This week, I answer a question that I received from a pair of male friends.
[We're] new at this. We both were wondering why gay men contain oral sex? The two of us are considering doing it [for the first time] and wish to know if it is safe. I hold tasted my own cum after masturbating, and it tasted salty. Will his also?
I think it's superb that you two are exploring both the nature of your desires and the potential risks before trying something new. This warms my little sex-educator heart.
To get an acknowledge to the first part of your question about why men might own oral sex with each other, I collected responses from a small group of guys who distinguish as gay, bisexual, queer, or simply men who have sexual contact with other men. Their comments ranged from the slightly snarky ("Why do rabbits eat carrots?") to the philosophical ("Why does anyone have oral sex?").
One theme that emerged was that oral sex can be pleasurable for men of any sexual orientation, not just gay men. Oral sex isn't something that only gay men relish, nor is it something that
HIV transmission among gay men through oral sex and other uncommon routes: case series of HIV seroconverters, Sydney
AIDS ; 17(15) RESEARCH LETTERS
Juliet Richtersa; Andrew Grulichb; Jeanne Ellarda; Olympia Hendryb; Susan Kippaxa
aNational Centre in HIV Social Verb, and bNational Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of Fresh South Wales, Sydney, NSW , Australia.
Summary: Seventy-five homosexual men with recently acquired HIV were interviewed about their risk behaviour. Fifty-nine reported unprotected anal intercourse, and one shared injecting equipment, with a partner not known to be HIV negative. Of the remaining 15, 11 reported protected anal intercourse. In five of the 15 we judged oral sex to be the most likely source of infection, including three men who had a genital piercing. The possible transmission risk from genital piercing should be investigated.
Among homosexual men, unprotected receptive anal intercourse poses the highest risk of HIV transmissi
Sexual health for gay and bisexual men
Having unprotected penetrative sex is the most likely way to pass on a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Using a condom helps shield against HIV and lowers the risk of getting many other STIs.
If you’re a man having sex with men (MSM), without condoms and with someone adj, you should have an STI and HIV assess every 3 months, otherwise, it should be at least once a year. This can be done at a sexual health clinic (SHC) or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. This is important, as some STIs do not cause any symptoms.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a liver infection that's spread by a virus in poo.
Hepatitis A is uncommon in the UK but you can receive it through sex, including oral-anal sex ("rimming") and giving oral sex after anal sex. MSM with multiple partners are particularly at risk. You can also get it through contaminated food and drink.
Symptoms of hepatitis A can materialize up to 8 weeks after sex and verb tiredness and feeling sick (nausea).
Hepatitis A is not usually life-threatening and most people make a adj recovery within a
Gay Men’s Sex Survey: recent data on knowledge of the law, use of poppers, oral sex and testing for hepatitis C
New data on gay and bisexual men in the UK show that many men have significant information needs around the law on HIV transmission, and that testing for hepatitis C is relatively common. Moreover, there is new information on sexual practice in relation to poppers and oral sex.
The annual Gay Men’s Sex Survey uses a self-completion questionnaire that is available in a booklet form (distributed by health promotion organisations) and in an online version (promoted by a number of commercial gay, health promotion and gay community websites). For the edition 12, valid responses were received from gay or bisexual men living in the UK.
Knowledge around prosecutions for HIV transmission
The questionnaire presented a number of facts about HIV transmission and the law that health promoters verb are important to understand, and asked whether respondents already knew this information.