[The following post is courtesy of Vanessa Cullins, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs at Planned Parenthood. Upon speaking with Vanessa and asking for information on STDs we began discussing HIV/AIDS. Naively, I mentioned that college kids are safe and know to protect themselves against this deadly disease. Turns out, I was wrong, and thinking that way is incredibly dangerous.]

Once in a while, we get a variation of this question via e-mail: “I’m a woman in college, and I’m wondering if I still need to be worried about getting HIV. Isn’t it pretty much under control by now?”

HIV/AIDS is definitely still a threat — especially among young people and women. Today, women account for more than one-quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses, and women of color are especially affected by HIV infection and AIDS. The growing complacency about this deadly disease is alarming.  You cannot tell from looking at someone whether that person is infected with HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease (STD). That is why all sexually active people need to protect themselves against HIV.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 56,000 women and men are infected with HIV every year. And the American College Health Association has found that the rate of HIV infection among college students is about the same as it is for the general public. It seems that a lot of people — especially women — aren’t getting the message.

So what’s a girl to do?

First, get tested regularly. Know your status and the status of your partners. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has partnered with MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation to launch the GYT — Get Yourself Tested — campaign. Visit http://gyt09.org to get information you can rely on about STDs, including HIV, and find your nearest testing location.

Second, plan your safer-sex strategy. Condoms used correctly and consistently are the best protection against HIV and other STDs, including HPV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. Condoms reduce the risk of HIV infection substantially.  In fact, aside from abstinence and other forms of intimacy that result in no contact with another person’s genitals, condoms are the best protection against HIV.  Some studies show that about one out of two college students used a condom the last time they had sex. That’s good. But it also means that one of two didn’t.  And that’s not good — that’s a whole lot of people playing Russian roulette with contracting HIV/AIDS.

Having a good safer-sex strategy means knowing your risks and deciding which ones you are willing to take.  Here’s a step-by-step walk-through of some of your options:

•    Use a latex or female condom during vaginal, oral, and anal sex.
•    If you are not using a condom, it’s safer to have oral sex than vaginal or anal sex.
•    Rubbing against your partner, whether clothed or naked, is safer than sexual intercourse. Rubbing against your partner clothed is even safer.
•    If you and your partner are engaged in mutual fondling, it is safer to wash your hands before touching your own genitals.
•    Masturbating alone or together — or having phone sex or cybersex — is the safest sex option.

But the most important safer-sex strategy of all is to assume that all potential partners may be infected — and then take precautions.  The reality is that people will lie in order to have sex.  Another reality is that many people with HIV don’t know it!  Given these odds, you can’t rely on anyone else to protect you.

Remember: all sexually active people are at risk, and we need to protect ourselves.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that nothing looks hotter on a woman than a sexy pair of boots. It’s also safe to say that nothing makes your feet burn/ache/make you want to cry more than a sexy pair of boots. Which is why we have flats, thankyouverymuch.

So, can we talk for a moment about Victoria Beckham’s most recent sexy boot purchase? As if they couldn’t get even more uncomfortable, Posh went and had a pair of boots especially designed for her…without a heel.

How does she walk? Why would anyone want a pair of shoes with no heel? Does the lack of heel make her look hotter? And beyond the whole heel sitch, don’t these things look more like latex pants than a pair of boots?

Silly me; I thought the only woman who could walk around on her tip toes all day was Barbie and her permanently molded-for-high-heels feet. I should have known that if anyone would be a real-life Barbie, it would be Posh Spice.

So, what do you think? Love em? Hate em? Just don’t quite understand em?

Join CollegeCandy’s Facebook group to get even more strange celebrity fashion! 

And most of all they must have a damn condom on them when the time comes. But of course, they forget; they were probably thinking something manly, like going to the moon or doing their Stats homework.

Make no mistake: if you’re gunning for it, sexy time will happen at college, and inevitably you’ll sometimes get stuck picking up the contraceptive slack. When you do, you’ll need to know your condoms. You don’t want any unpleasant surprises (“Honey, this is a sea anenome”).

Here are a few some notes, with thanks to the University of Connecticut’s Health Services office.

Obviously, everyone knows how to put a condom on. Obviously! Right? Double check, because even if you’re not the one wearing the jimmy hat, you’ll want to be keeping the dude honest. It’s very manly to make stupid mistakes.

Normal condoms don’t really need an explanation. It’s notable, though, that there’s nothing actually special about Trojans, other than their cool namesake (nobody ever mentions the ancient Babylonian epic “Durexia” for example). They aren’t any more durable or comfortable than any other standard brand.

Colored condoms do their rubbery duty perfectly well, and they do it with some style, but that’s about it; and if you’re planning on making amateur porn in your dorm room, you need to be sure they don’t clash with your futon. Considering all that college stuff you’ll have on your plate, you and your man-friend have more than enough to worry about, so don’t let the color of the condom be another issue. There is one that looks like a Rocket Pop, though….

Flavored condoms, on the other hand, take a different angle on the sexy issue; in particular, the angle that leads towards your mouth, and not anywhere else. Flavored condoms, understandably, often contain sugar, and “your vagina” should probably be pretty high up on your list of “places you don’t fill with sugar”, right after “your cat” and “your gas tank”.

If you already have to go to the trouble of securing the condoms for your partner, you might as well get a little something for yourself in the bargain. You can find plenty of pleasure-enhancing condoms from a variety of manufacturers, most of which have either ribs or studs; which in particular is up to your personal taste (“studs” are good if you don’t happen to be with one — ba-dum kssh!). “I’ve heard reactions of “ehh” to “really cool!” regarding these, but at the very least they stop the babies from growing just fine.

There’s also the “pleasure pouch”, a feature which, while unfortunately named, apparently increases the male’s pleasure during intercourse. Now, all you girls who just can’t seem to get your damn partner off — I know, right, those men! They’re impossible! — might want to look into this, especially since there’s one called the “Tuxedo” and it looks like you could use it to sink a cruise ship.

Finally we have the strange ones: the “warming” condoms, the vibrating rings, and the climax control condoms. While they all advertise considerable advantages, they also seem to involve either moving parts or scary chemicals bouncing around near your naughty bits. So while nothing terrible will probably happen, use them at your own risk, kids.

Now go, be fruitful and multiply – but not too soon, yeah?

But then the games began (and Michael put on a swim cap/Speedo) and I began to see what everyone else was talking about. I mean – this guy was looking good. Really good. Like, “I kinda sorta (read: totally) wanna do him” good. He is pretty much as close to perfect as any man can get.

Don’t agree? Here are 5 Reasons Why I Want to Do The Breast Stroke (see how I made a swimming term into something sexual? Yeah, I’m that good) With Michael Phelps:

He’s Got Moves: Maybe it’s just me, but when I watch Phelps dive off the platform and do that little mermaid move….well, I can only think dirty, naughty things. He knows how to use his body well and I have a feeling that little move would work wonders both in and out of the pool.

He Loves His Mama: There is nothing more attractive than a guy who loves his mother. Not only is that the sweetest thing ever, but it means is going to respect you and treat you well, too.

Lots o Bling: I love gold and Phelps has more gold around his neck than 50 Cent… and that is saying a lot. Plus, he earned them the hard way (not simply by getting shot 50 times, writing some crappy rap song and buying a giant gold plate encrusted in diamonds to show off to the ladies).

Stamina: Have you ever tried to swim 400 meters against the fastest men in the world? Me either (I prefer to float…with a beer in the raft’s cup holder), but I bet it’s really effing hard. Not for Mikey; this dude has some serious stamina, and you know that will translate well into the bedroom. No, “Oops! I’m sorry…” here; Phelps is in it until the end.

He’s Not Afraid of Rubber/Latex: The guy wears a rubber cap for a living – he won’t have a problem wearing the other rubber cap in the bedroom.

Come to mama, Michael.