Doctor's Advice | Do girls really like sex?

Q Doc, I am beginning to wonder whether girls really like sex?

I am a guy of 19 and, so far, I have been with three girls. None of them seemed to enjoy it very much. So was there something wrong with them? Were they all really lesbians?

Or was I possibly doing something that didn't suit them somehow?

A Well, I think that like a lot of young men, you should realise that women are not machines. You cannot just jump on them and expect them to respond with fire and passion. As it relates to these three young ladies, it is most unlikely that there wasn't anything 'wrong' with them. And as for your suggestion that they were 'all lesbians', the statistical odds against that would be enormous.

You ask me whether you were 'doing something that didn't suit them'. And I guess that is probably right! My impression is that your approach wasn't romantic enough, and that you just assumed that whatever you were doing would 'turn them on'.

Clearly, you need to learn a lot more about women, and I don't think you should rush into having sex again. Instead, you should learn to treat females as human beings.

Maybe you could find some nice girl, invite her out, and then spend the evening talking with her and learning what her interests are and what makes her tick. Don't just leap on her and assume that she ought to explode like some kind of sex bomb!

Q Doc, does the Pill give you any protection against venereal diseases?

A No! None whatsoever. The only forms of contraception that give you any protection against sexually transmitted infections are the barrier methods. These include the condom, both male and female.

Q I am a young guy of 17 and am still a virgin. Doc, I am extremely worried by the fact that my male organ is only around six inches in length.

Is there anything I could do to improve this?

A According to the latest scientific studies, six inches (15.24 centimetres) is actually considerably longer than average, so please quit fretting.

Q I am female, age 20. Foolishly, I had sex with three different boys last week. Doc, will that give me cancer of the cervix, as I have heard?

A Obviously, this was unwise. Please try to value your body and don't just give it to any boy who asks you!

As regards cancer of the cervix, this is mainly caused from a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). It is passed on by sex. So, the more partners you have, the greater the chance of getting it.

Fortunately, HPV can be defeated by having regular cervical screening (often still called Pap smears). Have you had a cervical screening test? If not, you should get one soon.

Q I am male, age 17. Doc, last night I had a terrible nightmare in which I had gay sex. Do you think this shows that I am secretly homosexual?

A No, I do not think so. Many young men have occasional dreams in which gay sexual encounters occur. Unless you keep having this dream again and again, I suggest you forget about it.

Q I have to go to a gynaecologist for a check-up next Wednesday. Doc, will he be able to tell that I have occasionally masturbated?

A No, he won't. And he will not be in the least interested.

Q Hello, Doc. I am 18, and it seems like one of my testicles has disappeared. I cannot understand this. I have not suffered any injury. Help!

A The testicle has almost certainly gone into the narrow channel which runs upwards from the scrotum into the belly in what they call the groin region.

It is most important that it is brought down from this area and put into the correct place - which is the scrotum. You must see a doctor immediately, and ask him or her to send you urgently to a surgeon.

Don't fret. The surgeon will be able to make everything OK.

Q Good day. I have heard that it is possible to prevent being pregnant by injecting water into the vagina after sex. Is this true, Doc?

A This is an old practice, called douching. It does not work and it can introduce infection into the vagina and the womb. Please do not do it.

Q Doc, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes - at the early age of 19. I am a guy, by the way.

Will I be able to have a normal sex life and to have children?

A Yes, you will. There is no doubt that 'sugar' does sometimes affect the sex life - particularly in older males.

But the great majority of diabetics are able to lead perfectly normal, happy love lives. And I am sure that you will have no difficulty in becoming a baby-father.

Just make sure that you take good care of your health. Please do what your own doctor says about keeping your diabetes well controlled and making certain that the blood glucose levels do not get out of hand. You will need to do this throughout your life. Good luck.

Q At the age of 20 (female), I do not like my pubic hair. I would really, really love to shave it off, Doc, but could this do me any harm? And will it interfere with sex?

A Well, during the last 10 years, vast numbers of young women throughout most of the world have decided to remove their pubic hair. Why this trend has spread across the globe is difficult to say.

However, provided that you remove it carefully, you will not do any harm. I have seen a few cases in which young women have cut themselves through wielding the razor over- enthusiastically. Also, it sometimes happens that young ladies who have shaved themselves get little 'spots' in the hair follicles (that is, the 'pits' out of which the hairs grow), but this is no big deal and is easily treated.

As far as sex is concerned, one could argue that the hair provides a sort of 'cushion' which protects the area of the pubic bone from being 'hit' too hard by the thrusts of the man. But, in practice, I have not seen any patient who has come to any harm by having her pubic curls removed.

So, you could go ahead - if you take care! Alternatively, you could go to a waxing or laser clinic, where the staff are, doubtless, very experienced in removing hair from the 'bikini area'.

Q Doc, I did the craziest thing yesterday. I forgot I had taken my Pill, so I took another one. That was two for the day.

Will I come to any serious harm?

A No, you won't. This kind of thing happens occasionally, and everything turns out OK, but you shouldn't make a habit of it!

With most (not all) brands of Pill, the days of the week are marked on the pack. Just make sure that whenever time you are going to take a tablet, you read off the day first.

- Email questions to Doc at

saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com and read more in the 'Outlook Magazine' tomorrow.