These Sexy Memes Want to Get You Talking More About Sex

Kids like the internet, right?

by kate hakala

When it comes to rebranding sex talks, it's no secret that youth are the target demographic. In the past, we've tried creating commercials that appeal to bros, made polka-dotted luxury condom brands, launched YouTube stars from sex education videos, and now comes the next iteration of the "hip" sex talk — the internet meme. Beforeplay.org, a safe sex initiative launched by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, started in 2012 in an effort to curb unwanted pregnancies and normalize conversations young adults are having about sex. With features like the hookup song selector, an STD pocket guide, and candid man-on-the-street videos, it's evident that Beforeplay is working hard to market talking about sex as that new thing all the cool kids are doing.

"We talked to a lot of young people in Colorado as we were developing Beforeplay.org and we heard over and over that they wanted a campaign that was reliable, non-judgmental and funny," Greta Klingler of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment tells Hooksexup. "Sex can be an uncomfortable or awkward topic for some and we've definitely seen that creating fun and funny (but still accurate and informative) infographics, videos, and other content has really engaged young people and is spurring healthy conversations."

Beforeplay's newest effort is sex-themed memes — tackling topics from condom use, different turn-ons, to prolonging sex. More tongue-in-cheek than outright informative, the sexy memes use puns and exaggerated imagery to get across what all memes are trying to get across: this is funny, guys, and you should share it. "The idea of the memes was to get people's attention in a fun way to keep those conversations growing," Klingler says. Will the campaign to make sex talks hip prevail? Will giggling girlfriends really share "How do you like to get wet?" memes on their boyfriends' Facebook walls that spark an in depth conversation about her preferred method of fingering? That remains to be seen, but for now, we can't knock the attempt to get safe sex conversations rolling, regardless of what internet-crazed, gimmicky package they come in.