Do you care about your significant other's sexual past?

[CapnAwesome]

Sex is a big part of romantic relationships.  Prior to birth control, saving it until marriage might make sense just because of the risk.  But, I can't imagine why saving it until the attachment is permanent would be a good idea now.  Sex is an important part of bonding (besides being fun) and finding out what kind of sex partner they are before committing is a very good idea.

Religion aside, I still think saving sex for marriage is still a better option... for practical reasons.

It is the only 100%, for sure way of avoiding pregnancy out of wedlock and decreasing the spread of STDs.

While hormonal birth control has a very small failure rate for pregnancy, it is still not healthy for a woman's body to be pumped up with synthetic hormones for decades at a time.... And it does nothing to prevent STDs. Barrier contraceptives (condoms, diaphragm, etc) are not harmful in any way, but they are less reliable in avoiding pregnancy, and don't protect 100% from STDs either.   

It just seems objectively better to have less sexual partners, and to wait until you are in a life long commitment.

I get the argument about sexual compatibility, but I'd say that you can get a pretty good sense of someone's sexuality through making out and good, honest communication about it.

And here is the one obvious glaring flaw with that. People who have more sexual partners are generally better at sex. For some of us sex is important, and the quality of it is important. Iit's an important part of my life and I would say that I'm a sexual hobbyist. I don't want to die having some kink or fantasy unfufilled and you know what? One person is never going to be into all the exact same things that I am. Also the worst possible way to make sure you are sexually compatabile with is to wait until after you are going to commit to the rest of your life with that person.