I just read your article from the link on Twitter, and I love that you focused on the bad title. That's a point I wish I had made in my own post, so I'm glad you did, and that you commented here.
Yes, that's a HUGE point - being "straight" (however they're defining it in that study) does not keep you safe. Being conscious, and conscientious, and open about health risks does (at least, safER).
I'm sure poly folk will also get tarred with the same brush as swingers, and that was primarily the focus of my own post, because I also believe we would show to have a lower incident rate due to our conscious attitudes, if we could ever get a freakin' study done.
Unfortunately, what we *do* have in common with the swingers is how much of our population is in hiding and is not honest with their doctors. I would hypothesize that those poly people who are honest with their doctors are the same ones that get checked regularly and therefore have lower rates, but those who are not honest do not get checked regularly (I've had doctors try to talk me out of testing until I emphasized, or exaggerated, the number of people I was sexually active with) and probably have similar incident rates as the swingers.
I bring up the scenario of AIM often, because I saw hard numbers, and even when I can't remember the actual numbers, I am very familiar with the scenario so I can make a good comparison to drive home a point. I really like your angle, with the "legal prostitutes have HAVE the STDs as straight people", and I think that's the kind of shocking soundbite that can be used to drive home that same point. I'm going to add it to my collection, to whip out the next time someone asks me, accusingly, about safe sex.
no subject
Yes, that's a HUGE point - being "straight" (however they're defining it in that study) does not keep you safe. Being conscious, and conscientious, and open about health risks does (at least, safER).
I'm sure poly folk will also get tarred with the same brush as swingers, and that was primarily the focus of my own post, because I also believe we would show to have a lower incident rate due to our conscious attitudes, if we could ever get a freakin' study done.
Unfortunately, what we *do* have in common with the swingers is how much of our population is in hiding and is not honest with their doctors. I would hypothesize that those poly people who are honest with their doctors are the same ones that get checked regularly and therefore have lower rates, but those who are not honest do not get checked regularly (I've had doctors try to talk me out of testing until I emphasized, or exaggerated, the number of people I was sexually active with) and probably have similar incident rates as the swingers.
I bring up the scenario of AIM often, because I saw hard numbers, and even when I can't remember the actual numbers, I am very familiar with the scenario so I can make a good comparison to drive home a point. I really like your angle, with the "legal prostitutes have HAVE the STDs as straight people", and I think that's the kind of shocking soundbite that can be used to drive home that same point. I'm going to add it to my collection, to whip out the next time someone asks me, accusingly, about safe sex.