HIV transmission Archive

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Posted on May 14, 2012.

If you’re in perimenopause or post-menopausal your body has some similarities to a teenager’s. Puberty was a process- maybe one you’d rather forget for its pimples and weeping, but nevertheless, it was a process. And as you went through it, your body was changing inside and out. The same happens in perimenopause and post menopause [...]

Whole Health Decisions

Posted on May 7, 2012.

I read such a great piece on health decisions last week. Amy Berman, diagnosed with a form of breast cancer that has a nasty survival rate talks about her choice of palliative care (to enhance the quality of time she has left) rather than aggressive treatment (that might give her more time but almost certainly [...]

Microbicides 2012: Switching Sex Up for Safety

Posted on April 23, 2012.

Last week was Microbicides 2012, an international conference of researchers and advocates that met in Sydney. If you’re scratching your head wondering what a microbicide is, fair enough. They are gels, suppositories, or insertable devices that contain HIV fighting compounds. They will put HIV prevention choices in the hands of women and men for situations [...]

Weighing HIV Statistics for Safety

Posted on April 2, 2012.

I’m often asked about “who’s most at risk for HIV,” and it can be a complicated answer. A lot goes into “risk” for health issues and it depends on what I’m really being asked- statistics? Biological vulnerability? Gender inequalities? Race-related inequalities? Socioeconomic disparities? Or is someone looking for reassurance about their relationship? Facts are, some [...]

Speak No Evil

Posted on March 12, 2012.

Update March 16: Utah bans the ban! (Insert cheer). But it may not be over yet…. The past week was a lively one in the US, what with Utah busy banning sex education and determining a difficult future for their youth. Nothing like laying the groundwork for glory. This despite research that says sex education [...]

New Darling, New Delights – When Do You Bring Up Safe Sex?

Posted on March 5, 2012.

My coworker Monique at Positive Women’s Network wrote a great piece about HIV disclosure a couple of weeks back. She’s been living with HIV for a long time, and while most of her friends know, it’s something else again when she has to think about telling someone she might have sex with. Her ethics are [...]

Sex- It’s all in the “Relationship”

Posted on February 27, 2012.

I recently caught up with Cindy Masaro, whose work I blogged about last summer. Cindy’s a sexual health nurse and PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia. As part of her PhD studies, she’s researching how women connect with sex partners through technology- online dating sites, texting, chatting- and how these technologies could influence [...]

Robot Love and Sex Toys

Posted on February 20, 2012.

I was a little wary of Googling it, because I wasn’t sure what might result but I did it anyway: “history of sex toys.” I was prompted by a radio story I heard on CBC Q about having sex with robots and a piece about manufacturing sex toys in China (the demand’s increasing at home [...]