Posted on February 13, 2015
Source: Lien Li
Jacq Jones definitely knows how to sell condoms, as well as plenty of other sexy things. Ms. Jones is the owner of Sugar, a boutique sex-shop in Hampden that provides education and toys in a sex-positive environment. She came to talk to us about Hot Safer Sex during the Generation Tomorrow lecture series. Instead of scaring people into having safe sex, Jacq made it tantalizing. As someone from a Catholic high school in Texas, these ideas rocked my world. I knew how important it was to talk unabashedly about sex when speaking to people about their health, but now I had the tools to do this more effectively. I wish that everyone everywhere was using this approach.
I joined Generation Tomorrow for the hands-on experience it offered, but I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve learned from just listening and observing. I am now much more aware of the stigma around HIV and hepatitis C, even among people I consider open-minded and well informed. At my workplace, some nurses don’t offer HIV testing to patients even though they’re encouraged to do so because they’re too embarrassed to talk to patients about their sexual history.
My long-term project with Generation Tomorrow is to help develop and implement a hepatitis C testing and linkage-to-care program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Emergency Department. It is clear that there will be many challenges to achieving this goal, but I am excited to be as creative as Ms. Jones to find solutions. After my time with Generation Tomorrow ends in May, I hope to carry this mindset forward with me in my medical career.
To everyone reading, Happy Valentine’s Day. Stay safe and keep it sexy!
