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Sexual Health Sex and the real world, Movies. TV don't deal with the negatives
Sexual Health Sex and the real world, Movies. TV don't deal with the negatives | Sex and the real world, Movies. TV don't deal with the negatives |
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It's so consequence-free. A man and woman find each other attractive, they flirt, then have sex, perhaps more than once. The relationship ends and the couple move on to other people, leaving only bittersweet memories of a brief, intense romance.
Get real. Movies and television programs are filled with stories of sexual encounters without the consequences of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and a warped view of romance. The popular movie "Sex and the City," for example, involves a lot of sex with few ramifications, according to some viewers. The problem is that people who are swayed by these messages could be setting themselves up for all sorts of bad things, including STDs, long-term health problems, infertility or a misunderstanding of what it takes to have an intimate relationship with someone. This heads-up goes out not only to impressionable teenagers but to adults who are newly single because of a divorce or spouse's death. Older adults returning to single life may get the wrong message, while not recognizing that there are more sexually transmitted diseases than there were 30 years ago. "We need to look at these (media) messages through the lenses of reality," said Shireen Schrock, vice president of community education for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. "STDs are equal opportunity infections," she said. "They don't care where you live or how much money you make. There is not a typical face of someone with an STD." Schrock said, "The fantasy model of sex does the public a disservice. It shows sex as the most important thing in a relationship." "There are consequences of unsafe sex and there's nothing casual about them," said Bree Davis, the McLean County Health Department's public health communications specialist. Movies, television programs and other media that portray sex casually present a conversation opener among families and friends, said Melissa Graven, a registered nurse and the health department's communicable disease program coordinator. Schrock agreed. "'What do you think of the movie 'Sex and the City?' -- or something else you've seen -- could be a way to start a conversation (with someone you're dating)," said Schrock, who is based at Planned Parenthood's Bloomington office. "What you think about a friend's decision to not have sex or to have sex could be another way to start that discussion." The ensuing conversation could help you to get to know the other person, his or her values and what's important to them in a relationship, and could lead to more detailed questions about their sexual history, views on sex outside of marriage, whether they've been tested for a sexually transmitted disease or whether they use birth control, Schrock said. For people who doubt the relevance of these messages, consider this: • There are more than 20 types of STDs, more than in the 1960s. (Source: Illinois Department of Public Health). • The number of Americans with a sexually transmitted disease is unknown because only three -- gonorrhea, Chlamydia and syphilis -- must be reported to county health departments. (Source: McLean County Health Department) But one in five Americans (45 million) has just one type of STD -- genital herpes. (Source: IDPH) "We've got a really high prevalence of genital herpes and HPV (human papillomavirus) and not a good way to track them," Schrock said. • Fifty percent of Illinois high school students said in 2007 that they have had sexual intercourse and 15.8 percent already had intercourse with four or more people. (Source: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). • National and McLean County data reveal a slight increase in numbers of people with gonorrhea and Chlamydia. In 2007, there were 579 Chlamydia cases, 199 gonorrhea cases and four cases of syphilis in McLean County. (Source: county health department). "We see women of all ages (with a sexually transmitted disease) but 13- to 19-year-olds are more at risk because their cervix has not matured yet," Graven said. "The tissue in the cervix is more vulnerable to infection in teenage women." One in three people with a sexually transmitted disease don't know they know they have it because they don't have symptoms, Graven said. That's what makes them so easily transmittable among people who are sexually active, she said. Bacterial STDs -- gonorrhea, Chlamydia and syphilis -- may be treated with antibiotics. Viral STDs -- HPV, herpes and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) -- can't be cured but symptoms may be treated. Some infections, left untreated, attack women's reproductive systems, narrowing the fallopian tubes and scarring the uterus, making it difficult for the women to become pregnant later in life, Graven said. An untreated STD also may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a painful infection of the reproductive track. Fewer men have long-term complications of an STD compared with women, Graven said. Those complications include testicular cancer and infertility. "One in four female teenagers is infected with an STD," Graven said. "You can get infected with any STD during vaginal, oral or rectal sex." "As a 15-year-old, do you want to be exposed to something that will remain with you for the rest of your life?" asked Jamie Johnson of Catholic Charities. People who have more than one sexual partner or people whose sexual partner has had sex with someone else should be tested each year for STDs, Graven said. Abstaining from sex is the only surefire way to not get an STD, Graven said. Limiting your number of sex partners and using a condom with every partner every time you have vaginal, oral or anal sex can reduce your risk of an STD. "Enter a relationship knowing each other's status," Graven said. "Take responsibility for your sexual health and your body. "It's OK to ask 'Have you ever been tested for an STD?' Or 'I've been tested. These are my results. What about you?' That conversation should happen before sex happens. "If the other person doesn't respond or if you don't feel comfortable, you can say 'No, we're not having sex.'" "If you can't talk with your boyfriend or girlfriend about sex, you're not ready for sex," Schrock said. "Open, honest conversations go a long way in prevention." Mental, emotional ills often part of sex outside of marriage Consequences of sex outside of marriage go beyond a sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy. "What about the emotional, mental and social consequences?" asked Jamie Johnson of Catholic Charities. Some TV programs and movies "put out there that you can have sex with anyone, anytime, anywhere without consequences," said Johnson, Catholic Charities' SAVE-IT (Self-Awareness and Values Empower Independent Teens) program educator. But many teens and adults who have sex outside of marriage often deal later with guilt, blame and depression, she said. Teens and young adults still learning about relationships may not understand what happened if sex is followed by a breakup, Johnson said. They may think they didn't have sex enough to save the relationship. The teen may be setting himself or herself up to think the only way to avoid "getting dumped" and to show you love someone is to have sex, Johnson said. "It sets up a pattern of relationships based on sex. They may think 'I don't know how to connect; I don't know how to make a relationship work.' They don't know because their relationships are centered on sex. "If you base your relationships on sex, they will fail because they have no foundation," Johnson said. You can prevent that from happening by exploring your own values before you enter a serious relationship, said Shireen Schrock, vice president of community education for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Consider your values, priorities and goals. For guidance, go to your parents or another trusted adult in your life, she said. If you decide to abstain from sex until marriage, get support for your decision from family and trusted friends, let your boyfriend or girlfriend know your decision, don't put yourself in a situation where you will be tested, and avoid drugs and alcohol because they can impair judgment, Schrock said. "We're not talking about wearing a big V on your T-shirt," Johnson said. "But you should tell people upfront in a relationship that you're not having sex until marriage. "Relationships should be based on communication, as opposed to 'He's hot' or 'She's hot,'" Johnson said. We are humans and experience lust. "But we also have self-control and don't need to act on those desires," Johnson said. Alternatives to sex include playing sports. "Relationships should be based on how you feel about the other person, how they treat you, and whether they have the same beliefs and values," Johnson said. "If they have the same beliefs and values, they won't pressure you into doing what you're not interested in doing." "I tell teenagers 'Wait 10 years until you're married and then you can have the best sex of your life.'" Sexually transmitted diseases • STDs are spread during vaginal, anal and oral sex. Some STDs also are spread by contact with infected blood. • STDs infect the sex organs, rectum and mouth. They also may infect other parts of the body. • You can have an STD with no signs or symptoms. Symptoms may include unusual discharge from the vagina or penis, itching or sores around the sex organ and burning when you urinate. • If you think you have an STD, stop having sex. Get tested for STDs at your county health department or doctor's office. • Bacterial STDs may be cured if the infection is treated with an antibiotic. Viral STDs can't be cured but symptoms may be treated. • STDs include chlamydia, genital warts (HPV), gonorrhea, hepatitis B, herpes, HIV/AIDS and syphilis. • If you have an STD, do what your doctor tells you to do, take your medicine, and inform your sexual partner(s). • If you are cured, continue to protect yourself by not having sex. If you do have sex, have it with one uninfected partner who only has sex with you. Reduce your risk by using a condom whether you have vaginal, anal or oral sex. • Consequences of not getting treated include spreading the disease to others, damage to your reproductive organs and other parts of your body, and passing the infection to your baby during childbirth. • Get checked for STDs every time you have a health exam. SOURCES: ETR Associates, Illinois Department of Public Health |
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