View source for Dry sex

{{Short description|Sexual practice}}
{{for|another meaning|Non-penetrative sex}}
'''Dry sex''' is the sexual practice of having [[sexual intercourse]] without [[vaginal lubrication]]. Vaginal lubrication can be removed by using herbal aphrodisiacs, household detergents, antiseptics,<ref name="baleta1998">{{cite journal |last1=Baleta |first1=Adele |title=Concern voiced over "dry sex" practices in South Africa |journal=The Lancet |date=17 October 1998 |volume=352 |issue=9136 |page=1292 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)70507-9|pmid=9788473 |s2cid=41852110 }}</ref> by wiping out the vagina,<ref name="popline.org">{{cite journal|pmid= 8562002|year= 1995|last1= Sandala|first1= L|title= 'Dry sex' and HIV infection among women attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic in Lusaka, Zambia|journal= AIDS|volume= 9|pages= S61–8|last2= Lurie|first2= P|last3= Sunkutu|first3= M. R.|last4= Chani|first4= E. M.|last5= Hudes|first5= E. S.|last6= Hearst|first6= N|issue= Suppl 1}}</ref> or by placing leaves in the vagina<ref name="popline.org"/> besides other methods.<ref name="IFPP">{{Citation |title=Vaginal Drying Agents and HIV Transmission |date=June 1998 |work=International Family Planning Perspectives |volume=24 |number=2 |url=http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2409398.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224032801/http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2409398.html |archive-date=February 24, 2011|author= Karen E. Kun}}</ref> Dry sex is associated with increased health risks.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=8 January 2021|title=Gendered innovations, stanford|url=http://www.genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/case-studies/hiv.html#tabs-2|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309062645/http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu:80/case-studies/hiv.html |archive-date=2012-03-09 |access-date=|website=}}</ref>
Removing or preventing vaginal lubrication through practices associated with dry sex increases friction during intercourse, which may be perceived as increased vaginal tightness, and some believe enhance sexual pleasure for the male partner.<ref name="rayetal1996">{{cite journal |title=Local Voices: What Some Harare Men Say about Preparation for Sex |journal=Reproductive Health Matters|volume=4|issue=7|pages=34–45|first1=Sunanda|last1=Ray|date=May 1996|first2=Nyasha |last2=Gumbo|first3=Michael|last3=Mbizvo  |jstor=3775349|doi=10.1016/S0968-8080(96)90004-X|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some men who insist on dry sex regard "wet" women as [[Chastity|unchaste]].<ref name="rayetal1996" /> Dry sex can be painful for women<ref name="baleta1998"/> and men.<ref>January 2001 edition of "Parade": [https://books.google.com/books?id=vigxAQAAIAAJ&q=%22dry+sex+is+painful+for+both+men+and+women%22 Page 45]: "Dry sex is painful for both men and women and may expose one to infection."</ref><ref>"Women in Action" published 2001 by Isis International
[https://books.google.com/books?id=-NUEAQAAIAAJ&q=%22feel+pain%22 Page 11]: "there is nothing pleasant about dry sex because both the man and woman feel pain and they experience cuts"</ref>{{Medical citation needed|date=November 2019}} Dry sex is common in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]<ref name="baleta1998" /><ref name="popline.org" /> and it has also been reported in [[Suriname]] among Afro-Surinamese women.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=van Andel T, de Korte S, Koopmans D, Behari-Ramdas J, Ruysschaert S |date=February 2008 |title=Dry sex in Suriname |journal=J Ethnopharmacol |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=84–8 |pmid=18083316 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2007.11.003 }}</ref>
==Health risks==
The practice has been linked to the high incidence of [[HIV/AIDS in Africa|HIV/AIDS infection in South Africa]].<ref name="baleta1998" /> The practice is regarded as increasing the risk of transmitting [[sexually transmitted infection]]s (STIs) for both partners, including HIV<ref name="baleta1998"/><ref name=IFPP /> in a number of ways. Increased friction during intercourse can cause lacerations in vaginal tissue.<ref>{{cite news |author=Hyena, Hank |title="Dry sex" worsens AIDS numbers in southern Africa |url=http://www.salon.com/health/sex/urge/world/1999/12/10/drysex/ |work=Salon.com |date=1999-12-10 |access-date=2012-05-23 }}</ref>{{Medical citation needed|date=November 2019}} Drying the vagina also removes the natural antiseptic [[lactobacilli]] which can combat sexually transmitted infections.  Furthermore, dry sex increases the risk that a [[condom]] will break because of the increased friction. It may also result in vaginal inflammation and/or traumatic lesions which in turn may increase the transmission of STIs in other ways.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/sti.75.3.178 |vauthors=Beksinska ME, Rees HV, Kleinschmidt I, McIntyre J |title=The practice and prevalence of dry sex among men and women in South Africa: a risk factor for sexually transmitted infections? |journal=Sex Transm Infect |volume=75 |issue=3 |pages=178–80 |date=June 1999 |pmid=10448396 |pmc=1758205 |url=}}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/0277-9536(95)00081-X |vauthors=Civic D, Wilson D |title=Dry sex in Zimbabwe and implications for condom use |journal=Soc Sci Med |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=91–8 |date=January 1996 |pmid=8745110 }}
[[Category:Sexuality in Africa]]
[[Category:Sexual health]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS in Africa]]
[[Category:Sexual acts]]