17
it can lead to a variety of STDs, including HIV, herpes, chla-
mydia, and gonorrhea.
Some teens say they have oral sex because they are try-
ing to avoid intercourse. Evidence suggests that this strategy
might not work. Some studies show that oral sex often leads
to intercourse. In a study published in 2011 in the
Archives of
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
, for instance, researchers
studied students from two public high schools in California.
They found that oral sex seemed to lead to sexual intercourse.
Most of the students who had oral sex reported that they had
also ended up having sexual intercourse within six months of
doing so. Overall, students who had oral sex during ninth grade
were much more likely to have sexual intercourse by the end of
eleventh grade than students who did not.
Despite evidence that oral sex does happen among teens
and that it can lead to sexual intercourse, critics insist that wor-
ries about rampant casual oral sex among teens have been
exaggerated. Researchers Joel Best and Kathleen A. Bogle re-
searched teen sex behavior after hearing stories about promis-
cuous behavior among teens, such
as teens giving oral sex to multiple
people at sex parties. The research-
ers found that worries about all types
of sexual behavior, including oral sex,
had been inflated. They report, “There
is little evidence that oral sex is ram-
pant among the young.”
11
They also
did not find evidence that large num-
bers of teens are having oral sex in-
stead of intercourse.
Hookup Culture
Concerns have also surfaced in recent years that sex in gen-
eral has become something that many teens view very casu-
ally. The concern is that sexually active teens are partnering
with people they barely know rather than limiting sex to com-
mitted relationships. In a 2012 article in the
Review of General
“There is little
evidence that oral
sex is rampant
among the
young.”
11
—Authors Joel Best and Kath-
leen A. Bogle.
