Sex safety taught by YEP

Some say the key to safe sex is education – that, and how to use non-microwaveable saran… Some say the key to safe sex is education – that, and how to use non-microwaveable saran wrap.

On Tuesday night, about 25 people gathered in classroom 1P56 in Posvar Hall to participate in a safer-sex workshop and to learn about different forms of sexual contraception and their proper use.

The Rainbow Alliance co-sponsored the free-to-all event, along with the Black Action Society and the Campus Women’s Organization, as part of Pitt’s World AIDS Week.

Members of the Youth Empowerment Project gave demonstrations and advice about using different forms of contraceptives.

The hour-long session started with an introductory game of “two truths and one lie.” Attendees and organizers gave their names and three pieces of information about themselves, then asked others to guess which one was false. The facts ranged from sexual preferences to favorite colors. The game acted as an icebreaker to help attendees become more comfortable and willing to participate.

Using props, YEP members then demonstrated the correct employment of female and male condoms for use during sexual intercourse and oral sex.

Attendees also found out that non-microwaveable plastic wrap is the best way to go for improvised plastic contraception, because microwaveable products, such as saran wrap, have tiny holes that allow disease transmission.

They also learned that water-based lubricants were the safest and most comfortable form of lubricant.

“Vaseline may be in a lot of erotic fiction,” one YEP member said. “But don’t ever use it during sex; I don’t care how hot it is.”

After the demonstrations, YEP members took questions from the audience.

When asked why YEP gave out LifeStyles brand condoms and not Trojans, the response was that, while Trojans are the best-marketed condom, they aren’t necessarily the highest-quality ones.

To demonstrate the quality of the LifeStyles condoms available to those at the session, and to dispel the possible arguments by some men that they are too small, YEP member Jarred Reichard took one from the table, opened it, and proceeded to pull it over his fist and wrist without any breaking or tearing.

“No penis is too big for a condom,” Reichard said triumphantly. “And if it is, that person needs to seek medical attention immediately.”

Another person asked if lambskin condoms were a good alternative if someone had an allergy to latex.

YEP Outreach Coordinator Lyndsey Sickler answered that such condoms have “pores” similar to human skin, and that, while they may act as birth control, they still allow for the transmission of diseases and should only be used by people in a “committed relationship.” She recommended instead that latex-allergic people use polyurethane-based condoms as an alternative.

In addition to free available condoms, there was also information on how to get involved with the various sponsoring organizations as well as events and Web sites, including www.stophiv.pitt.edu, related to preventing AIDS.

“Events like this are important, because [sexually transmitted diseases] are most common among young people,” Reichard said. “And there aren’t a lot of opportunities for them to receive information about how to prevent it in the straightforward way we’re conveying it.”