Ask the Sexpert

Dear freshmen,

Welcome to Sexpert! Written by a team of Sexual Health Advisers (a group of students who work with University Health Services), this column’s aim is to answer your questions about sex, sexuality and sexual health. This week, we figured that instead of raiding our box of questions, we’d try to dispel some myths about Princeton:

Everyone is having sex.

Your first few nights on the Street may have made it seem that way, with all those couples playing tonsil hockey in the dark recesses of the dance floor. But, like people anywhere else, Princeton students have a vast spectrum of feelings about sex, as well as a wide range of personal experiences.

No one is having sex.

Yes, many people at Princeton were nerds in high school. But just because we enjoy using the library catalog doesn’t mean we aren’t also capable of being sexually aroused. Because Princeton students do date. And Princeton students do randomly hook up. And Princeton students do pretty much anything else you can think of, sexually or otherwise.

The best way to get into the eating club/social group/clique of your dreams is to perform sexual favors for the person in charge.

This is probably the biggest misconception there is, regardless of whether you’re talking about Princeton or the world outside the Orange Bubble. With eating clubs, this is commonly referred to as “third-floor Bicker,” since most of the officers of most of the eating clubs live on the third floor. And while the existence of the name would suggest that this does in fact happen, this doesn’t mean that everyone is doing it. It also doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea, either to achieve your ultimate goal of acceptance or for protecting your reputation. That may sound judgmental, but trading sexual favors for anything can often incur more negative attention than positive attention. So first consider whether you would kiss/make out with/go down on/have sex with this person if he/she didn’t have something you wanted, and then decide on your course of action.

No one at Princeton has a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

I know this one is kind of a bummer, but there’s really no point in beating around the bush (no pun intended). Luckily, I can tell you which STIs are the most prevalent here on campus: Herpes Type 1 in the genital area and HPV. In case that first one surprised you, here are some of the details: Herpes Type 1 is usually found in the mouth area, with Herpes Type 2 found in the genitals. But because of the increased prevalence of oral sex combined with the fact that Herpes can be transmitted without a person having a visible outbreak, Herpes Type 1 in the genital area is more and more often seen in Princeton. So, in short, ask your partner if they’ve ever had a cold sore, watch out for sores in the genital area, and consider using protection even for oral sex.

We’ve only barely scratched the surface here, but we’ll be back again next week to answer more of your questions, so keep them coming.

— The Sexpert

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‘Sexpert’ is written by a team of peer sexual health educators and fact-checked by University health professionals. You can submit questions to sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com. Don’t be shy!