# Questions left over from Sex Ed class
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 20, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332 "2023-05-20T16:51:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/1 "2023-05-20T16:51:24Z")
I took Sex Ed close to 40 years ago. One question that I asked the teacher, that she completely dismissed was, “Is there something about the skin around the genitals different from the rest of the body? Why do skin-related STI’s only present themselves in that region, and not on other parts of the body?”
I can’t remember how I framed the question back then, but her response was: “you can’t get herpes on your ear!”, followed by uproarious laughter from the class; and that was that.
Also, how the hell is “the birds and the bees” a metaphor for human sexuality? Seems to me that there should be something better than something that involves two different species.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/2 "2023-05-20T17:02:16Z")
hsv generally tends to infect mucous membranes far more often than skin. that’s why eruptions are generally seen on the genitals and anus and oral region. they can also erupt in nasal passages and on eyelids and conjunctivae and corneas.
hpv is similar in this regard
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/3 "2023-05-20T17:11:55Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> Also, how the hell is “the birds and the bees” a metaphor for human sexuality?
> **[The birds and the bees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_birds_and_the_bees)**
>
> The talk about sex, often colloquially referred to as "the birds and the bees" ,"the facts of life" or simply, "The Talk", is generally the occasion in most children's lives when their parents explain what sex is.
> According to tradition, "the birds and the bees" is a metaphorical story sometimes told to children in an attempt to explain the mechanics and results of sexual intercourse through reference to easily observed natural events. For instance, bees carry and deposit pollen into flowers, a ...
I don’t know if the Wikipedia explanation is totally satisfying and definitive, but at least it’s a source that you didn’t have 40 years ago.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/4 "2023-05-20T17:18:11Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> “the birds and the bees”
In the 19th century, Coleridge wrote:
_All nature seems at work._
_The bees are stirring–birds are on the wing.
And I the while, the sole unbusy thing, not honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing._
Unfortunately, Victorian parents (or maybe nannies) used the phrase as a euphemism to attempt to explain to children - children with no access to the internet - the idea of pairing and pollination as it relates to sex. It has become embedded in the culture now, but I doubt that actual birds or bees are used as an example of human mating.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/5 "2023-05-20T20:41:18Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> Also, how the hell is “the birds and the bees” a metaphor for human sexuality?
It’s two different explanations. The bee going from flower to flower is an example of fertilization and the bird incubating an egg is an example of gestation.
> [@Why the expression "The birds and the bees"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446):
>
> I have been asking me this question for a long time. What do birds and bees together have to do with reproduction? The only interaction they have is that some birds eat bees and that a bird can be stung by a bee. Now in my native German, the corresponding expression is “Bienchen und Blümchen”, “bees and flowers”. That makes sense, because you can teach kids about the concept of reproduction by telling them how bees pollinate flowers, and then you can take another step to explain how humans do it…
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### Author:  [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/6 "2023-05-20T23:41:47Z")
I believe the genital areas and the armpits do have different biological devices than the rest of the skin areas.
Note that they still have hair. But not for any obvious reason. They also secrete different chemicals from the skin than the rest. It is supposed that pheromones are produced in these areas. So there are likely different systems concentrated in these areas. I have not read in depth on the subject, but come across many articles that note differences in these areas.
So there are likely various differences in the structure and exudation of things in these areas that contribute to a variety of different states than are common on the general skin surface.
Of course we mash certain moist areas together with others as often as we deem favourable.
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### Author:  [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/7 "2023-05-21T00:31:44Z")
Rowan and Martin’s version
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgS0Zen_w0c)
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/8 "2023-05-21T00:59:33Z")
> [@Kedikat](#):
>
> Note that they still have hair. But not for any obvious reason.
Is any human hair for any obvious reason?
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### Author:  [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/9 "2023-05-21T01:28:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Is any human hair for any obvious reason?
Eyelashes and eyebrows help keep stuff out of your eyes. Hair on the top of your head keeps your scalp from sunburning. Hair on your toes, um, helps you remember we used to be hobbits.
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### Author:  [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/10 "2023-05-21T01:42:41Z")
So one question I had (not during sex ed, but _much_ later when it became relevant to me personally) is when the efficacy of a birth control method is quoted as a percentage, which is the percentage chance woman using that method (or getting their partner to, in the case of condoms) for a year will not get pregnant, how many times do they expect you to have sex in a year?
Surely the number of times you have sex in a year is bigger but influence on whether you get pregnant than which kind of birth control you use, so they must surely take that into account, and base the percentage on a particular average, what is it? Or is the standard deviation of the number times people on birth control have sex a year actually relatively low (regardless of demographics) so can ignore it and still come up with a meaningful number?
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/11 "2023-05-21T01:58:53Z")
I had always wondered something similar to this when reading of the Duggar TV show - whether the average woman is capable of having 19 kids if she has lots of sex for decades, or whether the mother of that show was unusually fertile.
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### Author:  [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/12 "2023-05-21T02:14:41Z")
When a mommy bird and a daddy bird love each other very much, they realize that they have no genitalia, so they put their poopy parts together. It gets grosser.
When a mommy bee and a daddy bee love each other very much, the mommy bee gets really fat and kicks the daddy bee out of the house. All of the other mommy bees become lesbians in search of a Subaru Outback. This produces a sweet substance called honey.
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### Author:  [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/13 "2023-05-21T02:39:30Z")
> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> … when the efficacy of a birth control method is quoted as a percentage, which is the percentage chance woman using that method (or getting their partner to, in the case of condoms) for a year will not get pregnant, how many times do they expect you to have sex in a year?
I assume (without knowing) that the % failure rate is based on effectiveness of the method, which is independent of how many time a person might employ it, which might vary from little to lots.
The risk of pregnancy is [% failure risk of your chosen method] X frequency of sexy behaviour involving possible insemination X [all the other difficulties that get in the way of conception].
Your risk of hitting that one-in-a-hundred failure incident is much higher if you are at it every single night than someone who looks forward to sex on a more relaxing schedule, but if they’re using the same method the % failure remains the same.
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/14 "2023-05-21T02:53:14Z")
My Alabama Granny had 14 children (three were stillborn or died shortly after childbirth). I think she was 16 when the first one arrived – maybe 14(?).
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/15 "2023-05-21T02:59:50Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> I can’t remember how I framed the question back then, but her response was: “you can’t get herpes on your ear!”, followed by uproarious laughter from the class; and that was that.
And incorrect the answer was. Mucosal surfaces are more easily infected but breaks in skin can cause other surfaces to get infected as well. Skin HSV is a common scourge among HS and collegiate wrestlers. Herpes gladiatorium.
> **[Herpes Gladiatorum in Athletes - Sports Medicine Review](https://www.sportsmedreview.com/blog/herpes-gladiatorum-in-athletes/)**
>
> Herpes Gladiatorum is a cutaneous infection with the herpes simplex virus seen in sports with lots of skin to skin contact, most commonly wrestling.
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### Author:  [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/16 "2023-05-21T03:15:20Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#):
>
> but if they’re using the same method the % failure remains the same.
But surely unlike other factors (like fertility) the frequency of sex is going to vary greatly between the different methods (people tend to use condoms, the pill, and IUDs in different stages of their life and relationships), so unless there is some attempt to control for it comparisons between methods using that percentage will be pretty pointless.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/17 "2023-05-21T03:18:59Z")
Here’s what Cecil had to say, although I don’t think he really answers your question.
> **[How do they measure the effectiveness of birth control?](https://www.straightdope.com/21344420/how-do-they-measure-the-effectiveness-of-birth-control)**
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### Author:  [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/18 "2023-05-21T03:37:47Z")
> [@bob\_2](#):
>
> but I doubt that actual birds or bees are used as an example of human mating.
No bees, but I did have to explain the basics a couple of months back to my five year old son:
“Dad, why is that chicken jumping on the other chicken?”
I guess I will next have to explain the bees thing, but pollination seems a far more difficult task than animal reproduction.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/19 "2023-05-21T04:55:26Z")
I have a feeling that Mrs. Duggar TRIED to have that many kids.
I read a while back that the Hutterites of southern Canada, and Hmong refugees in the U.S., are just about tied for the highest AVERAGE number of live births of any cultures, at about 8.5 per woman, and the commentator said this is, for the most part, pretty much the cap on women’s fertility.
Also, when I was in pharmacy school in the early 1990s and we had a series of lectures about STDs in general and AIDS treatment in particular, which was incredibly primitive compared to just a few years later, the (male, FWIW) professor kept talking about the percentage of women who did or didn’t use condoms. I raised my hand and asked him, “On what part of a woman’s body does she wear a condom?” People in the class sort of tittered, and the professor outright sputtered because he found himself unable to answer a question he had probably never been asked.
I also asked another professor if there was a medical definition for multiple sexual partners. I have not seen other evidence backing this up, but he said it was considered to be more than two partners in any given 6-month period of time.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-left-over-from-sex-ed-class/984332/20 "2023-05-21T05:06:54Z")
> [@Kedikat](#):
>
> I believe the genital areas and the armpits do have different biological devices than the rest of the skin areas.
> Note that they still have hair. But not for any obvious reason. They also secrete different chemicals from the skin than the rest. It is supposed that pheromones are produced in these areas. So there are likely different systems concentrated in these areas. I have not read in depth on the subject, but come across many articles that note differences in these areas.
Specifically: the genital area and the underarms, as well as around the nipples, and the eyelids, ear canal, and nose, have a type of sweat gland called an “apocrine sweat gland,” which aren’t typically found on the rest of the body in humans, and don’t produce what we normally think of as “sweat” – that’s produced by the eccrine sweat glands, which are found all over the body.
Apocrine sweat has a different consistency than eccrine sweat; when I worked in the anti-perspirant industry, I read a paper which described apocrine sweat as “pale milky goo.” Apocrine sweat glands may serve a rudimentary sexual function in humans, by acting as scent glands and producing pheromones.
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