Was anyone surprised this week when Representative Matt Gaetz’s sexual behavior became the subject of multiple news stories? For those who missed it, he’s under investigation by the Justice Department for a possible relationship with a 17-year-old and for allegedly bringing her across state lines for sex, which would be considered trafficking. The government is also investigating whether he paid other, slightly older women for sex. At the same time, colleagues told reporters that he has bragged about drug use and sexual conquests and even showed them nude pictures of partners on the House floor (one was apparently wearing just a hula hoop). And then there was the “Costco-sized” box of condoms found in his office trash. For the most part, I think the sex lives of politicians are and should be private. I don’t really care if you cheat on your wife, frequent strip clubs, or have sex with one or more naked hula-hoopers. And, good for you for using condoms religiously. It only really becomes our business when politicians do something clearly illegal/immoral (like a 38-year-old man having sex with a 17-year-old girl if that did indeed happen) or can no longer do their job (remember former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford who just up and ran away). That said, all of the behavior that Matt Gaetz is now accused of fits perfectly with his cultivated persona as a grown-up frat boy who doesn’t think the rules apply to him. It reeks of mediocre white male douchebagery and shows yet again that this is not someone I want making the laws of this country. But I don’t live in Florida and nobody asked me.
Could the Next Big Vaccine Prevent Super-Gonorrhea?
We all have vaccines on the mind these days as the roll out keeps going (I get my second dose tomorrow) and new research suggests they are highly effective in the real world and safe for teens. Now, the institute behind AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine is turning its attention, and a healthy budget, to preventing antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea.
Gonorrhea is a bacterial STI that ranks as the second most commonly reported notifiable disease in the United States. The CDC estimates that there are 1.5 million gonorrhea infections each year and that about half of them occur in young people ages 15 to 24. If left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and infertility.
Legend has it that doctors used to treat gonorrhea—which is known for causing a yellowish or greenish discharge to drip from the penis—by clapping the member between the pages of a heavy book to “clear” the infection. Hence the nickname “the clap.” Whether this is true or apocryphal, it’s long gone as standard medical treatment.
The problem, however, is that the bacteria that causes this infection—Neisseria Gonorrhoeae—has steadily developed resistance to all of the medications that have been used to treat it. As early as the 1940s it was resistant to sulfanilamides, by the 1980s penicillins and tetracyclines no longer worked, and in 2007 the CDC stopped recommending the use of fluoroquinolones. That leaves cephalosporins, but it is getting harder to treat some gonorrhea infections with these drugs as well.
While there are efforts to create new drugs that could attack this wily bug, Oxford University’s Jenner Institute is turning its attention to preventing new infections. It announced last week that it got an initial grant of $2 million from CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership led by Boston University, that is fighting drug-resistant bacteria by funding research on new antibiotics, vaccines, and diagnostic tests. If the initial phase is successful, the institute could receive another $5 million in funds.
The vaccine it is developing will use fluid-filled blisters from the outer surface of the gonococcus bacteria to prime the immune system for a fight against the bacteria if it sees it again (after a steamy night with a new partner, perhaps). A similar method has been successfully used in a meningitis vaccine.
Interestingly, when that vaccine was used to stop a meningitis outbreak in New Zealand years ago, it also protected people against gonorrhea. Researchers estimated it provided 31% protection which would not be enough to get near herd immunity (a concept with which we have all become intimately familiar this year) but was enough to bring the possibility of a gonorrhea vaccine to the forefront.
The Jenner Institute hopes to be in clinical trials of the new vaccine by 2024. In the meantime, please remember that condoms provide really good protection against gonorrhea and a plethora of other STIs.
Cosmo & Kinsey Predict an Era of Commitment and Caution
Virus fears and lockdown orders have taken a toll on the sex lives of singles who had few options for safely meeting new partners and even fewer for safe in-person sex. As we start emerging from our hermetically sealed bubbles (or were they pods) thanks to the vaccine, many in the media have predicted sex-starved singles will start boffing like bunnies. But Cosmo and the Kinsey Institute—two big names in sex—think otherwise.
They paired up to survey 2,000 adults and interview a number of experts and the results may surprise some. They believe we’re heading into an era of commitment and caution. Stats from the survey that back this up include:
More than half of respondents say they’re less into one night stands.
64% say they’re less interested in having more than one sexual partner at a time.
52% say they are looking for a committed relationship (and 13% say finding someone who wants to commit is their biggest post-pandemic concern).
68% say they’re less likely to cheat.
As for safer sex:
33% say they’ll wait longer before even meeting someone in person.
37% say they’ll wait longer to have sex.
42% say they are more likely to ask a partner health questions before sex.
51% say they’re more likely to use a condom.
It will be a few more months or even years before we know if these predictions were accurate, but on first glance they make sense. The desire for safety in the form of slowing down, using condoms, and looking for a permanent committed partner seems like a natural reaction to a year dominated by health fears and social isolation.
This is not to say, however, that post-pandemic sex will be boring. According to the survey, a lot of people—single and not—have discovered the joy of sex toys during lockdown and plan to keep buzzing. And others, having been hit with the reality that life is fleeting, want to have better sex from now on. In fact, 46% of respondents say they plan to be more experimental when it comes to sex.
Flavored Condoms Meet Street Food
An Indonesian condom company is hoping to capitalize on some of the region’s favorite street treats. Fiesta is offering three unique flavors. Iced coffee is self-explanatory to anyone who has set foot in a Starbuck’s but the other two are more locally inspired. According to Rudy Sanchez in Dieline, “Mi Goreeeng” seems to be inspired by a popular brand of instant noodle and spicy cimol is a riff on fried tapioca balls covered in chili powder.
Flavored condoms have usually stuck to your traditional artificial taste trifecta found in candy and medicine—mint, fruit, and bubble gum. But, hey, maybe it’s time to spice things up, literally. Just remember, flavored condoms are considered novelty items and not subject to the strict medical device standards that other condoms must meet. So have a little fun with them, with a partner or as a party trick, but don’t rely on them to prevent STIs or pregnancy.
Wednesdays Revisited: The Circle of Life
Before I wrap up for the week, I wanted to give you two updates on stories from earlier issues. One is sad and one is happy; together they’ll having you singing “Circle of Life” from The Lion King.
As a “bad news first” kind of gal, I will tell you that April the giraffe who was part of a story in our very first issue has died. April gained national attention when the birth of her calf was live-streamed by her handlers at Animal Adventure Park in 2017, and she made news again with a surprise pregnancy that wasn’t detected by her handlers until just before she gave birth in 2019. When Sex on Wednesday first discussed the famous giraffe, her friend had just given birth but, like so many tired moms, April herself was done with babies and going on birth control.
April suffered from severe arthritis, which her handlers say is common in larger animals, and was increasingly in pain and having trouble moving. The veterinary staff at Animal Adventure Park decided to euthanize her last week. The team said in a statement: "The severity of her condition has been outpacing our ability to control April's comfort." At 20, April had lived a long life for one of our long-necked friends (giraffes live 10-15 years in the wild and up to 25 in captivity) and had given birth to a total of five calves.
And, now for the good news: the triplets I wrote about a few months ago who were conceived on different days have been born. All three weighed in at over two pounds and their mom told her TikTok followers that they are doing well.