HIV / AIDS Portfolio by IAN ORTIZ https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt It's time to change our discussion about sex. en-us 2022-03-24 18:09:18 UTC 2022-04-03 23:49:09 UTC hello@padlet.com Choice #2 ianortiz231 https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124136146 In the most basic of explanations, Sex means your anatomy while Gender involves how you identify yourself. Some examples of sex are male, female, and intersex. Some examples of Gender are man, woman, and nonbinary. Due to this, many people can feel a huge divide between what their body looks like and who they feel like inside their head. Some trans people feel trapped in the wrong body, while many do not. Both of these are understandable problems and shouldn’t be treated as one being better than the other. Even though “male” and “female” aren’t genders, they are gendered words, that do not establish the difference between Gender and Sex. 

I believe the major reason why we should change our language around biological sex is to make people more comfortable. There are many people, me included, who are questioning the very basis of who they are. These thoughts aren’t stupid, they are normal. However, they aren’t normalized. Many believe using they/them/theirs pronouns are stupid, “It’s meant to be plural!” Some people don’t even like pronouns altogether, while the truth is everyone has them. A major problem is that not enough people know the struggles of finding your identity and what it is like to go by different pronouns, multiple pronouns, neo-pronouns, and more.

]]> 2022-03-31 18:14:05 UTC https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124136146 Part A ianortiz231 https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124139610 In Georgia, menstruation is perceived as something no man should even know about. Because of this, Irina’s mom taught her how to be as secretive as possible. This is dangerous for people who menstruate because it invalidates them because of a normal female process that occurs. People in Brazil see newer menstrual products, like the Diva Cup, as “a hippie thing.” Not enough people being aware of menstrual products means it's harder for people growing up to find the right product for themself. Finally, in Egypt, menstruation is treated as a taboo topic. While pads are given out to anyone, Pacinthe’s experience involved a store clerk telling her cousin she couldn’t buy a tampon because it was “only for women.” It is believed that if you use a tampon you are no longer a virgin. This is extremely hurtful as certain menstrual products work better for different people, so barring one kind of product is not helpful.]]> 2022-03-31 18:16:14 UTC https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124139610 Part B ianortiz231 https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124140026 I do agree with the essay, at least in its fundamental idea. I see that it was created a while ago, in 1978, so some of the culture / societal references are outdated. But in general, I do agree that menstruation would be a manly thing, therefore talked about more. However, being a biological male and identifying as a man, I don’t know if I agree that every man would have the same attitude. For me, I believe that menstruation would be something I try to hide or at least something that would take me a while to be confident in since that is a trend for many things in my life. In short, I do agree with this idea but I believe that now there are many different people in the world, and for many biological men right now, these stereotypes that were talked about are starting to fall apart and change.]]> 2022-03-31 18:16:29 UTC https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124140026 ianortiz231 https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124248490 I do not believe Sex Education in the U.S. is adequate or equitable. This is due to the complete imbalance of opinions across the U.S.:

60% of states require that sexual education be medically accurate.
30% of states require that sexual education not be biased to any sex, race, or ethnicity. 
10% of states prohibit that religion is not promoted in the program.

…which leads to starkly different education depending on where you go to school. If we are not able to come up with one lesson plan for everyone, we are risking the futures of students across the country. 

This, of course, is no easy task given the matter of the situation. Many people have their own opinions and they are allowed to go through with their ideals, due to legislation, or lack thereof.

However, education should not be about ideals, it should be about what’s best for the students. In this case, Sex Education (and Sexuality Education) is about protecting and teaching children on how to be safe and respect others. 

Lack of these conversations could leave these children unprepared for situations:

“According to the World Bank, the teen pregnancy rate in the Netherlands is one of the lowest in the world, five times lower than the U.S. Rates of HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases are also low.”

…which are set on happening. Overall, school is a place to learn, in order to prepare students for the real world and make sure they are a decent person.
]]> 2022-03-31 19:32:28 UTC https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124248490 ianortiz231 https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124249507 I believe that doctors and hospitals should have better care structures set up to give women one on one care. This will help women feel safer, more cared for, as well as setting up care plans and keeping them on track. There is nothing wrong with doing this on your own, however, I believe doctors and practices should push this themselves as well. As nice as it is to have an article published by the New York Times, I feel as though the hospitals themselves should be advocating for the same thing.]]> 2022-03-31 19:33:21 UTC https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124249507 ianortiz231 https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124251152 Due to covid, many sexual health testing sites have closed. This means that the sites remaining open are flooded with people, thus leading to these sites having much fewer tests to go around and use. In the long term, this could mean growing cases of sexual diseases, especially gonorrhea and chlamydia, as more people are able to get tested. Not to mention, scientists aren’t able to accurately see numbers and statistics due to a lack of tests, so they have no idea what really is happening. For marginalized communities, this is a bad situation. Some places had to stop handing out free condoms and overall testing centers in their communities were some of the first to shut down.]]> 2022-03-31 19:34:40 UTC https://padlet.com/ianortiz231/u84v3y2544exqbdt/wish/2124251152