GAHHHHH!

[ysobelle]

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article755931.ece


I REFUSE to buy into the patriarchal, patronising, sexist insinuation that if I have sex, I deserve to get cervical cancer. There's a VACCINE that could prevent my getting CANCER? Sign me the fuck UP! Does this make me a whore? Does this give me "permission" to go out and have sex? Whose permission do I need, exactly? You don't want your daughter to get it? Well, you're an idiot. But don't even TRY to tell me I shouldn't have it. That my friends shouldn't have it. That every single woman in South Africa, Angola, Darfur shouldn't have it.

I've been with one of my lovers off and on for over ten years. I love him dearly, and he loves me. I treasure and honour this relationship. That doesn't mean I'm under any illusions about him cleaving only unto me. G-d forbid something should happen-- I want to be protected. Does this make me a slut? Does this make me a bad girl? Should I be ashamed of trying to make sensible choices about my reproductive health? Should I be ashamed of my relationship?

No pun intended, of course, but why the hell are we so fucked up about sex in this country?

Comments

[maskm.livejournal.com]

HARLOT!

[snugglyevil.livejournal.com]

You rang? Oh no wait....you meant HER! *laughs and points at Ysobelle*

[snugglyevil.livejournal.com]

Lovie....you know I am sooooo with you on this. It's funny how people blame everyone else for kids running out and having sex but yet they dont wnt to take any blame for their inability to parent and raise a child that knows there are consequences for actions. Knowing consequences are real makes people THINK about actions.

*hugs* You rock muchly, you sexy thang!

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

Even when kids know, even when they're GOOD kids, things happen. My parents raised ME right, and I wound up sleeping with a NeoNazi. And I was an adult!

Shit happens. Be prepared, for G-d's sake. The world is NOT a nice, warm, fuzzy, fair place. Take every damn precaution and safeguard you're given!

[ocdperson.livejournal.com]

Maybe not nice & fair, but it is a warm & fuzzy place. Especially since I've decided that everybody is a muppet from here on out.

That being said, your point is well made, and even pertains to muppets.

[imafon.livejournal.com]

Okay, here is where I stand on my little soap box right behind you girl.
I also refuse to by into the whole "you don't deserve a vaccine that could prevent STD, cancer, and even death because you're a tramp." Because not all of us who have HPV are promiscuous girls who make bad decisions.

Yes, I have HPV. And I did develop cervical cancer from it. Unfortunently, I was pregnant with my daughter when it was discovered. And I refused to put my child in danger in order to undergo treatment. So yes, it was my choice to fore-go treatment. But it was not my choice for the cancer to move to my uterus and ovaries too. It was not what I wanted at the age of 22 to have a hysterectomy and undergo chemotherapy.
But, it was my choice to do whatever was in my power to have a healthy child.

So back to my first confession. Yes, I have HPV. But how did I get it?
My first love. The only boy that I have ever been with besides my husband. Unfortunately, he was not as faithful as I was.

And no, being with multiple partners does not make you a slut. It is not always bad decision making. And I agree that you should be signed up for that vaccine. As should all of your friends, and my daughter.

There is no reason for another woman to lose her self-esteem, fertility, or life just because a bunch of Bible beaters are too repressed to appreciate anything regarding sex.

Sex is perfectly natural, and if you're lucky (like me) it's really fabulous. So who is this minority that feels as though they should have the right to make decisions for me? They are no one who deserves to be catered to. And I for one, will make a nuisance of myself to every lobbyist and legislator who feels as though they know what is best for me, or my body.

If we as women cannot stick together and let sexually repressed, middle-aged, white men know that they are not making decisions for us...then, and only then, do we deserve consequences.

[emalia.livejournal.com]

You can get HPV and not have sexual intercourse. That being said, it is possible to hypothesize that it is possible to get HPV from a toliet seat.. So there.. That takes SEX completely out of the equasion!

[mirroreyes.livejournal.com]

ARGH!!!!

beats head on desk...

As a high school teacher that listens to the kids in the hallway,
VACINATE ALL OF THEM!!!
I think 10 yrs of age MIGHT be early enough, but who knows anymore.

And while we are at it, when can I get this? ITS A VACCINE FOR CANCER!!! The biologist in me is jumping up and down! I heard about this going to clinical trial years ago and almost wet myself with the possiblities it gives the search for cures. Its amazing!
I'm sooooo excited on that level I dont think its possible to even explain.

as for the bible beaters with their heads up their asses...
spend a couple hours in a public highschool as a fly on the wall... that should give them a taste of reality. they'll be inoculating every woman in sight!

just to make you feel a tiny bit better...

[surlywench.livejournal.com]

What stuns me is that no one is discussing the "rape factor" in any of these articles. Women and girls are raped all the time, and rapists aren't notorious for using condoms...I would never want to have to tell my child that I'm sorry they have to go thru chemo and possibly never have children of her own b/c I felt that only whores would need such a vaccine. How terribly short-sighted of me.

Yeah, I'm getting my noodle vaccinated for that, and I also got her vaccinated against Hep-B...I don't care what it is, if they make a shot for it, she's gettin it.

[ocin.livejournal.com]

Breathe, Ysobelle! Just back away from the computer and breathe.

You know that the MM consists of a group of brain-dead wankers who are under the impression that all women are sexual deviants who must be kept under their thumb. They can rant all they want, but if women truly want this, they will make sure their voices are known.

Contact NOW, CDC, and all other groups to let your voice be heard.

Ahhh... how about some facts, instead of opinions.

[well-artesia.livejournal.com]

Um. A couple of things: HPV is, as its name indicates, a virus. Not a cancer. It may *cause* mutations in cervical cells that will lead to cervical cancer, but it doesn't *always* do so, nor is HPV the ONLY cause of cervical cancer.

My gyn just this morning noted that there wasn't much point in testing me for HPV, since the body can (and often does) fight it and eliminate it without it ever causing a problem. It's also not possible to tell if HPV in the bloodstream is the type that causes cancer. This is why most gyns only do HPV testing 'reflexively', meaning if a Pap smear comes back abnormal, THEN they'll test to see if the abnormalities have been caused by HPV.

There are three groups of genital HPV strains: Many no-risk types cause neither warts nor cancer; a few types cause genital warts; and 15 or so high-risk types can increase one's risk of cancer.

If left untreated, genital warts do not turn into cancer.

High-risk HPV, on the other hand, may trigger an infection that leads to cervical cancer. The majority of infections with high-risk HPVs clear up on their own. Some infections persist without causing any additional abnormal cell changes. However, a few infections caused by high-risk HPVs end up triggering cervical cancer over many years.

THUS... the vaccine is primarily intended for girls *before* they become sexually active, to prevent any subsequent infection at all. It ONLY prevents infection - it DOES NOT CURE a body infected with the virus, and it DOES NOT eliminate the virus from a body already infected.

And any time you suggest that a not-yet-sexually-active child should be treated for anything relating to sex, the Moral Majority is going to have a cow and say that you're suggesting she's ready to BE sexually active.

FWIW: it doesn't say much at all about the possibilities of discovering vaccines for other cancers, because most cancers are NOT caused by viral infections.

In any case, THIS:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201405.html
got me much more riled. :)

Re: Ahhh... how about some facts, instead of opinions.

[well-artesia.livejournal.com]

Oh, btw, the italics above are from this page:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/HPV-vaccine/Slide3

That site will tell you more than you ever really wanted to know. ; )

Re: Ahhh... how about some facts, instead of opinions.

[well-artesia.livejournal.com]

Oh, and since I feel strongly about the Emergency Contraception bit, all women on your page who think they might ever possibly need this info should go read this, about how to use the Pill (various versions of it) as emergency contraception if needed:

http://ec.princeton.edu/worldwide/default.asp

I think it's important that women know that Plan B is NOT the only means of emergency contraception.

[eponas-pen.livejournal.com]

You know, for people who are so afraid of sex, they sure are obsessed with it... Why can't the religious fanatics leave our uteruses alone?