Practicing Safe Sex
Safe sex is one of the key messages for this week's programme. But it has such a bad press - we think of safe sex as boring or un-pleasurable. Nothing could be further from the truth! Safe sex has so many good things going for it...
- Safe sex lets you relax and enjoy. Knowing that you (or your sex toy) are condom-protected means that you don't have to stop and think about what you're doing, but can be spontaneous. Better still, get both of you tested regularly (and then stay faithful!)
- Safe sex is a great relationship test. If your partner is willing to use protection, that means he or she cares about your health as well as their own. A partner who wobbles and refuses is - frankly - not going to be a good long-term relationship bet.
- Safe sex takes foreplay to a different level. Touching, caressing, cuddling and massaging - before the body fluids start flowing - release hormones that enhance your skin sensitivity and make the experience much more fulfilling
- Safe sex makes sex more comfortable; using lube on body parts and sex toys not only helps both of you make love more easily; if you use the spermical kind it also protects you.
- Safe sex is erotic from the start. She can slowly and sensuously put the male condom on him; even better, let her hold it in her mouth then slide it down onto him using her lips. He can slide the female condom inside her, using his other hand to touch her clitoris.
- Safe sex helps him hold back. Condoms can really make a difference to any premature ejaculation problems he has; use two with a little lubricant between for an even better sensation.
- Safe sex gives her more stimulation. Male condoms of the ribbed kind (on his penis or on a sex toy) help her feel more (though check that they are safe, some ribbed condoms aren't HIV protected..). A female condom, given him penetrating at the right angle, can give her fantastic clitoral stimulation.
- Safe sex builds the bond. Talking about the protection you're using, and being responsible about keeping condoms handy, means that you learn to rely on each other, trust each other, and care for each other.