Today, a casual hook-up can get you not only knocked-up but also killed. But many people just don’t care
Sex education in the age of HIV/AIDS seems to have had little impact on sexual behaviour in the United States. Because, despite all of the alarming reports about the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, Americans are just as careless in their sexual dalliances today as they were during the heyday of the sexual revolution – when their only concern was whether an unwanted pregnancy might result from their one-night stands.
On Monday, MSNBC and Zogby International published the results of the most extensive sex survey ever undertaken which show that nearly one third of the 56,000 adult men and women polled begin new sexual relationships without asking a single question about their new lover’s sexual history or practices. And, even more troubling, the results show that twice as many people (66%) routinely have unprotected sex on first encounters – after lubricating their good sense with alcohol.
No doubt there are myriad reasons why otherwise responsible adults behave so irresponsibly when it comes to sex. But one must wonder why, given the stakes involved, more people don’t at least insist on using condoms. (Too embarrassed? Mood killer?)
Of course, with all of this unprotected sex going on, one must also wonder why more Americans aren’t contracting HIV/AIDS. But perhaps there’s something to be said for the cognitive dissonance about the fatality of this virus amongst these players of “sexual roulette.” Because other surveys have shown that a critical mass of heterosexuals now believe that only men who engage in promiscuous buggery (anal sex) and the chronically poor (who have never been immunized for anything) face serious risk of HIV infection.
Moreover, it’s become self-evident that AIDS is not an automatic death sentence as once thought and that the cocktail of drugs to treat it allows those infected to live almost as they would with any other non-lethal STD. And, that’s HIV and AIDS in the 21st Century…for Americans.
Note: Even if early childhood vaccinations help protect you against HIV/AIDS (and I suspect we can all recall the battery of shots we had to endure), it still seems foolhardy to bonk a person whose name, to say nothing of sexual history, you barely know – unless you insist on using a condom!
News and Politics
Anonymous says
I never thought about the vaccination angle but boy that makes a lot of sense. I know there have been many mornings after a night of partying when I could kick myself for not wearing a condom. But so far so good.
BTW: cool site. very thought-provoking articles
Anonymous says
c’mon man. none of us would ask any question if we got a hold of an ass like the one in your picture. you know it.
DaveyBoy says
Ok, aids is not the same death threat/sentence it was in the 80s, but people are still dying from it and it is a national crisis. I am AIDS status and I needed meds (truvada/sustiva) due to sores and low cd4 counts (more about me HERE).
Anonymous says
My heart goes out to you Daveyboy and thank God you are able to get the meds you need. Too many people who are “AIDS status” cannot.
I think this article addresses the frustrations we all feel with people who are far too casual about protecting themselves against all STDs.
Jennifer