Let’s state the obvious: sex sells. If you want proof that we live in a sex-saturated culture, I urge you to watch music videos for ten minutes and count the number of oiled-up, gyrating bodies. Or observe the popular (and admittedly hilarious) Old Spice ads featuring Isaiah Musafa, who immodestly advises while wrapped in a towel that women love a man who smells like Old Spice. Sex in advertising is absurd — no matter how good you smell, men, I can still tell the difference between a beer belly and a six-pack — but it’s omnipresent. Strange, then, that sex has been missing from selling, well, sex.

Sexual health, to be more specific. Think back to high school sex ed, which may be the last place anyone ever sat you down and talked to you about sex. Or maybe your parents gave you “the talk.” What I remember was a lengthy sermon about the various infections that might make you itchy and a recitation of statistics about unwanted teen pregnancy. It goes a lot smoother with school boards and parents if young people are taught about all the scary consequences of having sex, in (usually ineffective) attempts to dissuade them from following their hormones, rather than getting an education that talks about pleasure and enjoyment. We all know sex is awesome- we learned that from TV- but sexual health is marketed about as erotically as decongestants or laxatives. And yet your sexual health is essential to a positive sexual experience. The only carefree sex is safe sex, after all- you can’t be worry-free if you don’t know your body and trust your partner. And with that in mind, Options for Sexual Health decided that this is the summer to remind people all over BC that sexual health is sexy. At least as sexy as an Old Spice commercial (well, fingers crossed).

A new advertising campaign, which shows two young people making out in a clinic waiting room, is now on buses all over the province, and with it is the Sexy Summer Kissing Contest. The rules are simple: take a makeout photo with a partner. Bonus points for incorporating the theme of sexual health- that’s your cue to bring in some props. Send it in to contest@optbc.org. We’ll post it up on our Flickr page and give away prize packs that will make your summer safe and sexy, including a grand prize of a year’s supply of condoms (use them all yourself or share them generously like a Sexy Santa Claus). It’s easy, it’s fun, and it gives you an excuse for a midday summer makeout session- what’s not to love? It’s time that everyone remembered that taking care of their sexual health doesn’t have to be a drag- it’s something that can be done with a partner, that can be spiced up or experimented with, that can be fun, and, well, sexy.

For more details, visit Opt’s website at http://optionsforsexualhealth.org. If you have a burning question about sexual health or anything sex-related at all, call our 1-800-SEX-SENSE line and talk to a real, live expert in all things sexual.

Michelle Reid is a contributor to Sad Mag and loves it with all her heart. In her professional life, she likes to talk about sexy times over at Options for Sexual Health, and yes, if you’re at a party and you need a condom, she’s a good person to ask.