Thursday, July 3, 2008

Reducing the Stigma

I had a thought about STIs recently. During our presentations, we use a little bit of scare tactics when discussing STIs. We talk about symptoms(You know cold sores you get on your mouth? Yeah, its a similar idea...on your genitals. Anybody ever have a wart on their hand? How'd the doctor remove it? Freezing, burning, cutting? Yep, that's how they deal with genital warts too...on your genitals. neat huh?), living with an STI(how would you like to explain to your mom how you got gonorrhea of the throat?) and long term consequences(picture telling your partner that you have to use a condom for the rest of your life because of a one night stand). Now we aren't making any of this stuff up, its all based in fact. And the theory is that if kids actually think about STIs in these terms, they'll hopefully take the whole thing more seriously and AT LEAST use a condom if they chose to have sex.

But here's my concern: By overemphasizing how awful
STIs are and how appalling it would be to explain that diagnosis to a parent or partner, are we increasing the stigma associated? I have had the humbling experience of accompanying someone to the emergency room when they found out they had an STI on more than one occasion. In addition to the awful pain experienced with the symptoms, these young women had a really difficult time coming to terms with the phrase "I have an STD." Realistically, STIs are just infections. they are just infections by bacteria or viruses in people's bodies, the same as strep throat or ear infection. But there is still a HUGE stigma associated with them, largely because we all believe the myth that only "certain kinds of people" get them. Of course this isn't true and most of us know that intellectually. But you hear that someone has an STI and instantly question their morality, who they are.

I am concerned that I am perpetuating this stereotype that causes people with a disease to be treated badly. The purpose is to protect kids, but at what cost?

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Fluff

WARNING: THERE IS NO INTELLECTUAL MATERIAL IN THIS POST!

Unfortunately, there has not been much going on in my life that has led me to think many thoughts beyond my own superficial life. So stop reading now if you are looking for anything thought provoking.

Now then. Last Thursday I visited my friend Katie, (now known as MRS. Katie)who, being an avid reader, sent me home with an enlongated reading list. I started with the book Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, which apparently is the first in a best-selling series. I stayed up reading until 5:30am that night and have now completed the 3 books in the series that have been released, as well as spent hours on the internet reading as much as I can about author, series, movie that is coming out, etc.

I LOVE THIS SERIES! I have a confession to make. I adore fantasy novels. I always feel a little ashamed of that, like I should be reading nonfiction, or at least the classics. But I love reading fiction, it's my way to escape the world(hey, I don't drink, watch soap operas or play video games, a girl's gotta have some fluff somewhere!) Last summer I tried to read some more traditional fiction. I picked up one of Judy Blume's novels geared towards adults, which I had heard good things about, but returned it within a couple of days. The story was all about a divorced woman hooking up with the ex of one of her friends, and I found myself stressing out about the emotional trauma she was doing to her kids. I deal with enough drama at work, I can't handle it as entertainment. But if the character who is treating her man badly is also a vampire, or her partner himself is a werewolf, or they are all humans who live in a world that doesn't really exist, somehow I don't get so caught up in trying to fix their mistakes. In fact, these may be the only people I interact with that I don't have to constantly fight my compulsion to fix or help. wow, that's a scary realization.

So anyway, I wanted to write about this because I have been noticing how obsessive I become when I am reading a new series that I really like. It is almost like being in high school and having a crush on someone...I find my thoughts returning to the story constantly, I find little pockets of time to devour a few more pages. When I finish a book I get online and talk to other people about the books for weeks. I can't concentrate on or get excited about anything else until I've finished the story. It is just really interesting to me how I continue to experience that thrill of excitement, it is just the focus of the obsession that has changed. It happens with other things too, occasionally a project at work or something will light a little fire, but I only get crushes on fantasy novels these days. weird.

Ah, so much to look forward to. I have Laurell K Hamilton's latest release to read next, then Stephanie Meyer's last installment comes out in August and Anne Bishop, my all time favorite author, comes out with a new Blood novel in March that I am already agonizing over. sigh. I am nerdy.