Is oral sex amongst teens and young adults equivalent to a goodnight kiss of the 1990’s? Recent studies show that oral sex amongst this young age group is definitely on the rise. It seems that the younger population is much more exposed to sex than we were only a decade ago. It is much more visible on television, in magazines, and we even hear about it in our music. It just seems that the younger generation is more comfortable with sex, especially oral sex. In fact, to a lot of teens and young adults oral sex is “no big deal.” They don’t even believe that oral sex is sex. Research shows that oral sex, or what teens and young adults refer to as “outercourse,” has even become the main attraction at some teen and college parties. Some of these parties are simply referred to as “oral-sex” parties.” At some of these parties, one-on-one oral sex is the norm. At others, the guys line up and receive oral sex from one or multiple girls. There is also a new party that has recently become evident for this age group. This new party is called a “rainbow party.” It seems that rainbow parties are oral sex parties in which each girl there wears a different shade of lipstick. Each guy, of course, tries to end up with each color of lipstick around his penis by the end of the night. Shocked? I know I was when I first heard of these rainbow parties. How prevalent are these parties? Well, it seems that they are not the typical. While that should give us some relief, the fact that these parties even exist should be very concerning, especially to parents. These parties may not be the standard at this point, but we do know that we live in a time where some teens have a lackadaisical attitude about sex. Some of you are probably wondering how this could possibly occur in a time where information about AIDS and other STDs is so extensive. Well, there may be several reasons. One main reason may be a misconception about STDs within this young age group. Research shows that many teens and young adults believe that they cannot contract STDs through oral sex. This is definitely not true. Studies prove that although there may be less of a risk, STDs can be transferred through oral sex, especially if ejaculation occurs or if there are any bleeding gums, cuts, sores, or scratches involved. So, how do we talk to the younger generation about oral sex? We have to make sure that we talk to children at a young age, younger than we would probably prefer. We need to try to make them comfortable (as comfortable as possible) when talking to them about oral sex. Also, they should understand how participating in oral sex too early can affect their self-esteem and their reputation. We must make sure that they feel special and value themselves. This could possibly provide them as teenagers the courage that they need to make sexual decisions for the right reasons, not because they feel pressured. They also need to know that there are consequences to their actions. These are things that children and teens sometimes do not consider beforehand. Finally, we need to make sure that children know that they have adults whom they can talk to about sex. It may be an uncomfortable subject, but it is imperative that we are able to have open dialogue about it with our children. Just because we had the dreaded “sex” discussion once, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have it again.