Clearing my room just hours before i went for a marvellish rehearsal on Elgar, but more of than another time, i stumbled upon a GP generic notice to all women to be tested for HPV...and which is personalized...asking me to kindly make an appointment.
A few months ago, I remember discussing "should all young British women be vaccinated against HPV" in one of my sociology of science classes that i was auditing. I read about a mother's response...she was infuriated at the idea that her twelve year old may have a vaccination even when she may not even be sexually active...on the premise that she will PROBABLY be sexually active very soon.
I'm to say the least, enraged.
Sexual education is ALWAYS ideological. Don't give me the bullshit that only the conservative "abstinence" message is ideological as if the oh teach them protection methods isn't.
Don't be so dishonest.
I find it grievous that the inability to govern one's sexual urges is seen as normal, and to govern it is to be unnatural and to go against nature.
So? How about obesity? Anorexia? suddenly that becomes "oh fat women are attractive" becomes a cultural issue, whilst sexual issues are all heeding nature's bidding, which is well and good, and unrepressive.
So explain to me. You don't feel like going to school, you don't feel like going to work, you don't flipping feel like brushing your teeth but well, you just have to go against your natural urges. but that's ok.
And to think that we should rather intervene by vaccinating young women instead of teaching them to control themselves seems, frankly, presposterous to me.
Look, sexual education doesn't have abstinence, and pretend as if all forms of protection don't exist, or just teach about methods as if they are super effective, and ignore abstinence.
there is a middle way. The reality is that all forms of protection can never be 100%; and if sexual education is really to be truly effective, it has to be honest with the kids as well...condoms exist, yes, but they do fail. And HPV whilst controllable, is never completely curable.
and HPV and Chlamydia can cause infertility. And oh by the way, your kiddies can be infected or born prematurely.
For goodness' sake: if you have a child, dont you want the best possible future for your kid? physically, free of STDS, emotionally brought up by stable parents who can commit to proper care rather than born out of a tryst because they were too juvenile to control their urges. Wont you want to be sure you and your partner are both equally capable of caring for your child?
I think the difference between a child and and adult is this: the child knows nothing apart from instant gratification, the adult should know how to think of longer term consequences.
Then again, there are people who want to have kids because they want to have kids to fulfil themselves without thinking through the consequences for their children. Fine.
But it sickens me that when we don't equip our children with knowledge, we expose them ...imagine a twelve year old worrying about warts caused by STDS, fearful of pregnancy or having to go through an abortion.
don't get me wrong...i don't take the hardline abortion is absolutely evil. but I think, when we don't teach our children what it means to say, wait, decide on yr sexual activity LATER. WAIT...we do them a disservice.
Why am i on this topic? well, because you know, i see posters on tubes about the rates of various STDs, she says flippantly...
