#maritzalugo

Tiana knows that the HPV strains affect African American women differently than other women and is going to the doctor for the new improved Gardasil shot that now protects against nine strains of the virus as opposed to the previous four. 

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. And the majority of cervical cancer incidences are directly related to the HPV virus. Sadly you will barely read about any of this. Instead you'll hear about National High Five Day or National Cupcake Day (both actual things). Which is too bad because catchy phrases to promote CCAM like “Brrr my cervix is freezing” or “Don’t leave my cervix out in the cold” are kind of amazing. But I get it. Clickbait does not typically come in the form of "let's talk about sexually transmitted diseases." But can’t we use January, the beginning of a new year for a fresh start for sex ed as a whole? Do we really want kids sitting through a class teaching them that a girl saying "no" to sex is the one you should keep pursuing? Or just regaling horror stories of when birth control didn't work instead of properly explaining how to use it? The statistics on success of birth control can vary greatly based on proper use. Why would you encourage improper use even if you were teaching to wait until marriage, there are times in a marriage that utilizing birth control can be necessary. And can we finally stop holding up STDs as some kind of deserved punishment for shameful behavior? Sex exists. It will always exist. High schools and even colleges teaching that it's something to be feared or ashamed of without actually providing a useful education about it and everything related to it are doing us all an injustice.

*Important to note that this month, pitches to female editors about this topic were ignored or rejected by The Daily Beast, Cosmopolitan, The Establishment, Buzzfeed, Glamour, The Cut and several others.*

For more information about CCAM please go to Cervivor.org