Sex Myths & Mysteries

Every campus has them…some sort of myth or mystery floating around about sex or improving your chances of scoring. Below is a sampling of amusing - and sometimes frightening - myths that have been handed down from generation to generation on campuses around the country.

• You can't get pregnant when you're menstruating. MYTH (Yes, you can!) Sometimes ovulation can actually occur before the bleeding from a woman's period has stopped. Or it may occur within a few days after her period has finished. In both of these cases, having sex before the period has finished or just after it has finished, can result in pregnancy.

• If you go to a particular bar on a particular night wearing a red T-shirt, or run through the park naked during the first full moon of the semester you'll definitely get lucky. MYSTERY (Too many variables here to even go into, the biggest of which is YOU!)

• Losing weight will make your penis bigger. MYTH (If you lose weight all over your body, there's a pad of fat that is located at the base of your penis that will also shrink - this pad of fat is where part of your penis hides when it's erect, and where even more hides when it's not erect. Losing this pad of fat may make the appearance of the penis larger, but it will not actually grow.)

• Unsightly dark bags under the eyes, hair growing thicker in unattractive places, and decreased ability to get and maintain an erection are all symptoms of excessive masturbating. MYTH (Symptoms of excessive masturbation may include chafed and sore genitalia, but there's no evidence your appearance will change. What's excessive to one person may not be enough to another.)

• Masturbation causes gas. MYTH (Well, this would certainly explain a lot about some people we know, but, there isn't any scientific evidence that supports this.) Masturbation will also not cause hair loss, acne or loss of eyesight!

• Virgins can't experience orgasms. MYTH (As any virgin who has ever masturbated can tell you, this is not true. Both male and female virgins who have technically never had intercourse can have orgasms.)

• Condoms will protect you from all STIs. MYTH (Condoms protect you from STIs transmitted via bodily fluids, including HIV, but may not protect you from STIs transmitted via skin contact, such as HPV.)

• You can get STIs from oral sex, but you'll be safer if you brush your teeth right after. It's a MYSTERY why more people don't know that you can get STIs like gonorrhea or herpes from giving or receiving oral sex. It's a MYTH that brushing your teeth has any protective benefit when it comes to oral sex. In fact, brushing can cause microscopic tears in your mouth that make bacteria transmission easier!