Sexual Health

5 Tips for Safe and Pleasurable Sex

Two graduate students in BU’s School of Public Health offer up some important advice.

Did you know September is Sexual Health Month? If you’re sexually active (or thinking of becoming sexually active), it’s a good reminder to check in on this important part of your health and wellbeing. Here are some resources and ideas for how you can do that! 

1. Get familiar with the resources available at BU and nearby

Here at BU, there are a ton of sexual health resources that are available to undergraduate and graduate students. Student Health Services (SHS) can help you with birth control and emergency contraception prescriptions, IUDs, PrEP for HIV prevention, STI testing, and free safer sex supplies (more on that below)! Go to Patient Connect to make a free appointment.  BU SHS sexual health services are available to all full-time BU students and part-time students with the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).  

Some student organizations offer resources for your sexual wellbeing, too. Students for Reproductive Freedom has emergency contraception vending machine in the basement of the George Sherman Union (find updates on the availability of emergency contraception from the vending machine on Instagram @bostonusrf; as of publication, it is currently being restocked), and the Queer Activist Collective offers Gender Affirming Products (like tucking tape and packers). 

Off-campus, there’s Planned Parenthood (which is right in West Campus), and Fenway Health (a 15-minute walk from campus), which offer many sexual health services and specialty care for the LGBTQIA+ community. 

2. Order free condoms (and other safer sex supplies) from  the Condom Fairy

The Condom Fairy at SHS delivers safer sex supplies and sexual health materials in discreet packaging to BU students’ mailboxes – whether they live on or off-campus. You can order external condoms, internal condoms,  lube, and oral dams – and sometimes get extra surprise items with Condom Fairy promo codes – look for those on Instagram and in the SHS monthly email sent to students. It’s all free and anonymous!

3. Learn about pleasure to enhance your experience

Pleasure is powerful! It’s one of the many reasons that someone might choose to have sex and is vital to your sexual health. But what does pleasure even mean? Pleasure Activist Adrienne Maree Brown defines pleasure as “happiness, joy, contentment, and overall satisfaction.” That definition may seem broader than what we usually think of – like orgasms. Orgasms are important, but they do not always have to be the end goal of sex. The goal of sex may be different for everyone – but everyone is deserving of pleasure.

So, how can you add more pleasure to your sexual experiences? 

• Take some time to find what feels good for you. This can look like reflecting during or after sexual activity with yourself or a partner. 
• Once you know what feels good, you can find what you like and dislike! This is unique to everyone and can change over time. 
• Once you know what feels good and what you like, you can decide what you want. This means making those actions a priority in your solo or partnered sexual activity. Communication is key here! 

If you want to learn more…

• Visit one of Boston’s sex shops like Good Vibrations to explore pleasure-enhancing items like sex toys, lubricants, and sex education resources  
• “Come As You Are” by Emily Nagoski covers the science behind sexual pleasure 
• Want to learn how to infuse more pleasure into your life? Take “Pleasure Activism” by Adrienne Maree Brown for a spin!

Important note ⚠️: No one is required to give you pleasure. Healthy sexuality affirms that everyone should be able to seek out experiences they want – but no one has to do anything they don’t want to do either!

4. Know when and how to get an STI test

Getting tested regularly is super important because some STIs don’t have any symptoms at all – but they can still affect your health (and you can still transmit them to others). If you’re having sex, getting tested should be a regular part of taking care of your health – and we’re all about normalizing it!  

Here’s how to remember when to get tested: 

• If you’re sexually active, get tested at least once a year
• If you plan to have a new sexual partner, get tested
• If you have multiple or anonymous partners, get tested every three months
• If you have symptoms or think you’ve been recently exposed to an STI, get tested immediately

SHS offers STI testing right on campus. (It’s one of the most common appointments at SHS!) You can learn about what to expect and how to make an appointment – or find off-campus options – in this STI Q&A.

5. Get involved on campus

If you’re interested in learning more about sexual health, there are student organizations that do awesome things on campus, this includes Students for Reproductive Freedom, Center for Gender, Sexuality & Activism, and Queer Activist Collective.