sinslaidbare's Diaryland Diary

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't let your mom get the clap.

Zo� Says:
Do you remember the talk?

We all went through it as kids. Usually the scene involved a nervous, blushing parent, an incredulous and somewhat disgusted kid, and an awkward description of how a boy's tab A fits onto a girl's slot B and they make a baby, but only if they are married and in love. You know: that talk. (Actually, mom just left a copy of The Joy of Sex by my bed while I was learning to read. --Max)

The time has come again where there needs to be an intergenerational talk about sex. The baby boomers (and older) know all about sex for procreation, but it seems they know less about its hazards when it�s done for recreation. According to a Scottish study, sexual infections have tripled in the over 50 crowd in the past five years.

Possible reasons for this epidemic include a higher number of sexual partners due to divorce, widowhood, and swinging. Divorcees and widows are more likely than ever to use the internet and personal ads to find a partner, which means that partners are less likely to have known each other for an extended period of time before sex. Today, relationships often do not follow the same path they did years ago; that is, people are more likely to have sex more quickly, without a long standing monogamous commitment.

In this group, there is also disinclination to use safer sex methods, perhaps due to the outdated belief that condoms' main purpose is to prevent pregnancy. In this line of thinking, once menopause has passed, or sterilization surgeries have been performed, a condom is merely an option, and an inconvenient one at that.

Our sexually transmitted diseases are not our parents' or grandparents'. What used to require a trip to the doctor, a bit of embarrassment and some antibiotics can now kill you. Literally. HIV and AIDS were unheard of in our parent's day. Of course, HIV/AIDS is only one of the myriad STDs out there. Herpes, although not fatal, will stay with a person for life. Some strains of HPV (the virus that causes genital warts, in case you haven't seen the commercials) can also cause cervical cancer. There are many that can be cured--PID, syphilis and hepatitis, for example--but can still cause irreparable damage to the body's organs. The list goes on with crabs, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomonas, bacterial vaginosis and more.

That's all fine and good, albeit mildly gross, but how does it relate to you and your newly single mom-or-dad? Well, chances are that you already know this stuff. Chances also are that your newly divorced mom-or-dad doesn't, at least, not in the same way that you do. For years, you've been the target of some fairly successful campaigns to increase sexual health awareness; they are the target of campaigns for breast self exams and the dangers of prostate enlargement. You get free condoms; they get free mutual fund advice. Is it any wonder that the older generations often don't understand STDs as well as the younger generations do?

And so, we think it's time for The Talk: Episode 2. You really don't need to get into great detail but you do need to impress upon any loved ones at risk that they really are at risk. Our bottom line is that health is always more important than avoiding awkwardness.

Always.

12:35 a.m. - 2006-07-28

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

previous - next


3 comments so far

latest entry

about me

archives

notes

DiaryLand

contact

random entry

other diaries:

killsbury
penmaster
fenixhunter
eirian84
second-love
dinosaurorgy
wombaby
annih
jaxraven
littlenother
soulstyce
hissandtell
haloaskew