Teen Sexual Health
During your teens you become sexually mature. If you're a girl, you develop breasts and begin to get your period. If you're a boy, your penis and testicles become larger. If you have sex, you could get pregnant or get someone pregnant. Whether you choose to have sex or not, it is a good idea to know about safe sex and how sex affects your health. Besides pregnancy, having sex puts you at risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease, such as herpes or genital warts, or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The only way to be completely safe is not to have sex. If you choose to have sex, however, latex condoms are the best protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Condoms are also a form of birth control to help prevent pregnancy.
Especially for Teens: You and Your Sexuality
The teen years are exciting. They also can be confusing. Your body is changing. You are dealing with new feelings. You also may be starting to notice your own sexuality and may want to express it. Forms of sexual expression can range from holding hands, to hugging and touching, to kissing, to having sexual intercourse or other forms of sex.
Your Sexuality
Sexuality is a basic human condition. It can affect the way you look, feel, and act. Understanding the changes you are going through makes it easier to cope.
Physical Changes
Some time between the ages 8 and 10 years, most girls' bodies start to change. This time of change is called puberty. As you reach puberty, a part of your brain tells your sex glands, the ovaries, to start working. The sex glands then signal other parts of your body to start to grow. These signals are carried by hormones. Hormones make your body change and start looking more like an adult. Over time, the following changes will occur:
- Your breasts grow
- Your hips grow wider
- You gain weight and grow taller
- You grow hair under your arms and around your genitals
- You get your first menstrual period
- You may get acne
- You start to ovulate
- Their testes and penis get bigger.
- The hair on their bodies grows thicker
- They start to grow hair on their faces, under their arms, and around the genitals
- Their voices get deeper
- Their testes begin to make sperm
- They may get acne
During your teen years, the hormones that cause the sex organs to grow and function also cause strong feelings, including sexual feelings. You may get these feelings for someone of the other sex or the same sex. Thinking about sex or just wanting to hear or read about sex is normal.
Homosexuality and Bisexuality
Many teens wonder, "Am I gay or lesbian?" Things they have done — holding hands with a friend of the same sex, looking at or touching each other's genitals — may make them worry and even feel guilty. These activities are normal in growing girls, and physical affection is common among many women. Many boys and girls are attracted to members of their own sex during puberty.
Sex
During sexual intercourse, or vaginal sex, the boy's hard penis goes into the girl's vagina and moves in and out. This can lead to orgasm. Orgasm also can occur during oral sex or masturbation. During vaginal sex, when a boy has orgasm, he spurts semen, which contains millions of sperm into the girl's vagina. The sperm can swim up into the uterus and then a fallopian tube where one can fertilize an egg. If the couple isn't using any birth control, the girl can become pregnant.
Some birth control methods, such as a latex condom, help prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Other Forms of Sexual Expression
Touching or rubbing your own genitals (clitoris and vagina in girls and penis in boys) can give you pleasure. This is known as masturbation. It can help you learn what kind of touch makes you feel good. Masturbation can let you enjoy your sexuality without having sex with another person before you are ready.
Oral sex is when one partner's mouth comes into contact with the other partner's genitals. Although this form of sex does not cause pregnancy, it can spread STDs. Some teens believe it is not really sex and do not protect themselves. This behavior increases the risk of getting an STD.
Another form of sex is anal sex, in which the penis is placed into the other partner's anus. This form of sex also does not cause pregnancy, but it can greatly increase the risk of getting an STD, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Anal sex can cause tiny tears in the anus. A virus or bacteria causing the STD may enter the body through these tears and spread or sperm may leak into the vagina when the penis is withdrawn.
Making a Decision to Have Sex
Ask yourself what your feelings are about sex. Are you really ready for sex? If you are dating, do you know how the other person feels about sex? Make up your own mind about when is the right time to have sex. Do not have sex just because:
- You think everyone else is
- You think it will make you more popular
- You are talked into it
- You are afraid the other person will break up with you if you do not
- You feel that it will make you a "real" woman
- If you are not ready for sex, say so, and stick to your decision. It is okay to say "no." If the other person truly cares about you, he or she will respect your decision.
- If someone tries to pressure you into having sex, say no.
Finally...
Being a teen can be both exciting and confusing. You face many decisions. To be sure you make the right ones, talk with someone you trust — your parents, your doctor, a teacher, a school counselor, or a coach — if you have questions.