According to a study done by the Body Shop and MTV, 70 percent of young women (over a 1000 polled) in the UK don't really think they are likely to get HIV.
Almost three-quarters (71%) said they would feel embarrassed if a condom fell out of their handbag in the ladies' toilet, while just 32% make it a priority to ask new partners about their sexual history.More than one in 10 (14%) of the 16- to 30-year-olds questioned said it was a man's responsibility to carry the condom.
And 10% said they thought a woman who carries a condom is "easy" and sleeps around.
Nearly half (47%) of the 1,064 women interviewed said they ignored the subject of condoms when talking to their friends about their sex life.
Again, without knowing some of the details of the study it is hard to make a conclusion, however something to think about:
If people that have access to contraception don't use it, it isn't looking good for people that don't. And it is interesting that the study reported that several of these women thought that only homosexuals, drugs-users and developing countries has AIDS. Gotta love some ignorant thought to keep you, well ignorant.
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It is scary how many people, especially people in their teens and 20's, seem to feel that HIV/AIDS can never happen to them. It's probably even scarier to me that there are people who still believe it's a homosexual disease despite evidence to the contrary.
Since when do the Body Shop and MTV conduct scientific studies?
Did the study ask if these women's ancestors hailed from developing countries? Was race even evaluated in this study at all?
Since when do the Body Shop and MTV conduct scientific studies?
Did the study ask if these women's ancestors hailed from developing countries? Was race even evaluated in this study at all?
Well, no one likes to advertise the most relevant of facts: that women are more susceptible to AIDS than men. Biologically, it's easier for a man to infect a woman than it is for a woman to infect a man.
This study doesn't surprise me. People still think of AIDs as a "gay" disease.
I'm not sure what the scariest statistic is in this story - yes, the fact that people aren't worried about HIV is concerning. And yes, it only takes 'one time' to get HIV; not diminishing the severity of that. But why aren't people worried about other STI's that they are WAY MORE likely to get? Where's the concern for getting HPV or genital herpes? AND, what about the fact that 71% of women polled would be embarassed if a condom dropped out of their purse in the washroom, presumably because 10% also believe that women who carry them are "easy"? Since when is being a responsible and sexually savvy adult a bad thing? Oh, well it's not, because men are allowed to do it and that's totally fine (14% think it's a man's responsibility to carry condoms). And only 1 in 3 is even ASKING new partners about sexual history? Sheesh! When are we having that Slut Ball again? Some people in our midst need some sexual autonomy...
Speaking as a sexual health educator, we have a LONG way to go...
sing it, sister!
cherylp, i'm with you on this one. i'm not even remotely surprised by these results, whether scientific or not, because they match my experience. i'm a 30-year-old single woman who is *constantly* talking to friends about their fucked-up choices about sex. these are educated, empowered, feminist women who grew up in the late 80s and early 90s--when AIDS was a death sentence for everyone diagnosed--and they won't talk about condoms with their partners. it's not ignorance: i know that these women know the facts.
with my partners, i'm working--one by one (wink)--to create a new paradigm of sexual responsibility, with testing and protection requirements that i find to be acceptable. they're not onerous, by any means, and allow me to be comfortable. there are six-month testing requirements, with protected oral sex and no intercourse before the first-round test results are produced. (must i note that unprotected sex is never an option?) so i'm curious, other self-loving feminists in the blogospere: what are your guidelines?