The STD Scare – Are You At Risk? – The Poll

 

 

The STD Scare

Are You At Risk?

The Poll

By Jan Pitts

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are quite common. In fact, studies show that there are over 20 million cases of STDs reported each year.  According to the CDC,in the United States, the most common STD is human papillomavirus (HPV).  You can prevent strains of HPV by getting the HPV vaccine.  But still, over 79 million Americans have a type of HPV. It disproportionately affects sexually active teens and young adults.  The CDC reports the following as the second and third most common STDs in the United States: Chlamydia and gonorrhea:  There’s plenty that can be done to prevent STDs like practicing safe sex.

I decided to do what I call a “grass-roots” study on the sexual habits among singles, so I conducted a short poll of “well-read”…”in the know,” men and women on their sexual practices and attitudes.  The results were astounding!   I also suspect that this small group could be a major reflection on sexual attitudes across this country.  I spoke to over 100 singles between the ages of 23-49 and here is what I discovered.

The Women:

• 61% believed that their sexual partners were monogamous and didn’t press for the use of condoms on a consistent basis, because it was a bone of contention between them.
• 15% don’t believe the hype. They believe the facts are being distorted as part of a government conspiracy against African-Americans.
• 45% believed AIDS is a disease that prevails more among homosexuals, drug users and bi-sexual men…but they were cautious enough to use protection with a new partner.
• 38% never engaged in sexual activity without protection.
• 21% admitted to having multiple sex partners. Some admitted to having unprotected sex from time to time.
• 41% knew at least two persons who had died from the AIDS virus in the last five years.
• 6% had recently begun abstaining from sex.

The Men

• 72% admitted to using condoms upon request only.
• 21% thought the “epidemic” among heterosexuals has been blown out of proportion by the media.
• 43% seldom engaged in unprotected sex.
• 46% admitted to having multiple sex partners on a regular basis.
• 62% knew at least one person who had died from AIDS, in the last four years.
• One was currently abstaining from sex for religious reasons.

Jan – “My best friend died of AIDS and he was only 33.  He was heterosexual and was not a drug user, but was very sexually active.  He had been so since college, and frequently dated a number of women at the same time.”  He called himself a “stud.”

Ron – “I watched a friend of mine wither away from AIDS and die and he had been very robust in size.  He was out there experimenting with all sorts of sexual activity and it caught up with him.  Whenever I asked him, if he were afraid of catching AIDS or herpes, he’d always laugh and say that he only dealt with “clean women.”

Ken – “I’m concerned, because of my own experience and what happened to a friend.  He walked around for two years with untreated syphilis and lost his eyesight as a result, and I contracted Herpes from a woman who I’d planned to marry.  I’m definitely afraid and don’t mind admitting it.  There is no way I would have unprotected sex.”

John – “I contracted gonorrhea from a woman who looked like she showered five times a day.  She was also a liar who told me that I was the first in ages.  Now I don’t sleep with a woman unless I see her test results.”

Angie ‘- “Sex with condoms blocks the pleasure, but it’s just the intelligent thing to do.  I’m scared and I know too many people who aren’t. My sister died from contracting AIDS from her husband.  I’m seriously thinking about making abstinence a way of life until I get married.”