"Sex is Sexist"

In the scheme of all things sex, most women and girls don't realize just how sexist sex really is. What do I mean?

Often the negative consequences of sex affect girls more than guys.

What kinds of consequences am I talking about? STIs- their immediate physical consequences as well as possible infertility in the future, not to mention the short-term and long-term emotional toll they take on a person.

According to the book Girls Uncovered: New Research on What America's Sexual Culture Does to Young Women, sex "places a larger burden on women than men" in several areas. The following eye-opening information is provided... 

HPV (Human Papillomavirus)

Though this virus can cause cancer in both men and women, women are by far the most affected, with 12,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer occurring each year. Sadly, 5,200 women die each year from the cancer.

Women are also the ones consistently subjected to uncomfortable Pap smears, as well as painful, stressful, anxiety-producing colposcopies or cervical biopsies (small pieces of the cervix are cut off for examination) if the Pap comes back abnormal.

If biopsies show precancerous or cancerous cells, the lesions must be removed from the cervix, a painful procedure which can damage the cervix, possibly resulting in infertility to the woman, or premature labor if she is able to carry a child in the future. 

Not only that, but genital warts, also caused by HPV, are much more difficult to eradicate in women than men because of the "welcoming environment" of a woman's body, and can require several visits to the doctor. Meanwhile the medication used to treat warts typically causes uncomfortable burning in the vulva. :(

HPV is also linked to vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, anal cancer (anal sex), and cancer of the throat and mouth (oral sex). It can also be spread simply through skin-to-skin contact or skin-to-genital contact.

Keep in mind that about 25 percent of teen girls and 45 percent of women ages twenty to twenty-four have HPV. Crazy enough, infections are often acquired during a first sexual experience. Since it is believed that levels of infection are even higher in men, it is estimated that 75 percent of the entire US population will eventually be infected with HPV!

Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

Chlamydia is by far the most common STI, and the group with the highest reported rate of chlamydia and gonorrhea is fifteen to nineteen-year-old girls, followed closely by twenty to twenty-four-year-olds.

The immaturity of the cervix in teen girls (sometimes referred to as "the transformation zone") is thought to be a big reason for their susceptibility to chlamydia and gonorrhea. These cells are less tough than those of girls in their twenties and older, or of those who have already had a child.

Sadly, up to 90 percent of women don't even realize they have chlamydia and 85 percent don't know they have gonorrhea because they experience no symptoms!

Left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to painful pelvic inflammatory disease, which damages and scares the Fallopian tubes, resulting in infertility, ectopic pregnancies, and chronic pelvic pain.

Chances are one day you will likely want a child of your own, and if you've ever known a woman who was trying to get pregnant and couldn't, you've probably seen the deep grief these women experience as a result of not being able to bear their own child.

One particular woman who experienced infertility for three years eventually found out "her fallopian tubes were not only blocked by extensive scarring, they were stuck to her ovaries. Also, her ovaries were stuck to some of her intestines and to her uterus." She had been a flight attendant prior to marriage and had been sexually involved with several men. She'd contracted an STI but had no idea because she had no symptoms. Sadly, no amount of surgery could reverse the damage done.

Herpes

One is six American adults is estimated to have herpes, including, again, many who are infected and don't know it. 

For those who do experience symptoms, it is usually the woman who encounters excruciating burning of her genitals when first infected. In fact, sometimes the pain is so severe women cannot even urinate.   

Not only that but, as we all know, there is no cure for herpes so there is a continual risk that a woman will pass the virus onto her child during labor. Herpes can cause blindness, brain damage, and even death to a child.

There are also significant psychological symptoms, both during the initial onset as well as throughout the recurring outbreaks, including anxiety, distress, and fear of stigmatization caused by a virus that will never go away.

All Things Considered

Based on this information alone, it is safe to conclude (and ludicrous to deny!) that we put ourselves at tremendous risk when engaging in sex with someone other than a faithful, long-term monogamous partner. 

Admittedly, in our current culture, a faithful steady guy is hard to come by, but maybe if enough girls start to raise the bar and expect more, we will ignite a revolution where healthier sex choices become the norm... for ourselves, if for no one else.