Aren't people scared about STD?

[SW_PA_Couple]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It surprises me that the possibility of STD does not deter people from having sex...

Actually, concern for STDs deters many people. If this is your concern, you are not alone. My hope is that people make informed decisions about using protection or having multiple sex partners. I bothers me to think that a person would end up saying, "gee, I didn't know this could happen."

[bbarnsworth]

Originally Posted by SW_PA_Couple

Actually, concern for STDs deters many people. If this is your concern, you are not alone. My hope is that people make informed decisions about using protection or having multiple sex partners. I bothers me to think that a person would end up saying, "gee, I didn't know this could happen."

This was a real concern for my wife and I. Had we found in our digging for information that the incidence of STDs was high, we would never have gotten into swinging. The opposite is actually true; the incidence of STDs among swingers appears to be lower than among singles. That doesn't eliminate the threat, but it does put it in perspective. We take precautions, re-taught ourselves the risks and threat vectors, and carefully considered it. After some discussion on this point, we decided that with appropriate risk mitigation it was an acceptable risk.

A couple considering swinging with whom we enjoyed dinner with one evening was surprised at this. I explained to them, "How long have you been married? Many years, right? You've been faithful all that time? Never cheated? What's the likelihood you have an STD? Very low, right? You are like the vast majority of how swingers get started; a couple married for many years enjoying a monogamous marriage considering delving into non-monogamy. Their chances of spreading an STD are just as high/low as yours. "