Old-school sex advice that you should ignore
BEFORE the advent of the Internet and the almost biblical revelations from the Cosmopolitan factbook, most of us relied on our mothers, grandmothers and other family members for advice about sex and our bodies, some of which have transcended time to become part of popular belief today.
Many young girls still swear by the myth that massaging their breasts with escallion, garlic or onions will make them bigger; still others believe that pregnancy is not possible with the woman on top. There are a host of others floating around that are not feasible or don’t make practical sense, some even hilarious, but still they persist.
Below are a few old wives’ tales that have managed to remain relevant for some Jamaicans, despite being debunked time and again by either science or experience.
1. If you beat your penis on a pawpaw tree it will get bigger
Many men can remember hearing this, and many have tried, only to end up with swollen organs without the expected result.
Men, please note that the only thing that you could possibly achieve from this foolhardy act is an aching, throbbing, possibly bruised member of the same length you hit puberty with. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim.
2. Sex with a virgin cures AIDS and other STDs
It’s incredible that this is still a belief in this information age. Truth of the matter is, AIDS cannot be cured, and once infected, victims can only seek to live longer with medication and being health conscious. With STDs, the only cure is medication.
3. Douche with cola to remove semen
Many women have been told that they can prevent pregnancy by using this method. The fallacious belief is that the cola will neutralise the man’s sperm. But this cannot be true. During the sex act a woman’s vaginal muscles contract; this way the semen is brought toward her eggs. So even if douching is done immediately after sex the sprightly sperm would have already been on their way. What douching with cola may guarantee, however, is a vaginal irritation or infection.
4. If you have sex in water you can’t get pregnant
There is a misconception that having unprotected sex in water will prevent pregnancy. Don’t be fooled. The same process explained above occurs, no matter your location or the position you choose to get intimate in.
5. You can’t get pregnant the first time
Younger women are sometimes told that it is impossible for them to become pregnant when they have sex for the first time. But whether engaging in sexual intercourse for the first or 1000th time, the possibility exists that you could become pregnant. If you want to avoid becoming pregnant, use protection, but keep in mind that the only protection that is 100 per cent effective is abstinence.
6. Gravity is your friend
Amongst the most popular sexual myths is that when a woman is on top during sex she will not become pregnant because gravity will make the sperm flow out or prevent them from swimming upward. But sperm can swim in any direction once they enter the vaginal canal. Some sperm will trickle down, but millions of others are released in a single ejaculation and some will definitely move upward.
