Scarleteen

Scarletten Staff,

Hi, I was browsing through your site and I've read most of your articles on the risks of pregnancy. But I had a quick question (I don't believe it breaches your rules and I apologize if it does, I legit want to make sure my grounds are covered )
All of the articles say that direct contact is necessary like sex, rubbing or an ejaculation from the penis "right then and there" --"whoop there it is!" is what I would have said lol. However I ran across an old message board that you all didn't respond as "cannot reply to this" where someone had mentioned in a conversation titled, "The pregnancy panic companion" on Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:46 pm
"And direct would be defined as a completely naked vulva in contact with the area with ejaculation, right?"
and the response by Onionpie » Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:03 pm
"Yup! That's correct "
Reading through the conversation I may just have misunderstood, but it was more recent (2017) so I wanted to make sure that this wasn't an exception to anything or updated info. The way it was written seemed to be on the side of caution towards semen left on a surface (like a bed) and if the naked vagina was not covered by anything then it would present a risk, since it was said that a "naked vulva in contact with the AREA with ejaculation" was considered to be direct contact. And Onionpie said it was correct. I know pregnancy is harder than a sperms being present, but again, I felt like I was missing something after reading that message board, and I want to stay safe. I'm sure you all would have included this info in your articles, but I'm still fairly new to the site (which I'm so thankful for) Again, sorry if this was out of bounds! I hope it wasn't

Thanks

Since what you are referring to is a conversation between two people neither of us are - and it feels a bit confusing to me - how about you just ask your question about this to me directly instead?

Oh, sorry.
I guess I'm trying to clarify so I don't put myself at any risk. In your articles, it says not to worry about semen/sperm on bedding, couches, toilets, and other places (which makes sense because we're wearing clothes or underwear or both). However it seemed like onionpie said in a thread from earlier this year that if a naked vulva/vagina comes in contact with fresh ejaculate on these surfaces then there is a risk. I was wondering if this is another exception: like how sperm inserted intentionally from hand to vulva/vagina was an exception. I don't know if you all are saying that its not a risk only if there is underwear and/or shorts on and you come into contact with semen, as opposed to a naked vulva/vagina coming into contact with semen on these surfaces (in realistic ways of ejaculate being there of course).
Again, I hope I'm staying within the guidelines, I may be overthinking it, but I'm trying to stay super safe.

I can't speak to what specifically happened in that conversation but there may have been a misunderstanding there! This isn't an exception scenario.

The best/simplest rundown we have of what does & doesn't pose a pregnancy risk can be found here: Can I Get Pregnant, or Get or Pass On an STI From That? and I think a helpful way to think about it is: if an exception or odd situation exists we've listed it there. It doesn't make sense for us to compile an exhaustive list of what can not cause pregnancy, because that's a near-infinitely-long list. So instead we just note the things that can, and they're all shown there.