Scarleteen

Hi!
My boyfriend and I are both in our first relationship and both of us can be considered virgins. I know on Scarleteen you often recommend having STI testing, then practicing six months of exclusivity, and being tested again. Does this process still hold if neither of us has been intimate with anybody else? Should we still both be tested at least once? I am planning on starting the pill soon and we will probably also use condoms.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "can be considered virgins." Definitions of virginity are all over the map, so that's just not a very meaningful term.

If either one of you has had any kind of sexual (read: genital) contact with someone else, then STI testing is something it's suggested one or both of you go ahead and start doing. And by all means, if one or both of you wants to do what best prevents STIs and other infections, then safer sex is a must, rather than a maybe.