LOVE KNOWS NO GENDER... OR AT LEAST IT SHOULDN'T:

I know a lot of gay people and one of my best friends is gay; he's known his orientation since he was quite young but only came out of the metaphorical closet about a year ago. Many people say that homosexuality is a choice and that they CHOOSE to be that way, but my question to those people is: when did you CHOOSE to be heterosexual? The answer is that you didn't, you just DON'T choose, you don't look at someone and decide you like their gender, that's not the way it works! People are born as they are and the world would be a whole lot happier if there was equality and acceptance. 

I think some homophobic people are under the assumption that the gay people are going to chase them down the streets trying to dry hump them. It's so irrational to think that gay people don't have the same rights as heterosexuals. We're all people! This just brings us back to the days where black people were discriminated against, and to what end? It took a long time but they have rights now aswell, and once certain people get a grip on themselves then gay people will be treated with the same respect as everyone else. 

Unfortunately that's just not happening now! They're not allowed to marry or adopt, in some countries gay people aren't allowed to give blood despite the shortage at donor banks, the list goes on and there are many people who stand back and watch this, including some who actually cheer this on.

Just to clarify because sometimes these terms are confused: homosexuality is attraction to the same sex, bisexuality is attraction to both sexes and heterosexuality is attraction to strictly the opposite sex. 

Despite laws that say otherwise, gay people receive the greatest percentage of harassment in the workplace. In fact, Ireland is lucky when compared with America; some states in the country are still legally allowed to fire gay people simply because of their sexual orientation. Everyone needs to chill out! Being around a gay person does not make you gay in the same way as being around someone who is religious doesn't make you adopt their beliefs. You are what you are.


And on another note, you can be completely heterosexual but still have certain curiosities about the same sex. There's nothing wrong with that, and when some people leave the family home and attend college there is a certain independence that comes with it that can lead to experimentation. It doesn't make someone gay and hey, everyone's dabbled! There shouldn't be anywhere NEAR as much judgement!

STD TALK: CHLAMYDIA

This is one of the most common STDs around the place, so it's kind of like potatoes in an irish kitchen, meaning EVERYWHERE! Chlamydia is very dangerous because it often has no symptoms and if it's left untreated it can cause serious problems in later life (you know, when you grow out of the 'party til you vomit in your hair' lifestyle!) This is why it's called the 'silent' disease. 

Those of us women who DO have symptoms often experience: 

An increase in vaginal discharge, the need to leg it to the bathroom to pee more frequently, burning stabby sensation when urinating, pain during sex, irregular bleeding during your period or bleeding after sex and pains in your lower abdomen. (Check that one twice though, you could just be having a bit of bother digesting a curry!) 

Chlamydia can also, if left untreated, leave women infertile if the fallopian tubes become scarred. This is very serious and irreversible so take the time for an STD test.

Men have more noticeable symptoms than women so it's much easier to diagnose, these include: 

A white/cloudy and watery discharge from the penis that may stain underwear (as if it's not stained enough already...), a burning sensation when peeing and pain or swelling in the balls (testicles, just to be scientific). 

It can be transmitted by having unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who is infected.This disease is an excellent example of why you should always go to a health clinic regularly, make a point of doing it twice a year on principle and if you have any itchy itchies going on down there ASSUME it is not a good thing and get your ass to the doctors! 

STD TALK: GENITAL WARTS

Genital warts; these little bundles of fun are highly contagious and, like herpes, are transmitted through skin to skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. 

Surprisingly, of those infected with genital warts it is estimated that only between 1% and 5%  actually develop genital warts, but those infected can still transmit the virus to other people. Really, there's no point taking chances, because in the world of STDs everything is pot luck!

GENITAL WARTS IN WOMEN:

In women they occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening (cervix) to the womb and around or inside the anus. Rarely, genital warts also can develop in the mouth or throat of a person who has had oral sex with an infected person. I don't know about the rest of you but this really wouldn't be my idea of a good time!

GENITAL WARTS IN MALES:

They are usually seen on the tip of the penis so keep an eye out lads! They also may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around (or inside) the anus. 

If an individual has unprotected sex with their fix for the night, there is a 70% chance that he or she will also become infected. There is no cure for genital warts, but there are methods to treat them. Although treatment can remove them, they do not remove the disease so warts can recur after treatment (about 50–73% of the time) 

STD TALK: GONORRHEA

Gonorrhea not only sounds like Godzilla (big dinosaur-crocodile thing that tore about buildings somewhere...) it also causes mass destruction, only this time to your genitals rather than sky scrapers. Now I don't know anyone who has gonorrhea (probably because it's not the thing you go shouting through the streets to announce!) but I do know a bit about it. 
Before I start, the good news is that it's completely treatable! I like to get the happy parts out first! 
Just to start, it grows easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes (egg canals) in women, AND in the urethra in both sexes, so nobody's escaping! The bacteria in gonorrhea can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus. Very pleasant.

The main problem with gonorrhea is that it's very sneaky, some people who have gonorrhea have absolutely no symptoms, and if they do they're very mild and can be passed off as a urinary tract infection. Basically, some symptoms in women are that it burns when you pee, increased vaginal discharge or excess bleeding during periods. In men, a burning sensation when peeing, or a white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis. Sometimes they can get painful or swollen testicles. I wouldn't know but some of my guy friends spend so much time with their hands down their pants they could ALL have gonorrhea and wouldn't know it! Chances are that's just down to testosterone though.

Oh you can get gonorrhea in the bum as well, this is probably more a concern to homosexual males but can apply to heterosexual couples as well. Whatever floats your boat! (PS. The boat floats happier with a condom on!) 

 

STD TALK: HERPES

NEVER TRUST A COLDSORE! Or HSV1 if you will. This is the first strain and let's be honest, so many people have the virus it's just counted as normal and something you get when you have a cold. There are plenty of reasons why coldsores are scary though and a lot of people are reckless about them. 

HSV1 INFECTION ON LIPS:

                          

Number one, and I must stress this, never EVER give oral sex to someone when you have a coldsore because the chances of them getting the second strain, HSV2, is very high if not inevitable. In fact, these days the most reported way of getting HSV2, or genital herpes, is through mouth to genital contact. Scary thought isn't it? Even when you don't have an open sore you should stay clear of the nether regions as you can STILL pass it on even if there is no visible coldsore. 

Number two, don't kiss someone when you have a coldsore, especially if you've craftily covered it up with make up to fool them when you're out in a club to get the shift! It's not fair to give someone else HSV1 when it could've been avoided.

HSV2 is a much more inconvenient version of the above; if you think you've got it bad with blistery cold sores that are unsightly, embarrassing and really sore, think again! HSV2 infects the genitals and the area around the genitals, it is transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact and some people notice itching, tingling or other sensations before they see anything on their skin. All forms of sex, oral or otherwise, should be avoided in times of a breakout and you should be careful to wash your hands after touching the sore, but try and avoid it, herpes is easily killed with soap and water! Just keep your hands to yourself and let it run its course, it's not a spot so don't start squeezing the crap out of it because you'll just make it worse! 

OH! Bad news, herpes can also be transmitted to places like your nostrils and your eyes so in case the last sentence didn't hit home, hopefully this one will! 

                     GENITAL HERPES IN WOMEN:                     

            

GENITAL HERPES IN MEN:

Just to finish up, be very careful when having sex with someone who has herpes, if you choose to, and always wear protection. CONDOMS CONDOMS CONDOMS! They are the only barrier method that offers ANY protection from STDs. Once you have herpes, you have it for life! However, it's not the end of the world or the end of your sex life, there's medication you can take to lessen outbreaks and the length of them and you can still have sex but you should tell your partner beforehand and make sure you use a condom. 

THE MORNING AFTER PILL OTHERWISE KNOWN AS - OH MY GOD THE CONDOM BROKE:

Samantha woke up with a pounding headache. She groaned loudly and shifted around under the covers until something hard and warm met her touch. She quickly pulled back the blankets to see her very naked ex-boyfriend lying next to her. 
"Oh goooood what did I driiiiink??" she murmured into her hands as she tried not to laugh at the badly drawn penises and unibrow on the guy's face. She herself had 'BEST PARDY EVA' written on her abdomen. She shoved him awake and said, "Jack, listen, did we have sex last night?" He looked confused and then, "Oh yeah, that was great, we should do it again sometime," he said, lying back with a grin.
"I don't make mistakes twice! Anyway, you used a condom right?" she sighed, reaching for her clothes. "No," came the answer. She stopped dead and said, "WHAT?!" He put his hands up and looked worried. "You're on the pill so it doesn't matter!" She felt like punching him. "No I came off it when we broke up! Are you saying we used absolutely NOTHING to stop your boys swimming upstream??" 
"Yeah...," he said slowly. She hit him with a pillow and put on her clothes in stony silence. "So what are you gonna do?" he asked meekly. "Get the morning after pill obviously," she said, still pissed off at him and promising herself she'd never touch drink again.

                     
The emergency contraceptive pill is taken after unprotected sexual intercourse or contraceptive failure, to try and prevent pregnancy from occurring. It can work up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. Millions of women around the world have used emergency contraceptives effectively. However, this is an emergency form of contraception and does not replace effective methods of regular contraception.

It needs to be taken as soon as possible so don't be waiting round making french toast, get your ass to the chemist! The earlier you take it, the better. It works best if you take it within 12 hours of sex. You should swallow it with water as soon as you get it, in fact the chemist will probably give you a glass of water to take straight away! It's less effective the more you wait so don't treat them like assignments and get them outta the way!

YOU HAVE TO GET THE MORNING AFTER PILL IF:

• You've had unprotected sex, no contraception of ANY kind; and no, praying to Jesus is not a viable barrier method

• The contraception has failed, such as a condom breaking! You might  not notice during sex so make sure to check for holes in the boat afterwards!

• You experience pill failure: If you forgot it or didn't take it on time or you got violently sick from all the jagerbombs, you're better safe than sorry!

If you're already up the duff, the morning after pill has no effect, zero, zilch, nada! And if you have diarrhea or throw up after you've taken it, chances are it wasn't absorbed so you'll have to take another one!

It's now available over the counter and it's getting cheaper in certain chemists than it was when it first came out! Don't be tempted to use it as a contraception method though, I have a friend who does that and it can't be good for her to have her hormones constantly up and down all over the place! Plus she acts like she's on her period almost all the time!

PREGNANCY - THE FACTS, THE MYTHS AND THE SCARY STUFF YOU DON'T EXPECT:

You may be told as a child how the stork lands with the baby on the parent's front porch, but let me delve into it with a bit more detail. Pregnancy occurs when a male and a female engage in sex, coitis, intercourse, the dirty, call it what you will. The man ejaculates and semen is released into the woman's vagina. The sperm in the semen (About 300 million sperm are released in an ejaculation.) all swim towards the egg in order to fertilise the ovum (egg) with a single sperm (it only takes one!) This eventually leads to the development of the embryo. The term embryo is used to describe the developing offspring during the first 8 weeks after conception, and the term fetus is used from about 2 months of development until the birth. 

TEENAGE PREGNANCY:

This is a pregnancy of a girl under the age of 20. It generally refers to a female who is unmarried and usually refers to an unplanned pregnancy (AVOID THE PULL OUT METHOD! BABIES HAPPEN!) A pregnancy can take place at any time after the first menstrual period, normally taking place around the ages 12 or 13, (though you probably shouldn't be having sex at this age anyway...) and is the stage at which a female becomes potentially fertile.

Teenage pregnancy depends on a number of societal and personal factors (meaning if you're still waiting on your baby teeth to fall out, you shouldn't be having sex!) Teenage pregnancy rates vary between countries because of differences in levels of sexual activity, general sex education provided and access to affordable contraceptive options. (Actually, you can find Durex condoms in some of the chains of Euro2 for only €2! They still work the same! But I'm assuming they fell out of the back of a truck for that price!)

In developed countries, teenage pregnancies are associated with many social issues, including lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty, and other poorer "life outcomes" in children of teen mums. Teen pregnancy in developed countries is usually outside of marriage, and carries a social stigma in many communities and cultures. The United Kingdom has the highest level of teenage pregnancy, while Japan and South Korea have the lowest.

WARNING!

Here is a video of a woman giving birth, but it has VERY GRAPHIC CONTENT so if you're squeamish don't watch it! 

The biggest risk for teen mothers is delaying prenatal care or worse, no care at all. Don't be stupid, tell your mum and dad (nobody will die, yes they'll be angry but at least you're not telling them you want to drop out of school to fulfill your lifelong ambition of prostitution!) The reason for lack of prenatal care is usually delayed pregnancy testing (All it takes is a bit of pee!), denial or even fear of telling others about the pregnancy. A survey by the ISSHR found that the age of 'first time sex' has fallen in Ireland: for 18-24 year olds the average age of first sex is 17; for 35-39 year olds the average age is 19 for women and 18 for men. 

PREGNANCY MYTHS:

Myth 1: During the full moon phase more women go into labor than other times. Looking at the facts shows that this isn't true. (Women are not werewolves, unless they haven't shaved in a while!)

Myth 2: Spicy food induces labor. Again, there is no scientific logic to this. It can however cause intense diarrhoea depending on how much you consume, so I wouldnt recommend spicy food if you're about to give birth seeing as women generally poop during labour anyway. 

Myth 3: Sex brings on labor - this also isn't based on fact and there is no evidence to show that it is true. It's no harm though! So if you're horny go for it!

Myth 4: It is commonly expressed that stretch marks are a natural resultant of pregnancy. The truth is there are women who don't get them at all. (Lucky girls... bet they're the ones with perfect pore-less skin too!)

Myth 5: Being pregnant makes you crazy. Your hormone levels change when you are pregnant, which may cause you to react more strongly to things. However, you will still be yourself. You will still have your likes and dislikes, fears and concerns. What changes is your ability to "hide" the real you. Your high hormone levels encourage you to show your reactions on the outside too. (Tip for men: hibernate)

Myth 6: If your mother had an easy pregnancy and delivery, so will you. The size and position of the baby, your diet, lifestyle and attitude all play greater roles than hereditary in determining the ease or difficulty of your pregnancy and delivery. 

UPCOMING WORLD AIDS DAY 2011:

The United Nations' World AIDS Day is held on December 1st of each year to honour the victims of the AIDS pandemic and to focus attention on the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS related conditions.

On this day each year, many national and international leaders and pioneers encourage the support and treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS and stimulating research into the treatment of these conditions.

What is HIV?

The immune system can’t get rid of viruses out of your body in the way that a healthy immune system could, like after you get a cold. Scientists are still trying to find out why. A deficient immune system can't protect you. HIV weakens it by destroying important cells that fight infection and disease.

How does HIV lead to AIDS? I thought they were the same thing?

There is a key part of your immune system that fights disease and infections, HIV uses cells to make copies of itself and then destroys them. After a long period of time, HIV can destroy so many of your cells that your body can no longer fight diseases or infections at all, and this is when HIV can lead to AIDS.

·       

What is AIDS ?

·     AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. People at this stage of HIV disease have badly damaged immune systems, which put them at risk for opportunistic infections such as pneumonia, other parasitic, viral and fungal infections, and some types of cancers. AIDS is a condition which results from the damage done by HIV to the immune system.

AIDS is a syndrome, rather than a single disease, because it is a complex illness with a wide range of complications and symptoms. You get AIDS when your immune system is "deficient," or isn't working the way it should. AIDS is not something you inherit from your parents. You acquire AIDS after birth but you can be born with HIV, which really sucks.

·     

How is it transmitted?

HIV can only be transmitted between people through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the blood stream with a bodily fluid. Basically, vaginal fluids, blood and semen.There's been a lot of stigma around the spread of HIV and people living with HIV and AIDS. Especially the incorrect notion that only homosexuals can get AIDS which, ridiculously, is still the thought of some uninformed and paranoid people.

Other Information:

You can buy a World AIDS Day bracelet supporting the cause of this website: http://utac.org/order It's the little steps that can make the huge difference. The more people that get involved with the cause and help spread the word to raise awareness is a step in the right direction. 

The 1993 American drama film, Philadelphia, was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was ground breaking in bringing the audience's attention to the attitudes of people towards the condition and the serious abuse and injustice done on towards human beings with the syndrome. Anyone who is interested in getting a very realistic view of how someone is inflicted with AIDS, is persecuted from having the illness and how it progresses this is the perfect movie to watch. It also features Tom Hanks, whose excellent performance won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Scary Statistics:

• Since the start of the epidemic, almost 60 million people have been infected with HIV and 25 million people have died of HIV-related causes.
• 33.3 million people are living with HIV/AIDS and 7.5 percent of those millions are children under the age of 15.
• HIV/AIDS is a "young people disease" with approximately 40 percent of new infections each year occurring among people aged 15 to 24.
• In the United States, by race, new infections occurred among African Americans at 45%, 35% in whites and 17% in Hispanics.
• While African Americans represent about 12% of the U.S. population, they account for 46% of people living with HIV in the U.S., as well as 45% (nearly half) of new infections each year. 
• The results of a study show that at some point in their life, approximately 1 in 16 black men will be diagnosed with HIV, as well as 1 in 30 black women.

References:

www.until.org

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

UNPROTECTED SEX AMONG TEENS ON THE RISE:

With the absence of knowledge comes ignorance. Teenagers having unprotected sex in European countries have increased exponentially. For example, in France the percentage has risen an unbelievable 111%. With the widespread availability of contraception, either the recession has hit so hard we can't afford to fork out for something as important as a condom, or teenagers have just become less intelligent. 

It's not just pregnancy, there are also STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) that are a worry factor. These are extremely easy to pick up through unprotected intercourse and some can have life long effects. For example, Herpes.
There are a lot of reasons why these teenagers are not using protection. The main one seems to be that there are no condoms on hand. Some say that it 'ruins the mood' or that it doesn't feel as good. You know what doesn't feel good? Pushing a baby out of your vagina at the tender age of sixteen!

Another reason for unprotected sex is that either partner was drunk at the time. In Ireland especially however, due to the Christian ethos, a lot of Irish teenagers are uninformed and lack the knowledge of the different areas of contraception. Information is key here. Studies show that teenagers that take vows of abstinence are just as likely to have sex as a teenager who did not take a vow. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/12300 They are also much more likely to have unprotected sex due to ignorance of contraception or religious views on using contraception. The result is a rise in teenage pregnancies and a lot of angry parents.