Remember that awkward moment when, while still in middle school, you were forced to sit through some sex education class and had to hold back laughter anytime the teacher said the word boner, among other sex terms? Yeah, it wasn’t necessarily beneficial back then while you were still just 12 years old, but, now that you’re an adult, it sure is important to know what some of that stuff meant.
That’s where we come in, because that old school sex education class is no more! With plenty of new sex terms that have been made mainstream — along with other important ones that guys should know about — we have a list of 15 sex terms and their meanings that we think men should know about.
Sure, some of the ones we’re about to list below may still bring a little bit of laughter, but, hey, this is your new crash course in sex ed, so take good notes to better understand these terms. After all, the website SexETC is here to make you smarter about sex!
7/11
Slang term for a brief, fast act of intercourse.
Adhesion
In the context of sexual health, this occurs when the foreskin becomes stuck to the head of the penis. Adhesions often make it painful for people who are uncircumsised to roll back the foreskin. This is usually preventable by pulling back the foreskin and washing the head of penis regularly. When they are formed, adhesions are easily treated by a health care professional.
Analingus
A sexual behavior where a person’s mouth and/or tongue is used to stimulate a partner’s anus. This is also known as rimming.
Dental dam
A thin square of latex used to cover the vulva during oral sex or the anus during analingus to reduce the risk of spread of sexually transmitted diseases. It is called a “dental dam” because it was created for use in dental procedures.
Engorge
To fill with blood and, as a result, swell. Typically refers to a penis, although the clitoris also fills with blood and becomes larger during sexual arousal.
Nocturnal emission
The technical term for a wet dream, it is the release of semen from a penis while a boy or man is sleeping.
Perineum
The area of tissue between the vaginal opening or the scrotum and the anus. The slang term for this is taint.
Pre-cum
Also known as pre-ejaculate, a small amount of fluid that is made in the Cowper’s gland and that comes out of the tip of the penis shortly after a boy or man gets an erection. It is designed to clean the urethra of urine and coat the walls to increase the chances of sperm surviving once they are ejaculated. Some males always have sperm in their pre-cum and others never do. Any sperm that is found in pre-cum is not likely to cause pregnancy. Pre-cum can transmit a sexually transmitted disease.
Shooting blanks
A slang term for when there is no sperm in semen.
Tribadism
A sexual practice where two girls or women rub their genitals together for pleasure.
Vasocongestion
The filling of tissue and organs with blood. During sexual arousal, vasocongestion tends to take place around the penis, labia, clitoris and chest. This results in erections in the penis, clitoris and nipples and a slight darkening of the skin around the genitals and in the chest.
Withdrawal
A behavioral method of birth control that involves pulling a penis out of a vagina before ejaculation so that no sperm gets inside the vagina. Because it can be challenging to stop before ejaculating, and it does not provide any protection against STDs, it is not recommended as a reliable form of birth control. This method is also known as pulling-out or coitus interruptus.