Friday Five: Common Misconceptions About Your Sexual Anatomy
Here’s your weekly dose of sultry brain food and sexual education. Take 5 minutes for 5 things that will elevate your mind, body, soul and sex life.
1. Modern Sexual Misconceptions
Sexual education taught in schools has failed many of us. As a result, we’ve grown up pretty clueless about our sexual bodies and how to care for them properly, our anatomical functions, potential sexual diseases, etc. It’s our mission at My Sex Bio to change that story. Keep reading for 4 common misconceptions about our physiology.
2. Precum Pregnancy?
Can you get pregnant from precum? Primarily, sperm cells are found in semen, not in pre-ejaculate. However, pre-cum can sometimes contain living sperm cells. Even though precum and semen are different fluids produced by different glands in the body, they still use the same duct to exit; therefore, a residue of either may be left within the urethra.
Verywell Family states, “even if the man pulls out and ejaculates away from the vagina or vulva area, there is a 4% chance that pregnancy may result. These pregnancies are due to those few sperm cells in the precum.” Learn more:
3. Period Pregnancy?
Ovulation is the monthly release of an egg from an individual’s ovaries. It is the time when they are most likely to get pregnant if they engage in sexual activity. Individuals who have a shorter cycle (like 21 or 24 days) ovulate earlier in their cycle. Since sperm cells can live inside the uterus for around 5-6 days, an early ovulation can make conception possible.
According to Nemours Children’s Health, pregnancy during menstruation can happen if:
“A [person] has bleeding that [they think] is a period, but it's bleeding from ovulation.”
“Ovulation happens before the bleeding from a [person]'s period has stopped.”
If you’re not aiming for pregnancy, use a contraceptive method every time you have sex. Learn more:
4. Does the G-Spot Exist?
The G-spot (or P-spot) on penis-owners exists without controversy. “The prostate is a small muscular gland located in the rectum and is surrounded by nerve endings,” explains Planned Parenthood.
“A prostate orgasm, also known as a ‘P’ spot orgasm,
is a type of sexual climax possible in cis-gendered
men and MTF transgendered individuals.”
— Planned Parenthood, The Prostate Orgasm
Penis-owners can orgasm as a result of stimulation to their prostate gland, and these orgasms are often described as being as pleasurable as (and sometimes more pleasurable than) penile orgasms. A lot more controversy however surrounds the existence of a G-spot in females. Learn more:
5. Do Erections Always = Arousal?
LSS: nope, they don’t. Sometimes erections are just a natural body process that happens for no reason at all and that doesn't mean someone is aroused or looking for sex. Let it be, let it be! 🎵
Erections appear because of one of two main reasons: sexual arousal OR “parasympathetic stimulation.” Sometimes erections seem to ‘just happen’ for no apparent reason when the parasympathetic nervous system takes over; they’re a bodily function. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that controls many of the bodily functions we don’t have conscious control over.
Within the realm of those ‘random’ erections, we find what is commonly referred to as “morning glory”: nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT). According to Medical News Today, “Regular episodes of NPT are a sign that the nerves and blood supply to the penis are healthy.” Learn more:
