Sexual health experts talk pandemic sex

A return to residential campus life means a return to college social lives, inviting a host of questions amid a public health crisis. Among the uncertainties is how to practice social distancing while maintaining a sex life.

To clear the waters, sexual health experts shared advice on how to have sex safely during the pandemic in a panel Tuesday night entitled “Sex During COVID-19.” The four panelists addressed a variety of topics related to sex, including communication between partners and contact tracing.

Ashley Slay, prevention program administrator for the Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center, wrote in an email that the goal of the panel was to answer student questions as well as provide medically accurate and sex-positive information.

“If we can provide insight on how to practice safer sex while also social distancing,” Slay wrote, “I think we can make a big difference and limit the spread of COVID-19 on campus.”

Sarah Voorhees, assistant director of Substance Use, Recovery and Sexual Wellbeing, worked with Slay on organizing the event.

Vorhees wrote in an email that talking about sex during COVID-19 is an important topic for both Wellness and Prevention Services and SARP, and the two groups often collaborate on events related to safer sex and healthy relationships.

“We knew that sex during COVID-19 was going to be an important topic for us to jump into right at the beginning of the semester,” Vorhees wrote. “Students need accurate information about how sex and [COVID-19] intersect so they can make safer decisions for themselves and their partner(s), and also help keep our community safe.”

Hannah Nichols, a nurse practitioner at BU’s Student Health Services and speaker at the event, explained at the panel how contact tracing would work if an individual or their sexual partner tests positive after sexual activity.

“You want to make sure that you’re having the conversation with people about what they’ve been doing and who they’ve been seeing,” Nichols said. “Not just sexually, but also just who they have been seeing socially.”

Nichols said individuals’ privacy will be respected when contact tracing sexual partners who may have been exposed to COVID-19. She said that like regular contact tracing, names and activities will not be released to close contacts, just the day of exposure.

Panelist Jonathan Hill-Rorie, the project manager for the Adolescent Trials Network at Fenway Health, highlighted the importance of communication.

“A lot of what we’re going to be seeing relies heavily on communicating, having open and honest, non-shameful communication with your partners,” Hill-Rorie said during the panel. “That is the same for virtual and cyber sex as well.”

The importance of non-shameful communication was also touched upon by obstetrician and gynecologist Gina Brown, who said there is a stigma that comes with having had COVID-19. Along with having open conversations, Brown said actively taking precautions can help diffuse anxiety.

“Doing things like washing your hands, wearing masks and staying out of large crowds is a very useful part,” Brown said during the panel. “But it’s also best to know what your partner or the people that you’re around are doing as well.”

Brown also spoke about the importance of keeping a mask on during sex, as viral particles can spray orally. Masks can be part of sexual play as well, she said.

“Using your hands is another way,” Brown said. “Mutual masturbation or masturbating your partner are other ways that you can, with a mask on, keep yourself safe and hopefully keep your partner safe and still have sexual pleasure.”

Fred Wyand, director of communications at the American Sexual Health Association, wrote in an email that because the virus is known to spread through “close, direct contact that involves exposure to respiratory secretions,” there is an obvious risk associated with having sex with a partner.

“Much of the public health messaging during the pandemic has been to tell people that ‘you are your safest sex partner,’” Wyand wrote. “Masturbation is safe, not a risk for spreading COVID-19, and pretty much accessible to anyone.”

The panelists also suggested alternatives to having in-person sex, such as using sex toys and picture- or video-sending apps. Jean-Pierre Frost, a sex educator at Pleasure Pie, a sex-positive organization based in Boston, spoke about virtual sex as an option for couples.

“One of the good things about being alive in 2020 … is that we have this technology,” Frost said. “Some people prefer using Snapchat if they are going to be sending pictures back and forth.”

Kassandra McFarland, education director at the Center for Positive Sexuality, wrote in an email that sex education is “absolutely essential,” as formal sex education in the U.S. often fails to promote positive health outcomes.

“College can sometimes be the first environment where young adults are exposed to ideas and cultures in contrast to their upbringing, and can be a time of exponential sexual development,” McFarland wrote. “Learning about sexual health, consent, techniques and practices are useful at any stage of life, and should be an always continuing process.”

McFarland added that there are many reasons why an individual may feel uncomfortable about the topic of sex, as it is not a normalized subject.

“Everyone’s sexual development is different,” McFarland wrote. “In a sex negative culture, being able to have conversations about sex is the first and most important step in changing the discourse and reclaiming sexual power and agency.”

The event, held virtually via Zoom, was co-hosted by Wellness and SARP.

The event had been in the works since July, and organizers had solicited questions from BU students to help frame the areas of expertise the panel would offer. Once the event was planned, students submitted questions anonymously via a Google Form to be answered during the panel.