I know, I know, provocative stories and breathless headlines about rainbow parties and middle school broom closet liasons almost always win out over staid research.  Even so, those interested in a heaping helping of sober should read a new analysis from Guttmacher about intimate teen sexual behavior. 

Primary finding?  When it comes to teens and oral/anal sex, things may not be as bad as many had feared but probably not as good as many had hoped. At the very least, the notion that a significant proportion of  virgin teens are out and about in the land protecting their virginity by substituting oral sex for intercourse seems to be a far-fetched notion.  Instead, not surprisingly, these activities tend to---as the social scientists might say---co-occur.

Back in September 2005, the National Campaign released a similar analysis of the icky stuff, check it out here.