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Education is one of the greatest tools we have for securing a good future for humanity. Every person has potential – every person has a calling, something they are good at – but that potential must be nurtured and scaffolded or nothing will ever come of it.
Unfortunately, literacy and formal education have historically been available only to rich men. Informal education – parents teaching kids how to sew, farm, cook, etc. – has always existed. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but receiving informal education alone provides very limited options for those children – namely, how to sew, farm, cook, etc. when they grow up. Formal education gives people the option to follow their parents' examples or to set out on their own new path to find their calling. Formal education inspires people to dream big. It inspires people to change the world.
Sadly, according to The Girl Effect, 70% of the world's 130 million out-of-school youth are girls. Many, many girls around the world still aren't getting equal opportunities to dream big, find their calling, and to have more options than to become a housewife. It's true – 38% of girls in developing countries marry before turning 18. 14% marry before they turn 15! Between 25-50% of girls in developing countries become teen mothers; compare that to 4.3% teen birth rate in the United States (according to the Guttmacher Institute), which is often portrayed as somewhat of a national crisis. Pregnancy is actually the leading cause of death among girls ages 15-19 worldwide, according to The Girl Effect. And, as if these girls didn't have to cope with enough already, 75% of HIV-infected youth in Africa are girls.
Educated girls are more likely to delay marriage and to have fewer children. Their children tend to be healthier and are more likely to receive education, as well. This isn't surprising, as educated women earn significantly more and they “reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30-40% for a man.” Educating girls gives them higher expectations; forced marriage, domestic abuse, a lack of family planning, and limited if any options for a career stop being good enough. Education promotes equality and reduces poverty. Without a good education, people have fewer choices and they are more easily subjected to tyranny on a small, personal scale and on a larger, community or nation-wide scale; sadly, those people tend to be female.
Check out girleffect.org for more information - it's an amazing cause.
Gender is a social construct. It assumes that, by definition, females are feminine and males are masculine. These gender constructs completely disregard hermaphrodites, the transgendered, and others who do not fit neatly in the "man" or "woman" box. There are male hairstylists, nurses, teachers, fashion models, and stay-at-home dads. There are female engineers, construction workers, CEOs, athletes, and politicians. These people defy their assigned gender roles and the fact that this defiance is rare does not mean that femininity in females and masculinity in males is biologically fixed at birth. Separating people into categories this way is convenient for statistical and discriminatory purposes, but individual people just aren't that black and white.
This entry is a part of our World AIDS Day Blogathon. During this week we share our experiences, stories, and ideas about how HIV affects young people around the world. Join the blogathon .
Today, Campus Women's Coalition partnered with the Gay-Straight Alliance to raise awareness - about HIV/AIDS, about getting tested, and about using condoms. SDSU has a newly built Wellness Center and they recently opened a Family Planning Clinic. From what I've seen of it, it should be able to serve the students' needs much better in terms of family planning than the old Student Health Clinic could. For one thing, they now offer STI testing for a sliding scale fee, as opposed to the $80 or so dollars it cost to get tested my freshman year.
Unfortunately, not many students know about these improved services. I figured World AIDS Day would be a good opportunity to promote the new clinic. I put "Get tested" and the number for the family planning clinic on each and every GACC condom. I discovered that those tabs they make to label manila folders are the perfect size to fit two legible lines of text and fit in the bottom right hand corner of each condom sleeve. It covers the "Free sample" text, but that's really the least important information (significantly less eye-catching than Trojan Intense Ribbed, anyway!).
Based on previous experience, more people will take condoms handed out for free in the Union than any other sort of pamphlet or freebie, with candy being a possible exception. I'd tried handing out condoms and flyers together before and people would take those, but there was always an awkward fumble and a lot of things hit the floor. With the "get tested" label on the condom, handing them out was a breeze and I was still getting a message across. We also handed out AIDS ribbons and had a board set up on our table with statistics about AIDS, transmission risks, condom effectiveness, etc.
It all seemed to be going pretty smoothly... until 11:00. FOCUS, the Catholic group on campus, set up a table right next to ours. This is the third or fourth time that we've been stuck at a table next to FOCUS while handing out condoms. Twice we've even been sandwiched between FOCUS and College Republicans (and the person manning that table was a teabagger who protested a CWC/OfA healthcare rally...) It can't be a coincidence. Tables reservations are assigned by Union employees and one of them makes no attempt to hide his disapproval of us as feminists. He always gives us trouble when we have to get posters approved to hang up or otherwise interact with him. Sometimes he even seems to make up rules to deny our posters (thankfully, his boss likes me and always happens to swoop in and save the day).
So, anyway, FOCUS was right next to us and, surprise, surprise, they started giving us crap. One of the main advisors was there. He'd once insisted that HIV can pass right through condoms, so we're dumb/bad//naive for giving them out.
A friend of a friend suggested that everyone should send the 64 Democratic Representatives who voted for the Stupak Amendment a coat hanger in protest. Not enough money to send 64? Send 26 to the Dems who voted for the Stupak Amendment and against healthcare reform. At the very least, Stupak himself should receive a coat hanger. I'll post a tutorial on how to make your own mini coat hangers later today. It's cheaper to make than to buy and they fit in smaller envelopes, so shipping is cheaper, too. I suggest enclosing a short letter as well. This post seems like a great place to start for that.
Yesterday CWC, College Dems, and the Public Affairs Coordinator from Planned Parenthood teamed up to phonebank for health care reform. More specifically, to make sure comprehensive reproductive health care for women isn't left out. Conservatives in Congress are - surprise, surprise - aiming for reduced abortion coverage. They want, at minimum, to make sure the public option doesn't cover women needing abortions, but their goal is to require that no insurance plans are allowed to cover it. That's right - women who already have abortion coverage could have it taken away.
And then there's Senator Kyl from Arizona. He's perfectly ok with 60% of insurance companies not providing maternity care because he "doesn't need maternity care." I don't need prostate exams or testicular cancer coverage, either, Senator, but I'd definitely support improved access to them for the sake of the other half of the population. Some people are actually willing to spend a little more on insurance premiums or taxes to make sure the right to healthcare - a basic source of life, liberty, and happiness - is protected. It's called compassion and generosity, Senator Kyl.
Today, my mother and I were watching TV. A commercial for Valtrex came on - the medication that helps prevent the spread of genital herpes - and the commercial said that one in five American adults has genital herpes. Both my mother and I commented on how surprisingly high that was, so I looked it up. The commercial was right - 22% of American adults have herpes simplex type 2 and 49% of women aged 15 to 39 will have genital herpes by 2025 if these trends continue. I told my mom what I'd found and she made a comment about how people need to stop sleeping around.
What she said next shocked me. She told me I needed to protect myself by using two condoms! I pointed out that doubling up causes increased friction and makes them more likely to tear. (I aced my women's health class this semester and this was one of the topics!) Her response: "Sometimes. You just need to use lube." All my life I'd known that I was an accidental pregnancy. Today I found out that I'm here because my mom thinks doubling up condoms provides better protection against STDs and pregnancy.
This is exactly why we need comprehensive sex ed; if we leave it to parents to teach their children about safer sex, many parents will refuse to tell their children about it at all and even the parents that do talk to their kids may end up spreading misinformation, like my mother just did. Thankfully, I've done my own research and I recognized it as misinformation. Adolescents that aren't as informed might not be so lucky. With comprehensive sex ed in schools, there is a structured curriculum that is fact-based and provides accurate information about ways to protect oneself. Students with access to comprehensive sex ed will be able to evaluate what their parents, friends, and the media tell them. They will be better able to recognize myths for what they are - misinformation.
Just because parents mean well does not mean they know the facts. Giving teens access to comprehensive sex ed on top of what their parents and friends tell them is the best way to reduce the growing STD rates and prevent unintended pregnancies.
As of an hour ago, I've given out 96% of my big box of 500 condoms. Between the Gay-Straight Alliance and Campus Women's Coalition events, tabling in the Union, and handing them out to people I know, I'd gotten down to about 150. The latest batch of 130 or so were handed out tonight at The Condom War: Battle of the Sexes. The Condom War: Battle of the Sexes 1. Male condoms are 98.7% effective in protecting against pregnancy and STIs when used correctly. True. Condoms protect against pregnancy and STIs, including AIDS and herpes. They must be used perfectly - that means every single time you have sex, put on the right way, using enough lube, etc. 98.7% effectiveness means that there is a 1.3% chance a woman will become pregnant after using condoms perfectly for a year. Even with imperfect use, male condoms are 85% effective. Bag & water demonstration False. With typical use, withdrawing is only 73% effective in preventing pregnancy. It requires a lot of control, discipline, and commitment to pull out before ejaculating every time a couple has sex. Even if a man pulls out in time, pregnancy can still happen. Pre-ejaculate, or pre-cum, can pick up sperm left in the urethra from a previous ejaculation and cause pregnancy. A man may also just barely pull out in time and still ejaculate on or near the vagina, which can result in pregnancy, too. Withdrawal is not effective against STIs, either, because there is no barrier to prevent herpes sores from rubbing against vulnerable skin or to prevent fluids from transferring other STIs. 3. If you’d be extra screwed, you should double up your condoms. False. Using two male condoms together or a male condom with a female condom will cause the condoms to rub against each other, creating friction which makes them much more likely to break than a single condom alone. This is true for lubed and un-lubed condoms. Backing up condoms with hormonal birth control is a much smarter option. 4. If the condom breaks, you don't have any options. False. You can use emergency contraception, which is effective for up to 120 hours or 5 days after having unprotected sex. Plan B, one of the more common forms of EC pills, reduces your risk of pregnancy by 89% if taken in 5 days. In other words, if 100 women have completely unprotected sex one time during the second or third week of their monthly menstrual cycle, 8 of them will get pregnant. If those same 100 women use Plan B, only one will get pregnant. The sooner you take it, the better, so it's a good idea to keep some at home in case you need it. You can get EC at Student Health, Lewis, and Walmart in Brookings; it's only $25 at Student Health. If you have a pregnancy scare, you should go to Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls or to your doctor, not a Crisis Pregnancy Center. CPCs are not medical facilities and often give false or misleading information. 5. Some penises are too large to fit into a regular condom. False. Condoms are made to stretch. Even if you think you need a magnum, a regular condom will work if you're desperate because any condom is better than no condom at all. If you have an average or small penis, don't buy magnums. You're not impressing anyone. Condoms that are too large are more likely to fall off, which decreases effectiveness. That said, there are small differences between brands and types of condoms and you should try different kinds because you might find that some feel better or are more comfortable than others. 6. All college students can afford condoms. True. Student Heath sells condoms for 25 cents a piece. If you want more variety, you can buy them in bulk at Walmart. They have 24 and 36 packs for $10-$15, or about 40 cents a piece. You can also get free condoms from us tonight! 7. If you’re allergic to latex, you can't use condoms. False. There are non-latex condoms available. Trojan's Supra line and Durex's Avanti line are both made with polyurethane. They're slightly more expensive and a little less elastic than latex condoms, but they can be stored longer and they can be used with oil-based lube, unlike latex condoms, which break down when used with oil. People with latex allergies can also use female condoms, which are generally non-latex as well. Female condoms are larger and wider than male condoms and they are inserted into the vagina or anus up to eight hours before sex. Female condoms have a flexible ring on the closed end to keep them in place and they cover more skin than male condoms, so they're actually slightly better for preventing STIs. They are 95% effective with perfect use and 73% effective with typical use. I do not recommend using lambskin condoms as an alternative to latex condoms. They are made out of lamb intestines and have pores that make them much less effective in preventing STIs and pregnancy. 8. Not liking how condoms feel is not a legitimate excuse for not practicing safe sex. True. You might not like how they feel, but an STI or unplanned pregnancy will feel worse. If you don't like how they feel, you should try a different brand or add a fun, tingly lube - just make sure the lube is silicone or water-based if you're using latex condoms. You can even work on eroticizing condoms by having your partner put the condom on you or try masturbating with a condom on. 9. Alcohol enhances sex. False. Alcohol lowers inhibitions, which makes it mentally easier for some people to have sex, but it does not make it better or physically easier. Alcohol and other drugs - even some prescription medications - can cause anorgasmia, or the inability to have an orgasm, in women and men. Alcohol can also make it difficult to get an erection. Drunk sex is more likely to be unsafe sex, too. Young adults are about 10% less likely to use condoms when they're drinking. Even if they do use condoms, they're more likely to make a mistake when putting them on, which is part of the reason condoms are 98.7% effective with perfect use and only 85% effective with typical use. Bananas & condom demonstration 10. Abstinence is 100% effective. True. Sort of. Like all birth control methods, abstinence is only truly effective when used perfectly, which means no vaginal, anal, oral, or outercourse. You might consider yourself technically abstinent or technically a virgin if you're messing around but not having penis-in-vagina sex, but you're still putting yourself at risk for STIs and pregnancy. Being truly abstinent requires a lot of sacrifice. Even if you're committed to staying completely abstinent, you should still have a supply of condoms and make sure you have access to EC and BC. Even if you don't use them yourself, one of your friends might have an emergency and you could help them out. _________________________________________________________________________
At an earlier CWC event, an RA from Binnewies Hall asked our group to put together a safe sex program. We had some brainstorming sessions and came up with this Battle of the Sexes concept. With help from the internet, Paul Joannides' Guide to Getting it On, and New Dimensions in Women's Health from Linda Lewis Alexander, Judith H. Larosa, Helaine Bader, and Susan Garfield, we came up with 10 truths and myths about condoms. During the event, teams had cards with T for true and F for false on them. After discussing the statement, they would decide if it was true or false and flash the card with their answer. Right answers got a point and even if both teams got it right, we would still expand on the statement to make sure they knew why they answered correctly. Some statements were followed by activities to illustrate our point and teams that participated got bonus points.
I wrote out a script for the event and bolded especially important points. There were five people from CWC reading questions (and my boyfriend/lovely assistant, Michael, was keeping score), so we each took two questions. Depending on how comfortable with the subject the person was, they could read the script directly or just speak freely as long as they covered the important bolded facts and statistics. Other CWC members were also free to interject thoughts and facts if someone missed something. Here's the script for the event:
2. Pulling out is an effective alternative to condoms.
Arm demonstration
The three demonstrations/activities definitely added to the program. The first bag & water demonstration involved a volunteer (who got a bonus point) putting a garbage bag on while water was squirted at them - the point being that if you use a barrier, you won't get "wet," i.e., infected with an STI or impregnated.
The second demonstration involved a condom being stretched over my arm (we practiced in an earlier CWC meeting and it was difficult, so we decided to do it on a CWC member, not a volunteer). The point was that a regular-sized condom is better than no condom, even if you regularly use Magnums. Unfortunately, the first condom broke during the program. I had a good save, though - I pointed out that penises don't have nails or knuckles, so even if a man did have a fist-sized penis it wouldn't be as difficult to get on as it was to get on my hand. I tried again with a second condom and that one went on well. Catherine then blew into the condom on my arm and it stretched even bigger. The guys were getting a bit rowdy and tried to convince me that my hand was turning blue and that it would be way too uncomfortable to have a regular condom on a large penis for ten minutes of sex. I wasn't taking any of their crap, so I told them I'd leave it on for 10 minutes. I did. The RA even timed me. My hand was fine at the end, except for a small indent on my wrist. They pointed this out and I just said that none of them had penises the size of my wrist, so they had nothing to worry about. One other CWC member even interjected a comment about it being like a cock ring, which people buy for pleasure and firmer erections.
The third (and most popular according to the surveys) demonstration was a drunken condom race. We had two condoms, two bananas, and two volunteers. We tried to get 'drunk goggles' from the campus police department, but they're loaning them to someone across the state, so we just had the volunteers spin in circles until they were dizzy. They then had to race to get condoms properly on the bananas and the first one done right got a bonus point. The women got it - the man put his on upside down and barely started unrolling it by the time the woman was done.
Overall, the event turned out really, really well. The women won overall and the men still did pretty well. We got people to come by offering free condoms, drinks, and pizza, and we entertained them enough to stay. The survey results showed that most of them enjoyed it and learned something. The Binnewies Residence Hall Director even told us it was a good program. Hopefully, next year we can get the Residence Hall Association to fund these programs campus-wide. If they do, we do have to change the wording on question number 8 as it confused people and we have to get the drunk goggles. We're also considering adding an STI Transmission activity and making pamphlets for people to take home later.
Hopefully, by tomorrow I will get rid of the rest of the condoms. In the evening, the big Catholic group on campus is having a huge anti-premarital-sex program. I'm planning on attending because it should be hilarious and I can stand outside the door handing out condoms and telling people the work afterward. Thankfully, the event isn't until 7:30 and the Day of Silence breaking of the silence ceremony is at 6. I encourage everyone remember the Day of Silence tomorrow!
So far my condom distribution (for the Great American Condom Campaign) has gone really well. On April 1st, I gave away about 150 of them at a Campus Women's Coalition table in the Union. At the table, we were telling people about the dangers of fake clinics. So many of fake clinics tell young women half-truths from old studies when these young women need real facts and help or Plan B or birth control or access to abortion.
I went to a fake clinic in Sioux Falls, SD, and all they cared about was if I was pregnant. I took their free over-the-counter pregnancy test and as soon as they found out I wasn't pregnant and asked if "I knew who the baby's father would have been," they were basically done with me. They didn't offer me STD information and when I asked, they handed me a stack of pamphlets on abstinence, second virginity, and how condoms don't work. The 'counselor' even assured me that "We in the medical profession don't worry about a missed period. Just don't have sex until your next period at least to make sure." She ended all of this nonsense with a prayer, thanking God that I was on my parents insurance, that I was a student, and for other things she read off my stack of forms.
All of the half-truths and them pushing their conservative agenda angered me. Vulnerable women need to know that fake clinics can't be trusted. So I took the Feminist Majority Foundation's idea and did Don't Be Fooled Day with CWC. I plastered the busiest buildings on campus with posters that said in giant letters "DON'T BE FOOLED! Come to the Union..." And it worked. We were able to expose these fake clinics and encourage people to use things that actually work - condoms, birth control, Planned Parenthood services, etc.
The Great American Condom Campaign just notified me that I've been selected as a Safe Site. They'll be sending me 500 free condoms donated by Trojan for me to distribute throughout the semester. Considering that the Student Health Center is still the only place on campus to get condoms and that they charge 25 cents a piece, this is very good news for SDSU.
Two years ago, Trojan studied 100 college campuses around the country. SDSU was one of those campuses and frankly, the results were pathetic. The Collegian summarized the results:
SDSU ranked 82 out of 100 schools surveyed for the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card released Sept. 19 from the makers of Trojan brand condoms and Sperling's Best Places.
SDSU received a D for information on the Web site, an F for condom availability and another F for advice columns and question-and-answer features for sexual issues or relationships. It did receive a respectable B for HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing.
This study inspired Campus Women's Coalition to start Project: Condom. The goal is to make condoms free and available in more places around campus. Thanks to the Great American Condom Campaign, we're a step closer. I'll keep everyone updated on how condom distribution is going once the box comes in!
