Out of Control: AIDS in Black America-- ABC special

[southernelle25]

Originally Posted by So blessed!

Otherwise saying this is a shame, what are the cultural, personal and social steps we all need to take to keep this disease from continuing to ravage the Black community (esp. Black women)?

Pre-marital sex and promiscuity should be made taboo (AGAIN) in our community. I don't believe it is "a given" that people are going to have sex with people they've known for a brief time, no more than it is "a given" that people are going to smoke. The Sex-in-the-City/Desperate-Housewives society in which we live would like us to believe this behavior is normal, routine... but "the devil is a lie" and our falling for said lie has led to the high rates of AIDS, divorce, and illegitimates ( ), just to name a few.

While I DO agree that parents and the church, young adults and older adults alike, have a responsibility to instill values of self-respect, self-worth and self-love (and respect and love for our community) in each generation, I believe "safe sex" education leads only to confusion, compromise, and consequences fatal to our future.

[thesweetestone]

Tomorrow Oprah is having a show about AIDS. I think her show is about women and AIDS. I think it's Oprah will be speaking to a panel of six women infected with the disease.

[black_princess]

Originally Posted by thesweetestone

Tomorrow Oprah is having a show about AIDS. I think her show is about women and AIDS. I think it's Oprah will be speaking to a panel of six women infected with the disease.

I know . .and I really want to see this episode, but I have class at that time. Good thing NY replays Oprah @ 1am

[shinerbock]

Off topic a little, but as for watching MTV and BET with your kids, thats a good idea...I plan on sitting with them and watching it, and any time they express something like "thats cool" or they laugh at something, I'm gonna hit them in the forehead with a rolled up newspaper and say "No." Hopefully this will work.

[neosoul]

Originally Posted by southernelle25

Pre-marital sex and promiscuity should be made taboo (AGAIN) in our community....

I believe "safe sex" education leads only to confusion, compromise, and consequences fatal to our future.

I need further clarification on the above statements before I go off the deep end...

[southernelle25]

Originally Posted by neosoul

I need further clarification on the above statements before I go off the deep end...

It's time to go off the deep end, if you ask me. In any case, I am not sure what further clarification you need. Where there is no sex before marriage, there is NO chance of an unwanted pregnancy or the acquisition of a sexually transmitted disease. Besides that, abstinence for a teen, in particular, teaches independence, responsibility, discipline, morality, and self respect, promotes respect for parental authority, and is a critical step toward having "real" relationships and a stable relationship in marriage as an adult.

As for "safe sex" education, it presumes that teenagers will have sex and that they are capable of making decisions about who with and whether the physical and emotional consequences are worth it. The truth is, they don't have to have sex, they won't necessarily have it, and they are not ready to make decisions about sex in the first place, especially not in a society in which sex is treated as a leisurely activity no different from tennis or golf. They will (and do) make poor decisions, compromising their self respect and personal values - and risking their lives, for some "gf" or "bf" they hardly know, just because they think its "safe".

The consequences to our community in this permissive society in which we live speak for themselves - sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, divorce, unwed moms, deadbeat dads, child abuse, etc., problems we didn't suffer at such high rates in the past - when the chance of some guy just assuming he could "hit it" with a black girl was slim to none. She would look at him like and be on her way, until he came correct and ringed; when a guy wouldn't think of actually bringing home some girl who had "been around the block" and back, because his parents would look at them both like , and toss her tail back out onto the street. We need to return to them days, or expand that mentality across our community.

[Conskeeted7]

The Oprah episode is really interesting. I think that many of our young people, up to about age 30, don't realize that they are at risk for HIV. People are more concerned with pregnancy or other STDs. HIV is often overlooked as something that we can contract as young, heterosexual people.

[southernelle25]

This was a very informative and powerful episode. But I wonder, how many more times does it have to be aired, how many more times must the message be delivered, in how many ways, for people to get it?

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by southernelle25

This was a very informative and powerful episode. But I wonder, how many more times does it have to be aired, how many more times must the message be delivered, in how many ways, for people to get it?

I don't even have to watch Oprah to know what goes on with HIV in women...

After having planned 2 Health Forums where HIV/AIDS is discussed often, I really think our options are limited.

Sexual libido is an extreme strong "feeling" and very difficult "overcome". Some people are strong willed, but most people are sex-crazed maniacs who get busy with a tree if they could.

Having illicit sex with multiple sex partners not only increases one's HIV and STI risk, it also misaligns the neural pathways in the brain. Sex is just as addictive as heroin, crack cocaine and ecstasy...

So in someways, illicit sex with multiple partners has to addressed from an addiction medicine/mental healthcare perspective...

Sincerely,

GC Hospital Chief Medical Officer
Dr. AKA_Monet

[southernelle25]

I wasn't aware of the misalignment, but I figured there was a psychiatric component. Is there a connection between this type of addiction and early childhood abuse?

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by southernelle25

I wasn't aware of the misalignment, but I figured there was a psychiatric component. Is there a connection between this type of addiction and early childhood abuse?

Think about the errogenous zones in the body and those being highly stimulated.

Now think about how "kids" are still developing these zones and what happens if there is inappropriate stimulation.

How does the body know it's being "touched"?

There are either chemicals or electric-like impulses that are transmitted to the brain. They are either interpreted as pleasure or pain. The ability to be emotionally mature (Emotional Quotient), which is a learned behavior, how does a sexually abused child properly make the pleasure and pain distinction? They don't usually if there is no therapy...

Same thing happens to rape victims...

I am reading a lot of scientific articles in top-tiered journals (Science and Nature, as well as JAMA and NEJM), that are only beginning to elucidate the mechanisms of this process.

Dr. AKA_Monet

[So blessed!]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Having illicit sex with multiple sex partners not only increases one's HIV and STI risk, it also misaligns the neural pathways in the brain. Sex is just as addictive as heroin, crack cocaine and ecstasy...So in someways, illicit sex with multiple partners has to addressed from an addiction medicine/mental healthcare perspective...

The med student had to come out for this one! AKA_Monet is right... childhood trauma may affect brain function and size of certain areas of the brain-- particularly those that affect memory (e.g., hippocampus) and emotional reactivity (amygdala). The clearest associations have been made with physical and sexual abuse.

My point is that the workings of the brain can be altered over time and with trauma to perform differently than the brains of people who did not undergo trauma. Research seems to support the idea that some individuals who
have undergone childhood abuse may have blunted emotional reactivity and memory development, etc. due to the abuse. This may affect sexual behaviors and prompt high-risk behaviors in general.

Those people who engage in sex with multiple partners and with apparent recklessness (but who haven't undergone childhood trauma) may still have neural alterations in response to this behavior. The behavior itself may be considered a form of self-abuse, and perhaps feeds back to the brain in a way that's similar to childhood abuse. Perhaps it even lowers their ability to have a "normal" emotional reaction in subsequent encounters (which is why they can continue to have high-risk sex over and over again).

Interesting idea...