The Greatest Generation
The Journal Star ran an article the other day pointing out the dangers STDs pose to the sexually active among us. The statistics are pretty dreary.
- More than half of all people will have an STD at some point in their lifetime.
- Estimates show as many as one in four Americans has genital herpes.
- Each year, almost 3 million new cases of chlamydia are diagnosed, many in adolescents and young adults.
The article did point out that "The only sure way to avoid STDs is to abstain from any sexual contact or be in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to not have an STD." Thurman Hoskins Jr, of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, contradicted this point, however, stating that "If you're having sex, you're at risk."
Really? I know a lot of people who are having sex that aren't at risk. They're called married people. I know a lot of money, energy, and controversy have been spent debating what is known as "Abstinence Only" sex ed. While I agree with the content, I think the label is a bit misleading. If you're trying to prevent the spread of STDs, abstinence is one way to go, but so is monogamy. If a person has sex with only one person, and that person only has sex with them (as in marriage), viola! No risk of STDs!
In fact, consider this. You want to rid the world of STDs forever? There is a way, but it doesn't come in pill form. If we could somehow produce a single generation of 100% monogamous people, then STDs would die out with the generation preceding our puritanical prudes. That's it. Of course, this would take an incredible amount of self-control and restraint. But, it would work.
I guess the thing that bothers me more than anything about articles like this is the hopeless tone they take. The foundational premise is that kids are going to be kids, and it's no use telling anyone not to have sex. Balderdash. We spend millions on TV ads telling kids not to smoke. We hire celebrities to tell them not to drink, start forest fires, or ride in a car without a seat-belt. Why can't we tell them to not have sex with anyone but their spouse?
Alas, I suppose that would be us forcing our beliefs on them, which is the only *sin* we are allowed to condemn these days.
RSS 2.0
OK, abstinence and monogamy. . . but are you going to ban kissing as well?
Oral herpes can be passed on with a kiss, most people are exposed to oral HSV1 before the age of 12, many don't have symptoms or recurrences, but the virus is with you for life as their is currently no cure.
So, when your two virgins, Mr & Ms 'Right for each other' meet, marry, are totally faithful to each other, but. . . in the normal course of sexual relations one partner passes their oral HSV1 (a virus which can shed asymptomatically) on to the other person, orally/manually/genitally. . . you can end up with an STI in your perfect relationship anyway!
A cure for every STI is the only way to make sex truly safe, and while we're at it, let's have a cure for all diseases which afflict all living beings!
You cannot change the nature of mankind - we have a primal urge to procreate. People are always going to want to have make love and/or have sex.
I have genital herpes myself - got it the usual way (but no, not within the confines of a marriage).
Of course, I would rather not have it even though I rarely experience outbreaks. The major issue which bothers me is the stigma - the social judgement of people who have STIs.
Virus' and diseases exist. I risk catching the flu virus by being in the same room with someone who has it. I risk catching Sexually Transmitted Infections by being intimate with people I care for.
I regret getting herpes, but to go back in time if I could and choose not to experience the relationship through which I caught it? Not a chance! It was a wildly passionate relationship, and a hellish relationship in many ways too, but it sure made me grow, change, become stronger, and 'evolve' into a better person.
Are highly paid celebrities the answer to the problem? Would telling kids not to have sex work any better than telling them not to smoke, do drugs, quit school, . . . whatever?
Kids will indeed be kids, as people will be people. They all need to be allowed to make their own choices, live their own lives, and learn to deal with the consequences of their choices and actions.
I don't believe anyone needs to be 'told' what to do and how they must live their lives.
I do believe they need to be educated on the facts of life (and I'm certainly not just talking about sex here!). I believe that all the information should be 'out there' and readily available for everyone.
That's why I personally do everything I can to promote herpes awareness. It's what I know, it's what I do, it's who I am.
Want to make a difference? Get one of those high profile celebs to care enough to do something about educating kids, making them aware of the consequences and promoting safer sex!
Regards
Jeannie