How do same-sex couples have sex? How can they practice safer sex?
People who identify as lesbian, gay, bi or heterosexual can give and express pleasure in many ways. There isn’t just one way for two people to have sex, no matter what sex or sexual orientation they are.
What two people of the same sex do to have sex together depends on what feels good for them. Often, people think that sex is only putting a penis into a vagina, but that may not be the activity that brings the most pleasure to the two people. This is true for heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian and gay people.
Males who identify as gay, bisexual or just do sexual things with other males may use their fingers (manual stimulation), mouths (oral sex) and various body parts to give and receive pleasure. They may kiss, touch each other’s bodies or touch the penis and other areas including the scrotum or the anus. Sometimes they use penises to penetrate the anal opening (anal sex).
Females who identify as lesbian, bisexual or just do sexual things with other females may touch each other’s genitals by using their fingers (manual stimulation), mouths (oral sex) and various body parts. They may kiss, touch each other’s breasts or touch the clitoris and other areas of the vagina or the anus. Sometimes they use their fingers to penetrate the vaginal opening or to penetrate the anal opening (anal sex). Some also rub their vulvas together.
It is possible to transmit sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through many of these practices, so it is important for people who have partners of the same sex to read up on safer sex. It is important to use a condom for oral sex performed on a male and for anal sex, and to use a dental dam or a condom that is cut length-wise to create a sheet of latex to use as a barrier when performing oral-anal stimulation or oral sex on a female.
When two people can communicate well, they can experience a wide range of sexual activities that are mutually agreed on, pleasurable and creative. This is true whether they are heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian or gay.
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