Were all the pictures this week in class a flashback to middle school and high school sex ed classes for anyone else? It sure was for me. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen pictures of all the STIs we looked at when I was younger as a scare tactic to get teens to practice abstinince. You know because if you have sex you’ll definitelty get pregnant/an STD AND DIE. Luckily, class was much more professional and informative than those week long sex ed courses we were forced to take.
I found it extremely interesting that STIs weren’t a hot topic at OB/GYN offices. You’d think that as a doctor of women’s reproductive health that would be an area you’d want to inform your patients on. I mean seeing an OB/GYN in the first place is awkward enough, might as well cover everything and get it over with! While awkward, education never hurt anyone; it could create safe sex habits that prevent sexually transmitted infections though. However, I have read that the misconceptions and false beliefs about many STIs that are held by patients are also believed by physicians so a poor understanding overall, between everyone, may be the cause of a lot of the fear and awkwardness surrounding these diseases.
I think this just goes to show that we should speak more openly about human sexuality and its many topics. This will make discussing these topics and becoming educated on them more acceptable and much easier for everyone.
Human Sexuality Blog 
Hey Alex!
I completely agree! Last week was definitely a flashback to middle school health class for me too – especially the pictures. In middle school, I received a very strong “no sex or you’ll die” vibe from my teachers as well, which is almost counterproductive. My thinking is that if you want students to practice safe sex, teach them how to engage in those activities safely; don’t just try to convince them not to, because it’s probably not going to work.
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I don’t know if my school just sucked or what was going on but I did not have this experience. We had like 2 hours of sex ed and they did not show us pictures or try to scare us. They told us about puberty then they just kinda gave us a book and told us to read about STDs. While this is concerning, I find it more concerning that OB/GYNs are not taling about STDs. Mine did. But especially since it is easier for women to get them than men, they should be educated. You would think health professionals would agree.
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