What To Know Before You Ask Your Partner To Come Inside You

From pearl necklaces to facials (not the spa kind), there’s plenty of things to do with cum. But by far the most popular remains coming inside the vagina.

A few years ago, sexuality site Bad Girls Bible published what they called “the world’s first ‘semen census,” in which they polled 740 men and women on their “ejaculation habits.” Although they surveyed people of all sexualities, they only published the data for cis straight people. “Inside the vagina” was the most popular location, with 92% saying the man comes there “sometimes” or “often.” Other popular locations included on the outside of the woman’s body, particularly the chest or mons pubis, and in the woman’s mouth.

Of those 92%, one-third said they or their partner came inside without using any form of birth control. Half used a condom, and 54% used a different method of birth control. (Yes, that adds up to over 100%, presumably because some people doubled up on birth control — for example, using a condom while taking the pill.)

A quick visit to Reddit’s AskMen finds plenty of explanations for why people like coming inside: “Feels amazing. Pulling out is kinda like cutting it short right at the good part,” one man wrote. “It does make me feel closer to the girl, and I think it makes her feel closer to me as well,” another added. “There's a continued stimulation for being inside. It also comes with a very close and natural feeling conclusion when you can flop over onto her and give her loving kisses as you both wind down. Feels more close, more romantic,” wrote a third.

AskWomen also had plenty of fans of the act. “Love it. Feels absolutely amazing,” wrote one. "The intimacy of taking a partner inside of me, and then holding a part of him inside of me afterwards, is awesome to me,” another woman described. “I f*cking love it like whoa. There's something so ridiculously sexy about it for me that I'm frequently reduced to begging for my partner to cum inside of me,” another added.

Ejaculating inside the vagina increases the risk of pregnancy and STI transmission. If you’re into it, it’s safest to either use a condom or, if you're sure of you and your partner's STI status, another form of birth control. As Planned Parenthood explains, “Condoms are a really good way to prevent transmission of STIs. Just be sure to use a condom for the entire time you have sex — which means putting it on right before you start having sex, and then taking it off after ejaculation.”

The pill does provide pretty good protection against pregnancy. According to Planned Parenthood, only 9 out of 100 people get pregnant each year when using the pill. Because it's not 100% foolproof, it's always ideal to layer up with an additional form of protection, like condoms. Birth control also doesn't protect against another key issue that comes with going bareback — STDs. If you're with a casual partner, use condoms in addition to your hormonal birth control. But if you're in a long-term monogamous relationship and don't want to use condoms, make sure you keep up to date with regular STD screenings.