This Term

Throughout this term i was overall satisfied with the direction of the course. We learned a lot of things that I expected to learn as well as things I didn't expect to learn. For instance: I expected to learn about what HIV and Aids were as well as a few STD's, What i didn't expect to learn about was the Tuskegee experiment and the Tearoom Study however, I am very glad that I did. Both of those events as well as many others mentioned in class are of extreme importance for people of our age to know and be learning about. This course should most definitely be taught at a university level and I am very glad that it is.
Being on a college campus always keeps you at risk of contracting a form of a STI or STD. The knowledge that I have acquired through out this course will aide my judgment when considering promiscuity. Also, if i by some chance were to contract something I would have an idea of what it was and how to cure it, if possible.
Learning about how important it is to use a condom was an extremely useful thing to learn. I came into this class understanding it was important however I am leaving the class realizing it is not an option.
If I were to change the course in one way it would be to add the day where you get to practice putting condoms on bananas. Just like Lisa had promised in the beginning. I always see health teachers doing that in the movies and never understood why we didn't get to. Other then that, perhaps a little less busy work when doing the anthology. With that said, this course was a success.

Living with HIV

Our guest speaker on Monday, Bob Skinner, gave amazing insight on what it would be like to be living with AIDS. Bob Skinner's experience is much like others in the sense that I'm sure everyone who is told they are infected with AIDS is extremely shocked. However, Bob's experience is different from others in the sense that he found out ten years later which meant he completely missed the HIV stage and jumped right into full blown AIDS. Bob's experience is somewhat different as well in the sense that he was having sex with literally thousands of random men throughout that ten years of unknowing. Bob pointed out that the main route for HIV is unfortunately gay sex which rarely consists of using a condom. This is the most unsafe way to have sex and for that reason is the main cause of HIV transmission. Another large factor for Bob Skinner was living in a rural region. This caused him to be much more promiscuous than he would if he had lived somewhere else. Overall, i learned that living with AIDS is possible yet very tough. It is a drastic life change that will affect everyone differently. If you are going to have sex, have safe sex.

HIV: The Crossing of Speices

The HIV virus was once known as SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) and was found in Chimpanzees. It is believed that the virus was transmitted from chimp to human via blood transmission during the act of hunting as well as butchering the chimps. The evidence that supports this theory has to do with the several different strains of HIV with a slightly different make up. These different strains were only different in the since that one was contracted by chimpanzees and the other by humans. In a sample of 1099 individuals in Cameroon, ten of those were infected with SFV (Simian Foamy Virus) which was thought to only be contracted by primates, this helped back the theory that the virus was coming from chimps. This theory is known as the 'hunter' premise and i find this theory to be extremely plausible.
Another rather controversial theory contended that HIV was transferred iatrogenically, one particularly well publicized article states that vaccination of polio played a roll in the transmission. This oral vaccination needs to be cultivated within living tissue. It's believed that a kidney from a chimp is used for the cultivation of this vaccine. I am not so sure that this is plausible theory given the fact that your mouth as well as your throat act as a great barrier to your blood stream. An oral vaccination wouldn't be that prominent in the transmission of HIV.
I was extremely shocked at first to hear that the HIV virus was thought to have come from primates, however given the theory of evolution I understand how this could come to be. Another theory that I didn't find hard to believe was the contaminated needle theory. If one were to be injected with a needle that had been used on several different people prior, the HIV virus could easily be transmitted.
To go along with the 'hunter' premise,
I believe that it is extremely important to get to the bottom of where the HIV virus truly came from. I don't believe that it would help in the since of addressing it to the people, however I do believe that it would help to find a cure. Where the HIV virus truly came from may never be known, however i hope that the conspiracy theory does not turn out to be true.

White Privilege

Peggy McIntosh is a women who is very fascinated with the idea that whites, more specifically white men are much more privileged than those around him and refuse to admit it. She is also convinced that even though men are not willing to admit that they are "over-privileged," they are more than willing to admit that a women is "under-privileged." Not only does she say that women are "under-privileged" but those of color are as well. White privileges are said to be an elusive and fugitive subject. "This is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own" stated Peggy. I found another statement which shocked me; "It seems to that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly acculturated in the U.S. so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all." What Peggy McIntosh doesn't understand is that we live in a society today that is, for the most part, ran by white males. This has been the case for several years, which is why it shouldn't come as a shock to her. I will go with the grain on this one and say that white men are not "over privileged" in any since, we throughout time have proven our capabilities.
The best part about living in today's age is that we recently have elected a black man for a president. This is a huge feat for our nation. I believe it will put an end to any form of racism to come in the future. Those inequalities that Peggy McIntosh speaks of are slowly dwindling away and will soon be diminished. Our children will not know of racism which shall make all of us truly equal.

HIV/AIDS

As of right now, I know that HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus which causes the immune system within humans to fail. If the HIV virus advances it can turn into AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Deficiency Syndrome which has no cure. I recall learning about this when i was in elementary school, believe it or not. My third through fifth grade teacher was very thorough about the topic of HIV and AIDS. If I remember correctly, HIV causes your "helper T-cells" to be broken down which causes your immune system to no longer work, making even the common cold lethal for those infected.
When thinking about the effect of HIV globally the first thing that comes to mind is the availability of knowledge worldwide. Those who are aware of the risks of contracting a virus such as HIV are usually more prone to practice much safer sex methods. I would like to learn more about the organizations that are trying to promote sexual education and how successful they are. I believe the amount of success will directly correlate to the number of those infected within the same area. The most surprising thing to me that I came to find within Monday's video is the fact that when women opt to use protection when having sex with their husband because he has HIV or AIDS she is looked down upon. You would think that her husband would understand due to the fact that it can be lethal. I guess that is just a major cultural difference i will never come to understand.

Global Disparities in STIs

Classism is the prejudice and/or the discrimination of the basis of socioeconomic class. It is an imaginary divide between those who have money and those who don't. Those who are considered "upper class" statistically tend to be less at risk of contracting STIs than those of "lower class." People of "lower class" are usually those who are uneducated which is a big factor in the transmission of STIs. Knowledge is the number one way to prevent STIs beside abstinence all together. Those who are considered "upper class" tend to be much more educated and have a much better idea of how to perform safer sex.
Having come from the United States, I am sure that my views of STIs are somewhat prejudice in the since that we are considered a rich country. There are hundreds of poor countries out there that are so over taken by STIs I couldn't begin to imagine. There also are countries who are pretty successful who are also swarming with STIs such as South & South East Asia. In that since, having grown up in the United States I only have classroom knowledge compared to those who come from poorer countries and have much more personal experience on the topic of STIs.
Even though we are not of the "lower class" as a country we can still see the same broad causes of disease even within the United States. Poverty and the lack of education are two huge factors when concerning the transmission of STIs. Those who don't have money still can't afford the vaccines. Hopefully one day classism won't be a factor when concerning STIs. I feel that if we have the vaccines to prevent an STI everyone should be eligible for it even if they don't have money.

Adolf has Herpes

I found a video on youtube by the name of "Hitler Finds Out hes got Herpes" which seemed to work very well as a reference to STD/STI's. Within the video Adolf Hitler is having a very heated discussion about a fat chick he had randomly hooked up with. He was complaining because he was starting to get blisters which he then realized was herpes. He angerly shouts "who forgot the condoms!" but by that point it was obviously too late. One of his men makes a point that he can still live a normal life with Valtrex which is partially right. The medication is used to help prevent break outs however there is no real cure for it. Adolf is so outraged that he even says he would rather chill with Stalin than have herpes. "My balls are already Soar" he says, which could be one of the symptoms. This video uses fear messaging however in a very unusual way. Hitler punishes the guy who gave him the thumbs up to go ahead and hook up with that girl by making him apply the cream to his balls. This video is one that would most likely be found hilarious by everyone however the language makes it only for adults. By using someone as famous as Hitler, it is a very effective reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onwybvmgHJs