This morning I came across an article I read a few months ago in one of my guilty pleasure magazines (online, of course). It got me thinking about why so many people chose to ignore the threat of STIs and HIV/AIDS…
Here’s the link to the article, if you’d like to read:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/safe-sex
For a long time after HIV/AIDS was discovered, sex became a topic overruled by fear. In the years and decades that followed, along with new information about the virus that was always coming to light, the idea of “safer” sex vs. “unsafe” sex seemed to have quite an impact. While fear-based prevention is not the best way to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS, maybe a little bit of fear is a good thing? If people today continue thinking that HIV and AIDS can be cured, they may continue to practice “unsafe” sex and become at risk for contracting or transmitting the virus. Maybe there needs to be a level of fear which keeps people practicing “Safer” sex and enjoying themselves?
But there are so many reasons to ignore the practice of safer sex:
-My partner doesn’t want to use protection
-It doesn’t feel as good
-Condoms and lube are expensive
-People these days don’t die from HIV/AIDS
-It’ll never happen to me
-I know my partner would never put me in harm’s way
The list could go on and on…. but the truth is, none of these should be satisfactory reasons to practice unsafe sex. If you don’t feel comfortable insisting that your partner use a barrier, perhaps they are not a partner worth sleeping with. Sex with protection can feel just as good if not even more exciting with all of the products on the market today to chose from. While condoms and lubricants etc can be pricey, there are all kinds of co-ops and university sex shops where you can buy many of the most popular products for lower prices. While people today who are seropositive are living longer than when the virus was first discovered, there still is no cure for HIV or AIDS. People may live longer, but are on many different medications for the rest of their lives, and do eventually pass due to the virus weakening their system. While you may think that you are invincible, you have no way of knowing that something will “never happen to you”. And, it is always possible that your partner doesn’t know that they have any kind of STI which they may be passing on to you.
Perhaps it is just that we chose not to ask the hard questions, or chose to look the other way now that people are not dying in the streets from HIV/AIDS like in the 80′s. There are no huge protests, no one pressuring governments the same way as 20-25 years ago. However, it is still an issue which affects our society today and should be taken seriously. One way in which we can address it is by practicing safer sex in our own lives and sharing this information with others.
