversial and hotly debated political topics in the United States today--and that debate is about to hit a fever pitch, given the double whammy...
Safe Sex, Videos
January 9, 2017 by Justin Lehmiller
Popular media articles on adolescent sexuality usually paint a portrait of the modern American teenager as hypersexual. Among other things, these articles give the impression that teens are having sex...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
December 23, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Generally speaking, people have more sex in the summer than they do in the winter [1]—however, it turns out that December is the exception to the winter sex slump. Evidence...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
December 5, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
In the United States, the FDA currently recommends the HPV vaccine for anyone aged 9-26, regardless of their sex. This vaccine is designed to prevent several different types of cancer—including...
Safe Sex
November 7, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Scientists have been hard at work for decades trying to develop a safe, highly effective, and reversible contraceptive for men—something akin to the birth control pill that has been available...
Safe Sex
October 26, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
How do men feel about the use of condoms in pornography? A new study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior offers some insight. Gay, straight, and bisexual men were...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
October 12, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Did you know that Lysol and Coca-Cola used to be used as contraceptives? Or that female strippers who are taking birth control pills receive dramatically different tips than strippers who...
Safe Sex
October 12, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
A heterosexual man’s interest in using condoms depends upon a lot of things, including his overall attitudes toward condoms, his perceived ability to use them effectively, and whether or not...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
October 3, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Women’s behavior changes in several ways when they reach the most fertile part of their menstrual cycle--that is, when they ovulate. Among other things, research has found that ovulating women...
Safe Sex
June 3, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Our sexual behavior patterns change with the seasons--and with the shift from spring to summer just around the corner, research suggests that a change in sexual behavior is likely to...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
June 3, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Do our sexual activity patterns change with the seasons? A new study published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections suggests that they do, and that there’s a reliable peak during...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
May 27, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
A reader submitted the following question: “I have had one sexual partner and contracted herpes from him. Though I haven't had sex in 5-7 years and no recurrence of symptoms,...
Safe Sex, Sex Q&A
May 20, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
In the United States today, 37 states mandate that information on abstinence be provided in sex education courses. As you might imagine, it’s not uncommon for students to be asked...
Safe Sex
May 20, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
In the U.S. today, 37 states mandate that information on abstinence be provided in sex education courses. In those states, it is not uncommon for students to be asked to...
Safe Sex
February 29, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
According to a new report from the CDC, the number of teenagers giving birth is at its lowest point in the last 15 years. In fact, between 1991 and 2014,...
Safe Sex
February 29, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
A reader submitted the following question:“What is more probable in a random heterosexual encounter without protection: getting an STD or getting pregnant? I assume the answer will change with age...
Safe Sex, Sex Q&A
February 26, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
The teenage birth rate in the United States has hit a record low, according to a new report from the CDC. Check out the infographic below for a look at...
Safe Sex
January 2, 2016 by Justin Lehmiller
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major public health issue in the United States. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are as many...
Safe Sex
November 17, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
Sex education is incredibly inconsistent throughout the United States. Some states require it, others don't. And in the states that mandate it, the information teachers are required by law to...
Safe Sex
October 28, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
The birth control pill is something that a lot of us take for granted today. It has never been more widely available or easier to access (in fact, more than...
Safe Sex
September 11, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
Among the many reasons reported by men for not using condoms consistently is that they can’t “keep it up” when they’re wearing a rubber. In other words, some guys stay...
Safe Sex, Sex Tips
August 30, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
A lot of straight guys are freaked out by the idea of having a vasectomy. Some worry that it will make them "less of a man." Some are worried that...
Safe Sex
July 29, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
A reader submitted the following question:“Is it necessary to use condoms/dental dams for oral sex? What if it is not used? Does that guarantee transmission of sexually transmitted infections?”Thanks for...
Safe Sex, Sex Q&A
January 29, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
Unprotected sex happens for a wide range of reasons. For instance, sometimes condoms aren't available, but people decide to have sex anyway, while other times, a condom might slip off...
Safe Sex
January 16, 2015 by Justin Lehmiller
A reader submitted the following question:“I saw the Galactic Cap on a YouTube video, and really wanted to know your thoughts. It seems dangerous and ridiculous to me, but I...
Safe Sex, Sex Q&A
December 21, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
In countries ravaged by HIV where access to contraceptives and barriers is limited, it is not uncommon for donor agencies from around the world to come in and flood the...
Safe Sex, Videos
December 19, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
Did you know that Lysol and Coca-Cola used to be used as contraceptives? Or that usage of birth control pills is related not only to what women pay attention to...
Safe Sex
December 12, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is an organization that works to enhance the sexual and reproductive health of women and young people all around the world. One of the...
Safe Sex
November 2, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
Believe it or not, human beings have been making and using condoms for thousands of years. Despite how long they’ve been around, condoms remain imperfect and continue to be misused....
Safe Sex
October 31, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
Every Friday on the blog, I answer people's questions about sex, love, and relationships. This week's question comes from a female reader who wanted to know the following:"Everyone talks about...
Safe Sex, Sex Q&A
October 16, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
In this TEDx talk, Mechai Viravaidya talks about his work promoting condoms in Thailand from the 1970s until today. Viravaidya’s efforts have been so successful that he has been dubbed...
Safe Sex, Videos
September 26, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
When it comes to selecting contraceptives, women have a lot more options than men. Women can choose from pills, patches, vaginal rings, IUDs, diaphragms, hormone injections, tubal ligations, and much...
Safe Sex
July 3, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP for short) has been in the news a lot lately. In case you are not familiar, PrEP refers to a new method of HIV prevention. Uninfected...
Safe Sex
May 28, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
A growing amount of research suggests that what heterosexual women find attractive in men changes across the menstrual cycle. Specifically, women tend to report greater attraction to masculine-looking and -acting...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
April 28, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
Sex toys have become incredibly popular in recent years. Just consider this: national U.S. survey data reveal that 52.5% of women and 44.8% of men report having used a vibrator...
Safe Sex
March 19, 2014 by Justin Lehmiller
For years, we have heard claims on many political talk and news shows that reducing birth control costs and/or making contraception more widely available will increase female promiscuity. For example,...
Safe Sex, Sex Ed
