sti

Scares, stigmas and STIs: old taboos shouldn’t prevent communication about sexually transmitted infections

By Canadian University Press February 25, 2012

STIs, or sexually transmitted infections, have been a feared and stigmatized topic since biblical times. In contemporary times, we see a prominent stigma surrounding these infections. People are often labelled as “dirty” or “overly promiscuous” due to their affiliation with STIs. These people find themselves affected by a stigma that suggests all STIs are unmanageable problems that cause a person to be tainted for life. Though stigmas have been helped along by popular culture and old literature (for example, every Shakespeare comedy written), it is often taboos that prevent communication about STIs.

Rub-a-dub-dub, we studs in a tub: bathhouses are still steamy in 2012

By Canadian University Press February 24, 2012

Tall, athletic, handsome and an easy fit for the “jock” label when it comes to gay subcategories, 21-year-old Concordia student “Connor” visits Sauna Oasis in the gay village every couple of weeks with his boyfriend, also a university student.

“It all starts with eye contact,” he said of getting laid at the baths. “If I’m interested, I’ll look back twice to get his attention. Just looking at each other says a lot.

Syphilis rates on the rise in New Brunswick

By Canadian University Press February 12, 2012

he number of syphilis cases is rising in the province, according to a New Brunswick Public Health coordinator. The Student Health Centre at the University of New Brunswick is also dealing with a number of new cases.

“Our practitioners at the Student Health Centre have not noticed a change in the rate of STIs, with the exception that we are now seeing cases of syphilis,” said Stacey Taylor, a nurse practitioner at the Student Health Centre.