Equality of the Sexes

In this case, who needs it?

According to the people who keep track of such things, females now constitute roughly one half of the new cases of HIV / AIDS throughout the world.

This represents a tragic shift in the face of HIV since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1970s. Early victims were mostly homosexual males or male IV drug users, and there was a widely held belief that transmission to women during what we might call "normal" heterosexual activity was not likely. Well, forget it. The fastest growing segment of victims of HIV comes from women whose partners have the virus.

Before we go too far with this, it needs to be noted that the vast majority of the new female victims live in countries with greater than average poverty, limited education, and little or no social "stability". In the US, our newest patients are most often members of minority groups with few economic perquisites, and they are more likely to practice risky sexual behavior.

"You've come a long way, baby!", and, it is beginning to appear, not always in the right direction. It's possible that the groundwork for this gender-shift in HIV victims started about the same time as the epidemic. Two other major changes were taking place, one of which was the "liberation" of women. (An acquaintance of ours said in 1970, "Yep, I'm liberated! Now I get to open the car door for myself!") The other was a distinct revolution in patterns of sexual behavior which, not surprisingly, occurred about the same time as oral contraceptives achieved wide use.

Some of you may have been able to determine that the author of these columns is, well, a man. You may also have noted that we have opinions, from time to time. What follows is, paraphrasing Kris Kristofferson, "partly fact and partly opinion". (Not too preachy, we hope.)

Let's add up the score in the Game of Love, STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Division.

HIV. The end result, AIDS, is just as bad regardless of gender. Score: Men 10 Women 10

Syphilis. This is an equal opportunity disease if there ever was one. Both parties have the same risk for serious consequences. Early diagnosis is easier in men, so treatment is usually begun sooner. Score: Men 8 Women 10

Chlamydia. Neither gender has many early symptoms, men almost never do. Women may develop life-threatening pelvic infections and are frequently infertile afterwards. Tubal pregnancies are more common. Score: Men 0 Women 10

Human Papilloma Virus. Say what? This just cause warts, doesn't it? That's true for men, but for women HPV causes uterine cancer. Score: Men 1 Women 10

Herpes Simplex. Both parties will have the disease for life. The degree of pain caused is greater among women. Score: Men 5 Women 10

Hepatitis B (and C?) It's just about a tie for this one. Score: Men 10 women 10

Gonorrhea. Women with this disease may have symptoms ranging from nothing to severe pelvic pain with large abscesses. Men will have trouble urinating. Score: Men 5 Women 10

Vaginitis. Of the three main types, two are transmitted from asymptomatic males. Score: Men 0 Women 10

"Honeymoon Cystitis". Ever hear of a man with this one? Score: Men 0 Women 10

Totals: Men 39 Women 90

That's about enough to make a point, don't you think? (We haven't mentioned problems associated with contraception, more often a woman's "responsibility", such as blood clots and emboli due to oral contraceptives. Also, very few men suffer the consequences of a pregnancy gone sour.)

All of the diseases on our list, which isn't complete, are totally preventable by only two methods. Abstinence, and a purely monogamous relationship with someone who is the same. It makes you wonder why young women ever become sexually active in the first place. Of the three possible stimuli (peer pressure, male pressure, innate sex-drive) which has the greatest influence?

From the perspective of one who is at a fairly large remove from the situation, it's probably a tie between the first two. Unfortunately, bad habits developed at an early age tend to persist. Now we have finally arrived at "HIV equality" between the sexes and it is not at all what we expected of the sexual revolution.