Q: Is it unhealthy to swallow semen?
A: Remember, when we’re talking about whether something is healthy or unhealthy we’re talking about more than just the physical aspects, so let’s look at answering this question in two ways:
Physical: Semen is mostly water, fructose (sugar), and sperm cells. None of these are harmful to take into your mouth or swallow. If, however, a man has a Sexually Transmitted Infection (including HIV), it may be passed along through his semen, and these infections can be transmitted by swallowing semen. Contracting an infection usually means that a disease causing agent comes into contact with your blood stream. The mouth is very susceptible to cuts – brushing your teeth, biting your tongue, having your braces scrape the inside of your lips — all can open up access to your blood stream and potential infection. Swallowing semen has more risk than just taking it in your mouth. The esophagus (the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach) is a mucous membrane and disease causing agents can get through it and into your bloodstream. So, the bottom line is that while semen itself isn’t harmful, it can easily be carrying agents that ARE harmful. Since you can’t tell whether someone’s semen may be carrying an STI, I advise caution when it comes to swallowing semen.
Emotional: Taking someone else’s body fluids into our mouth is a pretty intimate act. We need to ask ourselves if we feel emotionally ready for that kind of intimacy, and if we’ll feel closer to the person after performing this action? The person swallowing semen is also put into a very vulnerable position. Does that feel safe to you? Do you feel trusting enough of this person to put yourself into that position? Will you feel used or abused? Any sexual activity that makes us feel worse about ourselves or that goes against our values must be thought of as unhealthy.