Common Oral Sex Myths, Debunked

Most adults know a thing or two about oral sex.  For instance, it generally involves going down on your partner as precursor to sex, followed by some rhythmic sucking, gentle licking, and nimble finger action.  (All at once sometimes!)  And if all goes well, the session usually ends with a mind-blowing orgasm.  But, there are some things that are often left out of the oral sex conversation.  Like, is the risk of STI just as high as it is when it comes to unprotected penetrative intercourse?  And does consuming pineapple juice  change the way you taste down below?  Here, we debunk some of the most common oral sex myths once and for all.

Oral sex is 100 percent safe. Nuh-uh. While it’d be amazing if oral sex was totally safe, the harsh truth is that going down on your partner can, in fact, give you a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In fact, unprotected oral sex can expose you STIs like herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, and HPV, to name a few. Uh, yikes.

Oral sex is 100 percent safe."Many of the diseases that can be transmitted from vaginal or anal intercourse can be transmitted from oral intercourse as well," Dr. Benjamin Brucker, an assistant professor of urology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, told Cosmopolitan. "No matter what you're doing with someone's genitals, something can be transmitted.” So do yourself a favor, ladies and gents, and wrap it up!

Swallowing semen is dangerous. Say what? Swallowing semen, for the most part, is not harmful — unless, of course, that person has an STI. Otherwise, a man’s swimmers mostly contain some sugars and proteins, and those definitely don’t cause any harm by themselves. In fact, some studies have found benefits to swallowing semen. Next!

Spitting is always safer. Piggy-backing off the previous slide, there’s another common misconception that spitting is somehow safer than swallowing. While spitting instead of swallowing might — keyword: might — lesson your chances of contracting an STI, it isn’t foolproof. Sorry, not sorry.

Spitting is always safer. "If you brushed your teeth before getting intimate with someone, if there's a small cut, there is a potential for transmission of fluids through the skin or through the mucosa of the mouth,” Dr. Brucker told Cosmopolitan. "So even if semen is not swallowed, for example, it certainly can increase the chance of transmission of diseases.” This is why flavored condoms exist, people!

Too much spit during a BJ is a turn-off. What. The. Hell? While it’s true that every man has preferences on just how wet he likes things to be down below, don’t freak out if you feel like you’re drooling all over the place. Slobbering all over his manhood is part of what makes the entire thing feel so damn good. So relax and just get into it.

Pineapple makes you taste better. First thing’s first, your vagina probably smells and tastes exactly as it should: like a vagina. And let’s be clear here: This is not a problem. But if you’re wondering whether or not consuming pineapple is going to make your juices taste sweeter, well... it kind of depends.

Pineapple makes you taste better. To be fair, this myth isn’t totally untrue. From your sweat to your vaginal secretions, bodily fluids can all be influenced by your diet and lifestyle habits. For example, eating lots of pungent foods like garlic and meats can make your juices take on a little more pungent aroma, while eating sweater foods could less to a less aromatic scent.

Pineapple makes you taste better That said, the results aren’t immediate. It’s more about your overall selections of food than that one pre-sex treat. In other words, what you eat definitely does affect how you taste and smell below the belt, but it’s based off your whole diet, not just one meal. Same goes for his semen!