Happy Sunday everyone! Today is National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. I’m dedicating my blog post to talking about HIV/AIDS for the Rock the Red pump Project.
Part of the project requires you to put on a pair of your favorite red shoes! I don’t have any red pumps that I want to wear to church today but I will be rocking my red cowgirl boots to go visit my family in Sparta, GA after church!
Since I started this blog at the end of 2012, I have had quite a few posts dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness. In preparing my previous posts, I stumbled upon an opportunity and joined NBHAAD as a Community Ambassador where my role is to remind people about NBHAAD (National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day). That 13th annual day of recognition & a reminder to get your annual HIV test was on February 7th. You can see the mission through this photo and read the post here.
For Valentine’s Day I had a little fun on PFL and did a post on waxing. It still gets a lot of traffic, probably because of the title V-day Vi Jay Jay. There was a poll included in the post.
As you can see from the most recent results, most people are active. Granted, several of these voters were probably married, but you get the point. Sexual activity is amongst the masses and sexual education on protecting yourself is very relevant & worthy of being highlighted today for the Rock the Red Pump campaign.
I did a post last month on the FC2 which is the female condom.
You can view the post here. It has a short video about the female condom and how to use it. I found out in the feedback from that post, that many were unaware of it’s existence. I shared the post with a regular reader who I know drops in here and there & like always she provided great feedback but it was days later. I wanted you to here from her so I extracted her comment.
Crystal Wilson said
“I know and teach females about the FC2. It is actually the best condom. It protects you from all STDs. How? When inserted properly, it prevents skin to skin contact. You will be protected from Herpes, Warts and Syphillis sores or chancre’s. Also HIV, and an unwanted pregnancy. Once inserted correctly, during sexual intercourse the male enjoys a release of extra warmth. The FC2 adheres to the vaginal walls for a very natural feel while maintaining safety. Practicing safe sex in 2013 should be practiced on a regular basis that it becomes second nature to eating. You can also insert the female condom upto 4h before your Valentine arrives. You will not need to pause after foreplay to apply a male latex condom:) Try it…you may prefer the FC2 EACH AND EVERYTIME. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY”
Crystal along with a fellow pharmacist/BFF who runs an HIV Pharmacy also commented on my post about ORAQUICK.
Please go read it to get the skinny on the first at home HIV test. I can attest to the fact that at $39.99 we’ve been selling them.
HIV/AIDS EXPOSURE BACK IN THE DAY
When I was high school, I attended a conference through an organization. We had a speaker that blew me away and I’ve kept her sentiments close to my heart every since. This woman whom eventually became an honorary member of my sorority as a result of her HIV/AIDS Awareness campaign is Rae Lewis Thornton and she blogs over at Rae Lewis-Thornton: A Diva Living with AIDS. Here is a picture of her back in the day.
My most memorable remarks of hers was the fact that she said “even when she told men of her health status, they thought she was too pretty, didn’t believe she could harm them, & they still wanted to have unprotected sex with her”. She loved herself enough of course not to engage & send them on their merry way. However, the incidences speak to the point that we as women have got to protect ourselves because the mindset of some people is beyond comprehension when decision making comes to play.
HIGH SCHOOL TODAY
You may be used to seeing these in High Schools!
Are you ready to see the free dispensing of these???
At the end of 2012, in one Philadelphia school district, the decision was made to place free condom dispensers in 22 schools where the STD rate was the highest. You can ready more about it here. I agree with this decision and support the promotion of safe sex practices amongst young people in as many practical ways as we can come up with.
75% of my readership is female so this blog post hopefully will help the girls who organized the Red Pump Project spread the word on HIV/AIDS awareness to young women and girls.
I hope that you will spend some time over the next few days and browse around my blog, other helpful sites that I’ve provided you, and the wealth of information across the web as we continue to further educate ourselves on HIV/AIDS.
Yours in Healthy, Active, & Prosperous Living,
Rx Fitness Lady wants to know…
- What do you think are practical ways to promote safe sex/abstinence amongst young people? Do you agree with condoms being dispensed freely in school systems?
Rx Fitness Lady
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no red pumps over here either. bloggers play a major role in spreading awareness on a variety of issues. parents need to have an open and honest dialogue with their kids and not use fear-based tactics in my opinion.
enjoy your time with family today!
miss donna recently posted…keep the change | $20 budget – Jan. & Feb.
Thanks Donna! I actually got really sick there last night…feeling much better now, Thankfully!
The kids of today are not like how we were back in school so I think passing out condoms in the higher grades of high school may be beneficial so they can at least practice safe sex. I don’t wear heels but I love red and anything that promotes awareness of something that needs to be brought to the forefront I am all for. I would even wear heels for it….just wear them I am not walking in them.
Kita recently posted…Convo at the Georgia Vital office
Lol, I hear you Kita! Thanks for the support!
I absolutely love this post and will be browsing some od the links you have provided. Thanks very good info that some may not get otherwise
I appreciate you browsing around seeing as how I just found you last week. Thanks Toya!
Wonderful post! I’ve read all your posts leading up to today. I voted on the va jay jay poll, I read your post about the female condom, and I had no idea I was a segue to today. My daughter and I just came home after rocking our pumps/boots all day. I salute your effort to get the word out! Btw, Those are some killer cowgirl boots you’ve got there! Lol. Happy Sunday Joi. Enjoy your time with the fam-bam.
Andrea recently posted…Red Pumps, Red Lips, Read Up
Thanks Andrea! I really appreciate your support on this blog, it’s good to know there are people that will support you always. Can we see pictures of you and the cutie pa tootie please?
Great post! The young ladies of today really need to understand what is going on and how to really protect themselves in these streets, too often women depend on the man when they should be protecting themselves. I had lunch with Rae at BlogHer, so funny that you mentioned seeing her in this post.
Awesome that you had lunch with Rae. She has a powerful story. I love her dedication to awareness.
I love that you are featuring such and important topic. We have to overcome our squeamishness about talking about sex. I think we have to have open dialogues with our kids to keep them safe and informed. Not talking about it doesn’t make it go away, it just leaves your child vulnerable. We can’t afford to stick our heads in the sand. Great post!! –Lisa
The Dose of Reality recently posted…I Just Want To Pee Alone…
I agree Lisa! Excellent comment!
Ok. I’m a day late :-). Great post! Love those cowgirl boots. I’m definitely in favor of abstinence, but I don’t think that having a condom vending machine in school is giving students permission to have sex. It’s still the parent’s/responsible adult’s responsibility to teach kids about their choices. But it’s good to know that for those kids who chose to have sex, they hopefully won’t have to deal with the consequence of an unwanted pregnancy or STD/HIV/AIDS. Thanks for continually bringing attention to this issue.
Hope recently posted…Complete Obedience
No problem Hope, Thanks for the support here & the boots compliment 😉 Thank you for your support of abstinence as well. Much like other ladies have commented, we know that unfortunately, that’s not the popular choice & for that reason, I’m all over this new attempt to avoid unplanned pregnancy and STD transmission.
Hey Joi! No red pumps here either…I.must.go.out.and.buy.some! 🙂 We can’t continue to put our heads in the sand, especially where young people are concerned. What you don’t know can hurt and in some cases “kill” you. We must do better…in spreading and receiving info! sigh…. Thanks for keeping us aware Joi!
Michell recently posted…Guest Posting!
ummm…I don’t know WHO MicheMichelll is, but I’m Michell…tehehee! 😀
Michell recently posted…Guest Posting!
I fixed it for you. I’m sorry, not sure why it comes up that way. Thanks for your support as always.
I remember back in the day reading an article about Rae in Essence Mag. My talk with the older Greedies about sexual health is an ongoing conversation in our house.
YumYucky recently posted…Whacked Out News: Mutated Mosquitoes, Incurable Gonorrhea, the Healthcare Whore and Insurance Spies
She has an empowering story for women to take control of their sexual health. She has been around for awhile, I am glad that so many of you were already aware of her work.
I would much rather see the condom dispenser than the crap dispenser. Great post! I hope I have talked to my sons enough about this. I can’t believe men still wanted to have unprotected sex with Rae and didn’t believe someone so pretty could have HIV. Makes me want to go home and have another talk with the boys.
Carli recently posted…Stuffed Chicken Breast with Rice #LoveEveryMinute
So true Carli. That was most disturbing to me, but I have heard of incidences similar in college. It would be worthwhile to share that info with the boys, in my opinion.
I’m so glad you discuss these issues here. I applaud the school giving out condoms, I live in a completely backwards state where they don’t teach sex ed in schools. I shudder to think about the STD rates because of this.
I’m going to have to find a pair of red pumps for next year, I only have red flats. But I did remember to wear them yesterday so hopefully that counts!
Kristiina recently posted…My Love Affair {with Illustrator} Continues
They count Kristiina! Thanks for the support. It is any pair of red shoes. As much as I love red, I don’t own a pair of red pumps but rocked my boots 😉
I love your blogs about my passion for HIV awareness. I will rock some red pumps another day. Lol!
You and me both! I need to find some. Thx as always Crystal!
Joi