NOTE: The following are extracts from a private email exchange between me and a visitor to this site. The extracts are used with permission. Please do not reproduce anywhere else without obtaining the participants' permission first. Thanks. ;-)

To: Victoria Hayrabedian
From: Baard Ove Kopperud
Subject: website-sex-q

>9. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO... - Safe sex? Doesn't anyone use condoms anymore?
>I shudder to think of the STDs that must be floating around the Scooby Gang.....

With vampire/vampire or human/vampire sex, it shouldn't pose a problem. As you pointed out, vamps can't have children (at least not *that* way), so there is no need for prevention. As for VD -- the vampires are dead. And since they're not infested by maggots, they probably can't get infected by microorganisms either.

The only type of living-enviroment they could give bacteria would be as any other *dead* corpse, *at best*. But something stops the vampires from rotting, so that should stop VD too.

For viruses (like AIDS), the chance for infection is even less... Vampires lack living cells where viruses can reproduce. The virus would be as exposed inside a vampire as it would on any other dead object. I think HIV, by itself, can survive about 30' exposed to air. Also, whatever sustain the vampire, would most likely kill the virus quickly.

So apart from that whole undead-blood-drinking-demon, vampire sex should be about as safe as you can get...

To: Baard Ove Kopperud
From: Victoria Hayrabedian
Subject: RE: website-se-xq

> >9. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO... - Safe sex? Doesn't anyone use condoms
anymore?
> >I shudder to think of the STDs that must be floating around the Scooby
Gang.....
>
> With vampire/vampire or human/vampire sex, it shouldn't pose a problem.

ah, i think i need to change the phrasing of that a bit...... in spike / buffy fics, often either buffy gets it together with riley, or some other characters get together.... with no condoms. i just think it's a bit, uh, unrealistic. *grin* true, vampire/human sex is technically safe.... but the question of personal hygiene comes in. at the end of the day, they ain't putting anything in *my* mouth they wouldn't gladly have in their own. ;-)

> The only type of living-enviroment they could give bacteria would be as
> any
> other *dead* corpse, *at best*. But something stops the vampires from
> rotting,
> so that should stop VD too.

then again, ones wonders how much blood of theirs is needed to 'turn' someone..... would the blood contained in the ejaculate be enough?

> So apart from that whole undead-blood-drinking-demon, vampire sex should
> be about
> as safe as you can get...

except the 'ick' factor of them actually being dead.... i have trouble with the necro issues here. *grin*

To: Victoria Hayrabedian
From: Baard Ove Kopperud
Subject: RE: website-sex-q

>> With vampire/vampire or human/vampire sex, it shouldn't pose a problem.

>ah, i think i need to change the phrasing of that a bit...... in spike /
>buffy fics, often either buffy gets it together with riley,

Ewww... Yuck!!

>or some other
>characters get together.... with no condoms. i just think it's a bit, uh,
>unrealistic.

Yea, Buffy might be pushing her luck as far as pregnancies goes (assuming she is not on the pill... and why should she, it's not like she seems to get much sex). As for VD, Parker springs to mind, but I guess she should be pretty safe for the *really* bad decises -- since she probably would get killed by some demon long before...

>*grin* true, vampire/human sex is technically safe.... but
>the
>question of personal hygiene comes in. at the end of the day, they ain't
>putting anything in *my* mouth they wouldn't gladly have in their own.
>;-)

I think most vampires are as clean and tidy as humans (there probably are some that attracts flys (and maybe rats, dogs, and vultures) -- but so does some humans too), and I think both Angel and Spike are among the tidy ones -- especially if they feel lucky with a particular blond Slayer.

Even if they're dead (and don't sweat and stuff), they would at least collect dust and dirt... the fact that they're moving around, and on top of that drinking blood (*yuck* messy), only adds to it. So I say they definitively keep themselves clean

>then again, ones wonders how much blood of theirs is needed to 'turn'
>someone..... would the blood contained in the ejaculate be enough?
If there is indeed blood the vampires ejaculate, I don't think normal vaginal (or less normal anal) intercourse would matter, even if the infected blood *did* enter the blood-stream. There has always in the show been necessary for the demon-infected blood to be ingested.

That leaves oral-sex... If the vampires ejaculate is indeed blood, this *could* be a possible way to be turned, but according to BtVS-lore the victim would have to be drained of (almost) all it's blood first, and be practically dead *before* the demon's blood is introduced.

So I think Buffy should be pretty safe from becoming a vampire through sex (unless she gets drained, and still manages to give the vamp a blow-job afterwards... ;-).

Sidetrack: If the male-vampire's ejaculate and other secretion are blood, would that mean that also *female* vampire have only blood as vaginal-secretion and lubrication? Would it be effective as lubrication? Don't you think the male vampires would *really* dig that? Don't you think that is rather disgusting, and aren't you glad Drusilla never got to Xander when she was influenced by that love-spell?

CONCLUSION? If you're writing Buffy / Spike, condoms are not really necessary, true. But any other sexual contact between humans could result in a serious tranferrance of STDs or a possibly prgnancy. Just something to bear in mind. ;-)