STDs are Incredibly Common

Chlamydia, herpes, HIV – I could go on. I’m sure most of these terms sound familiar to the majority of people, especially those who are sexually active. By age 14, it’s a requirement in many schools that students take a comprehensive Sex Education course, except for the unfortunate “abstinence only” kids. But most of us were fortunate enough to receive some form of the “birds and the bees” talk in a classroom – usually accompanied by the trials and tribulations of putting a condom on a banana. Around that age, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are discussed in Sex Education and methods of preventing them are emphasized. However, it’s not often that the stigma and social implications, in conjunction with the overall psychological implications of STDs, are discussed.