You Op To Know: Gender and Sexuality columnist discusses sexual health

Welcome to You Op to Know, The Daily Orange Opinion section’s weekly podcast.

This week, The Daily Orange Opinion section brought on gender and sexuality columnist Jewél Jackson to discuss Sexually Transmitted Infections and the stigma around them. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to submit a letter to the editor at opinion@dailyorange.com.

TRANSCRIPT

WEIS: Hello everyone, I’m your host and co-producer Allison Weis and welcome to The Daily Orange’s opinion podcast You Op To Know. Tonight we have Gender and Sexuality columnist Jewél Jackson on the show to discuss sexually transmitted infections and the stigma around them. Welcome Jewél.

JACKSON: Hi everyone and thank you for having me.

WEIS: So, what drew you to become a gender and sexuality columnist?

JACKSON: Well ever since I was a kid I’ve always have had a passion for writing and writing about issues that matter to the world or community that I live within. After completing my freshman year and seeing some of the visible but also not so visible issues on campus, and how they affected people, I wanted to do my part of addressing these issues. So when I heard and got recommended by a friend – shout out to Lydia who works in the Pulp section – that I should join the publication I thought it was a great opportunity. So by being a gender and sexuality columnist I was able to report on things but as well talk about issues such as diversity and minority presence, which is all important.

WEIS: So with SASSE petitioning to get vending machines on campus that contain products that promote sexual health, is there still a stigma around sexual health on campus?

JACKSON: Yes. I think that the SASSE petition is a great step in overcoming stigma
about sexual health because it’s a visible machine that forces people to think about the issue and maybe even use. It’s also positive because if implemented SU is putting action rather than just words about how we should address the stigma of sexual health. However with that being said, I believe that many people on this campus are still uncomfortable with talking or even dealing with their own sexual health. With social and individual stigma about STIs and sexual health, this can all be a taboo topic but hopefully these vending machines help to break that down.

WEIS: What are the risks involved with having a stigma around sexual health? Is it prevalent on the Syracuse campus?

JACKSON: The obvious risk is that people aren’t willing to get tested and therefore they aren’t caring about their own health or the health of their sexual partners. In my article I stated that The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017 released a report stating the prevalence of certain STDs has reached a record high in the United States. And so with that, I think a lot of people are scared to get tested because they’re scared of what the possible test results could be. But I think it’s better to know than to not know. As well for those who may have an STI, the stigma associated with sexual health may put a sense of shame over them. These means that they may not be willing to tell future partners about their health, not receive proper treatment because they’re ashamed, and just overall not dealing with their emotions in a health way. I think that because this stigma is so prevalent within American society, our campus as well has adopted this stigmatization.

WEIS: So, let’s bust some STI myths. In your reporting did you find the answers to these myths? Who should get tested for STIs in the first place? What if I have only had one partner?

JACKSON: Well thanks to the help of Dr. Garofalo of Queens University, I was able to debunk some of these myths. The first myth that she busted is that there is not a specific type of person who is immune from getting an STI. She made it very clear that STIs do not discriminate and don’t have a preference. We all are able to get an STI. So to answer your question, yes we should all get tested no matter how many or few sexual partners we have had. Another myth she busted is that you can get the same STI more than once. She made an example of that just because a person may have chlamydia once in their lifetimes doesn’t mean they are immune from it in the future. Reinfection is possible.

WEIS: What can students do to make sure they are practicing healthy sex?

JACKSON: I think the best thing that students can do is use protection whether that is condoms, dental dams, birth control, whatever it is, the list goes on. Also students need to make sure that they are getting tested and being honest about their results to themselves and to their partners.

WEIS: Do you have anything else that you would like to touch upon?

JACKSON: No.

WEIS: Thanks so much for joining us, Jewél.

JACKSON: Thank you so much for having me.

WEIS: Stay tuned for next week’s podcast where we will discuss more of our columns. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to submit a letter to the editor at opinion@dailyorange.com. We’ll talk to you next week!