Something To Think About

Hello Roses,
I'm not sure if you noticed the banner at the top of the homepage, but today is National Women and Girls HIV AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD). I want to let you know that it is fine to be sexually liberated and have healthy sex lives but always be smart and practice safe sex.

I don't want to throw a bunch of statistics at you all and sound preachy, however do keep in mind that women, especially black women, account for majority of the new cases of HIV. I don't know why this is the case and i can admit in my past I have had unprotected sex with men I trusted. I now know that no matter how much I may trust a lover of mine I shouldn't put myself in such a compromising situation again.

This got me thinking about the frame of mind I have when thinking about a potential partner. This is not to to imply that this person won't have HIV/AIDS but you can weed a bunch of bad seeds out and give you piece of mind.

Ask him when was his last HIV/AIDS test.
You should not be ashamed to ask this. What I have learned is that so many men don't like going to the doctor for unknown reasons. My guess would be that they are simply scared or just don't care. Why would I want to date or even have sex with a man that is not proactive about his sexual health? Also, if he claims to have gotten a test, don't be ashamed to ask for it. I know it may seem like it's a bit personal but doing it with protection that can potentially break is far more embarrassing! If he's clean and thinks you are worth it, there will be no problem at all. After all, he may respect you more. If you are sexually active, an HIV test should be administered every 6 months.

Know how to put a condom on... correctly!
Things can get rushed when you're in the throes of passion. Volunteer to put the condom on correctly. An ill fitting condom can easily break from too much air, slip off, or cause some of your or his fluids to mix. You can even get fancy and learn how to put it on with your mouth ;) !! If he puts the condom on, watch him. Also it is not awkward to look at him to make sure he didn't slide it off. If the condom gets dry just keep a water based lubricant handy.


If you have any doubts about sex with a particular person DON'T DO IT!
As women we have an innate 6th sense. If there are any gray areas concerning the guy just don't do it. We have this intuition for a reason, and that's to protect ourselves. This also reminds me of a discussion i had on Twitter yesterday. If you won't even kiss the guy in the mouth then why would you want him inside you?

All in all, practice safe sex and educate your friends, family and partners because HIV and AIDS is no joke. These days preaching about abstinence is somewhat pointless but it is really the only way to eliminate the stress of possible contraction. Always keep an unexpired condom handy if you are active.

For more information on NWGHAAD visit The Red Pump Project website.