Sexual Stigma
Social convention and the fight against STDs.
For a culture that doesn’t blush easily, America sure does have a strong puritanical streak. We sell underwear in full-page newspaper ads, stalk celebrity couples for a glimpse of their private lives and laugh at bawdy jokes on prime time TV. We lace our language with innuendo and consider sex appeal the most winning of traits. But when it comes to the real-life consequences of sex, we are quick to stigmatize the unwed mother, the ambiguous teen, the outted politician and the experimenting coed.
Few sexual stigmas are more potent or more in need of breaking down than those surrounding sexually transmitted disease. Fear of judgment and feelings of shame are daunting psychological burdens and, worse yet, keep people from seeking medical help.
Throwing Stones
By sheer numbers alone, the STD stigma is worth contesting. More than half of all people all sexually active people in the U.S. will have an STD at some point in their life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with estimates reaching as high as 80 percent for one particular disease, human papillomavirus (HPV).
“Having an STI [sexually transmitted infection] in most cases just means you’re a very normal person doing what very normal people tend to do,” says Fred Wyand, media and communications manager at the American Social Health Association. “It doesn’t have anything to do with your choices or your partners or how smart you are. It’s just out there, and virtually everyone is going to encounter it.”
Certainly the numbers help normalize the discussion. With 19 million new STD cases every year, it’s odd to think of them as anything less than common. Kim Harrison Eowan, director of the Health Education Unit at the Los Angeles County STD Program, emphasizes the importance of seeing STDs as normal not only to reduce stigma but to increase prevention.
“We try as hard as we can to approach it as a straight-up health issue,” she says. “Genital herpes is a viral infection. You know what else is the result of infection? A cold or flu. We get our hair cut, we get our teeth cleaned, we do all these other things to maintain our general health. Why not let sexual health be part of that routine, too?”
Support Networks
Recognizing the vast community of infected people and available resources helps diminish the stigma for anyone seeking health advice or a shoulder to cry on. In this respect, the Internet has become invaluable.
Even when people steel themselves to walk into a clinic, shame can prevent patients from having an open discussion with a counselor (“She’s going to think I’m a slut”; “They’ll think I’m stupid for using a condom the wrong way”). But online, one has all the advantages of convenience and anonymity. Fred Wyand has moderated message boards and chat rooms at ASHA and sees how such resources help people in need navigate through troubled waters.
“The thing I hear most often is, ‘Thank God I found this board, it saved my sanity,’” says Wyand. “People can log on 24/7, 365 days a year not only to ask questions but to [search the archives] and answer questions like, ‘Has anyone else gone through this?’ ‘When you talked to your husband, what was his reaction?’ ‘What do you think I should do?’ Not only are they looking for medical information, but for social support.”
