Study claims half of teens have had oral sex

The Washington Post (requires free registration) reports with shock and horror (okay, mild amusement) that not only half of all teens have had oral sex, including a large number of those who have never had vaginal intercourse, but girls are as likely to be the receivers as the givers.

I'm not quite sure how much credence to give this information.

I'll admit that this may seem an odd idea to me becaues I'm too old -a child of the '70's. But I'm also someone who hears stories from kids and adults in the examining room. The patient population I've seen indicates that the double standard is alive and well.


On the other hand, the last two "genital herpes" cultures I sent off were reporte as "Herpes Simplex I," what we used to call "oral herpes," assuming that one type preferred one area.

Thankfully, the data used is over 2 years old. The pregnancy rates are going down, so hopefully these numbers are going down, too.

Another thing to notice is how heavily weighted those numbers are toward teens 17-19 years old. And people up to age 44 are included in some of the statistics. I have not had a chance to read the fine print of the actual report, and will report back.....