1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,200 Can you imagine if they like taught this kind of STI awareness in high school? Like sex 2 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:15,560 ed? Absolutely fucking useless. Did you learn? Did anyone learn anything in sexual education 3 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:20,680 in PE? I did not learn anything. Also, it was all about heterosexual sex. There's nothing 4 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:26,400 about homosexuality, bisexuality, queerness, anything across that board. Nutter. It's literally 5 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,680 like the man has a penis and the girl has a vagina and then they make love and babies. 6 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:42,720 That was pretty much the extent of my high school sexual education. Hello and welcome 7 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,000 back to another episode of The Bisexual Biologist. My name is Riley, your host for the show, 8 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:53,240 and this is a podcast where we talk queerness, nature, and everything in between. On today's 9 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:59,120 episode, we're taking a look at our cute and cuddly friends, the drop bears, aka koalas. 10 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:03,080 Not only are these little guys fighting for their lives against the unregulated logging 11 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,900 of old growth eucalyptus forests, they are also battling against a nationwide epidemic 12 00:01:07,900 --> 00:01:12,800 of an infection from the bacteria known as chlamydia. Today, we'll touch on why they 13 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,520 are so vulnerable and what is being done to help them. Whilst we're on this topic of 14 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:21,360 chlamydia, we're also going to explore the stigma that surrounds STIs in human society 15 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:27,080 today. So strap in as we save koalas from extinction and humans from shame around STIs. 16 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:35,080 Hello, my lovelies, and welcome back to another episode. So we're going to start with a little 17 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:41,240 few fun facts about a koala bear as they are an Australian native animal, and I think a 18 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:47,520 bit of really great to talk about them. So koalas, aka drop bears for tourism ads, or 19 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:54,600 koala bears are arboreal herbivorous massupials. So that means basically in layman's terms, 20 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,000 they live in trees, they eat plants, and they have a pouch which their young live in when 21 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,760 they give birth to them. So they are native to Australia, only found here nowhere else 22 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:08,040 in the world. Their closest living relative are wombats, and they are found in coastal 23 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:13,920 areas of the islands, eastern and southern regions. So they inhabit Queensland, New South 24 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:19,560 Wales, Victoria, and parts of South Australia. They are very easily recognizable by their 25 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:24,920 cute body types, so they're little stout, tailless cuties. They have a large head with 26 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:33,280 big round fluffy ears and a dark nose. They also are colored silver to grey and brown 27 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:40,120 with bits of white throughout their fur, and they also have opposable thumbs. So that means 28 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:45,240 so we have thumbs here in the insides of your hands. They also have another set of thumbs 29 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:49,960 on the outside, so they have dual thumbs on their hands which is super handy for when 30 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,960 they're climbing trees looking for a juicy eucalyptus leaf to munch on. So that's just 31 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:59,120 like a little bit about koalas. They're really cute, really adorable, everybody loves them. 32 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:04,360 They're very popular in zoos, tourists love to, you know, get a picture of the koala, 33 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,680 take a photo with the koala, Australia's, you know, rock and ice. But they also are 34 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:14,960 quite vulnerable. Their international conservation status by the IUCN is currently listed as 35 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:23,080 vulnerable, so that's in the threatened subcategory. And this is mainly due to unregulated logging 36 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:28,440 of eucalyptus forests throughout Australia. So big habitat loss affects them, increase 37 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:34,680 in urbanization, the more buildings being developed on land which used to have koalas 38 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:40,880 everywhere, as well as invasive species or pets such as dogs attacking and killing them 39 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:47,400 is another reason why koala numbers are dwindling. And also their lack of protection against 40 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:53,640 the disease chlamydiosis which is caused by the bacteria chlamydia percorum and chlamydia 41 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:58,720 pneumonia. Now this is a different strain of chlamydia that humans contract, but it 42 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:04,440 is still within the same genus and it is still a sexually transmitted infection and it has 43 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:12,000 a lot more, I would say, harsher symptoms and effects compared to what we get. So a 44 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,880 little bit more about koalas. So typically they inhabit open eucalyptus woodlands as 45 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:22,400 the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. So eucalyptus leaves are actually 46 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:29,520 toxic to most animals. Koalas have a specialized digestive system and gut microbiome which 47 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:34,680 allows them to break down the nutrients within. They are largely sedentary and sleep for up 48 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:41,280 to 20 hours a day. They're social, the mothers bond to their dependent offspring, the males 49 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:45,760 communicate with bellows that intimidate other rivals and attract mates and they like to 50 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:50,480 mark their presence with secretions from their scent glands located on their chests. Like 51 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:55,540 other marsupials, koalas give birth to young known as joeys at a very early stage of development. 52 00:04:55,540 --> 00:05:00,000 They then crawl into their mothers pouches where they live for 6-7 months until they 53 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,320 are fully weaned around 1 year old. They have few natural predators and parasites but as 54 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:11,200 I was saying are threatened by pathogens such as Chlamydiaeaceae bacteria and also the 55 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:18,240 koala retrovirus. Because of their distinctive appearance koalas along with kangaroos, emus 56 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:25,320 are recognized worldwide as symbols of Australia. Okay so why are these cute little cuddly bears 57 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:31,200 so drastically impacted by this infectious disease known as Chlamydiaeaceae? Well it's 58 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:35,480 because they have no natural protection to this disease. They live on an island and were 59 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,540 isolated for millions of years and it's thought to have been transferred to the koalas after 60 00:05:40,540 --> 00:05:46,780 exposure to feces of infected sheep and cattle. Now we all know where those sheep and cattle 61 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:52,080 came from, it would have been from European colonizers when they headed on over on their 62 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:58,120 big boats with all their diseases and livestock and invaded Australia. So cute little koalas 63 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,600 would have just been hanging in their trees you know living their best lives. Obviously 64 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:08,720 there would have been some sheep or cattle starting to be let free, wild or farmed I 65 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,960 should say and it probably would have bordered on some eucalyptus forest that would have 66 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:17,600 been cut down. And koalas probably curious little critters that they are would have climbed 67 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,920 down from their trees one day stumbled upon this new smelling thing on the ground and 68 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,960 most likely either touched it, sniffed it, maybe they ate it, who knows they're a wild 69 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,160 animal they are known to eat other animal feces such as dogs they eat their own shit 70 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:37,280 you know. And obviously the disease Chlamydia was in there and then once it gets into their 71 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:41,840 system if you have no natural protection if you've never been exposed to this before any 72 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:47,400 bacteria virus will take a foothold and not let go and that's why they are so heavily 73 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,880 impacted by this disease today because it just runs rampant in their population. So 74 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:57,440 what does it do to these poor little koalas? So it causes infertility, it causes blindness, 75 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:04,040 fatigue, swollen eyes as well as a wet bottom which sounds absolutely horrible because what 76 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:10,160 happens is the walls of the bladder thicken so much that it becomes ineffective in both 77 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:15,120 holding and expelling urine. So you basically have like a leaky bladder which then just 78 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,040 seeps down into your fur and your bottom which they use a lot to sit on because they 79 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:24,360 wedge themselves in forks of eucalyptus trees they have a very rough very callous ass they 80 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,920 sit on eucalyptus forks all day so if their bladder is constantly leaking and not expelling 81 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:35,040 urine properly and it's just going to wet that and make it soft and open to cuts and 82 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,920 scrapes which then leads to more infections though it's not a very fun experience for 83 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,880 the poor little guys. It also can be ocular or urogenital in its infections so they get 84 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,760 it in their urinary tract they also get it in their eyeballs so you can get all this 85 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:52,600 horrible swelling and bleeding and itching and it's just not very nice and it's quite 86 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:57,180 tragic so because they have no natural protection it obviously once it gets in a population 87 00:07:57,180 --> 00:08:02,360 it spreads quite rapidly so it is sexually transmitted infection it can also be passed 88 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:09,160 on to offspring so if a female has contracted the chlamydia bacteria and she gives birth 89 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:14,800 her offspring will also be raised with the disease so it's a lose lose situation in 90 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,360 the reproduction game essentially. So higher expressions or numbers of the disease is found 91 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:26,400 in areas of disturbed habitats such as those close to urban environments mining sites who'd 92 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:32,000 have fucking thought or bushfire impacted zones. This is all due to koalas being forced 93 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:39,120 closer together as resources are more limited and competitive so I know koalas eat eucalyptus 94 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:44,360 but they don't eat every specific species of eucalyptus and in like a ballpark of the 95 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:50,000 under I think this one like 500 species of eucalyptus trees they eat roughly around 80 96 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:55,480 of them so if their land their home their habitat is being destroyed and becoming smaller 97 00:08:55,480 --> 00:09:01,320 and smaller and smaller if there's only like one edible tree in say like a five kilometer 98 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,120 to 20 kilometer radius all the koalas are going to be going there to have a koala party 99 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:10,200 and eat and just chill hang out so that's just breeding grounds for transmission of 100 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:15,520 the infection so that's why it's really important in conservation methods is to keep them isolated 101 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,960 from other populations which do have the disease present but that's quite hard because their 102 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:24,400 habitat is getting smaller and smaller every single day because the Australian government 103 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:30,840 loves to just log all our national forests for timber fucking awesome it's unregulated 104 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:36,560 they don't give a fuck so that's quite tragic and needs to be fixed so that's why they are 105 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:39,600 suffering is because they're losing their home and they're getting closer and closer 106 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:44,240 together and this disease is just taking over because they have no natural defense against 107 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:50,080 it treatment of koalas is there a silver lining well they have a specialized adaptation that 108 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:55,280 allows them to break down the toxic compounds found in eucalyptus leaves so not many animals 109 00:09:55,280 --> 00:10:00,120 can eat eucalyptus because it is quite toxic this is a problem though so this is mainly 110 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:06,560 aided by their large gut system that is home to a very specialized microbiome of healthy 111 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:11,680 bacteria which i had the same so antibiotic treatments are tricky because even though 112 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:16,240 they may kill off the chlamydia bacteria which is what happens to humans if you contract 113 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,760 chlamydia you get a bacterial antibiotic sorry script because the antibiotics kill off all 114 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:26,720 bacteria they also have the potential to destroy the important gut bacteria of the koalas which 115 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:33,960 then can lead to the koala dying because the toxins from the nutrients of the eucalyptus 116 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:39,040 leaves that they eat are no longer able to be broken down or taken up sorry the toxins 117 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,640 can't be broken down and the nutrients from the eucalyptus leaves also can't be taken 118 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:47,480 up because their specialized microbiome in their gut has been fucking annihilated by 119 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:53,480 the antibiotics so bit of a tricky one it's like save the koala but then also you may 120 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,440 kill the koala because it can no longer eat its food so these treatments would have to 121 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:02,400 be done in rehabilitation centers where the koalas can be given like a food via like drip 122 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,560 or nutrients kind of thing if you go out in the wild and just you know give them a dosage 123 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:10,560 of antibiotics that most likely won't help them because they probably starve to death 124 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:15,880 or die from toxic overload of eucalyptus poison bit of a pickle we're in a bit of a pickle 125 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:22,460 trying to save the koalas there is a new vaccine trial for koalas underway but again the problem 126 00:11:22,460 --> 00:11:28,040 with this it's very resource heavy and costly and there isn't much funding going out to 127 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:33,000 these little guys because we'd rather let mining corporations and oil corporations live 128 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:39,280 tax-free in Australia so you know that's my two cents and I could go on about it but I 129 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,680 won't another issue that they do face with trying to treat koalas is because of their 130 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:49,080 specialized digestive system it also neutralizes and breaks down medicines at a faster pace 131 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:53,480 than it can be put into the body because of their super livers so there's a lot going 132 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:58,080 on in terms of trying to save the koalas and problems that arise there are people out there 133 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:06,600 doing work there are lots of rehabilitation centers so in summary of our koala experience 134 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:11,080 that we've learnt today urbanization does pose a threat to koala populations however 135 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:16,840 the animals can survive in urban areas given enough trees that they can feed off the other 136 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,640 reasons why they're listed as vulnerable is because of collisions with vehicles and attacks 137 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:26,560 by domestic dogs cars and dogs kill about 4,000 koalas each year to reduce those deaths 138 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:31,680 we're trying to look at exploring wildlife crossing options to get across the ridge so 139 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:37,120 injured koalas and koalas infected with chlamydia really badly are often taken to wildlife hospitals 140 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:42,280 and rehabilitation centers so they're the ones doing the works in a 30-year retrospective 141 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:47,480 study performed at the New South Wales Koala Rehabilitation Center they found that trauma 142 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:53,200 was the most frequent cause of admission followed by symptoms of chlamydia infection so it's 143 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:58,560 number two in causing koala deaths it's not nice it's not good there are people doing 144 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:04,040 things out there to prevent it and to save them but unfortunately it's kind of like a 145 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,520 double-edged sword the only treatment available right now so now that I piqued your interest 146 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,360 or lost your interest who knows in terms of koalas and chlamydia we're going to do a 147 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,360 little segue in this episode so we're obviously talking about koalas first up but now we're 148 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:24,920 going to move into STIs in humans and the shame and stigma that surrounds them in our 149 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:33,920 society so my girls not just my girls my boys um the she's the they's the gays the her's 150 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:39,680 the I don't know what to say anymore so social stigma remains a barrier in testing and treatment 151 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:47,680 of STIs to this day so we all have sex it's a core and pleasurable component of the human 152 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,960 experience I can vouch for that I think everyone can vouch for that it's natural it's normal 153 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,880 it's fun you should be doing it if you're not why not get out there get slutty have 154 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:01,000 some fun with it um but practice safe sex all right that's the reason of this episode 155 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:08,680 safe six and if you catch or contract an STI they're no different in terms of being a virus 156 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:14,440 or bacterial infection that you may get such as the common cold the flu or the sore the 157 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:20,000 sore throat or a sore throat it's how they're transmitted that causes stigma in society 158 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:27,560 because sex is involved because your genitals are involved STIs are often viewed as dirty 159 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:35,160 or slutty or have an aspect of shame and ridicule associated with them when you get a diagnosis 160 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:40,600 this in turn often results in people avoiding regular testing ignoring their symptoms or 161 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:46,720 even hearing some societal ostracization so the only way to combat this is to talk about 162 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:51,600 it more make it normalize and break down the stigma around it because look if you're going 163 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,640 to have sex and you're going to have unprotected sex at some point you'll probably catch or 164 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,240 contract an STI I should say and that should not mean you should isolate yourself or go 165 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:04,080 into a shame spiral and not get tested or not get treatment or just like freak out don't 166 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:09,180 do that that's bad so with regular testing safe sex and open and clear communication 167 00:15:09,180 --> 00:15:13,640 with your sexual partners this is what is crucial to combating this shame if someone 168 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:18,920 judges you or is unable to have these kinds of conversations then my advice is down drop 169 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:24,600 that f***ing bag in the water get rid of them move on not worth your time or your health 170 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:29,640 we're all adults here we should all be okay with talking about them if you're nervous 171 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:33,840 about it or you've never really you know looked into STIs or they're still kind of foreign 172 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,560 to you educate yourself as well you should really be on that like you should know that 173 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,160 you should go and get tested that's like the best thing to do every three months just regular 174 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,400 testing doesn't matter if you haven't had sex doesn't matter if you'd f*** three people 175 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:49,720 in two days go and get tested for your own well-being and for the community's well-being 176 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:56,400 for society's well-being you know so in my experience I find testing is quite easy in 177 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:03,120 London UK I found it was very accessible and very easy so testing there was covered by 178 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:07,800 the NHS which is the National Health Service and as with treatments such as at-home test 179 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:13,120 kits which I think should be like a universal healthcare thing basically it's just an attainable 180 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:18,160 little kit that comes to you via the mail you order it online gets dropped off to you 181 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:22,240 and has all the instructions in it has your little sample kit so you got your swab for 182 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,720 your booty and your mouth got a little pee cup this one in the UK also did like a blood 183 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,640 prick one for HIV and syphilis so you could also get your blood samples done which is 184 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,960 also really helpful it was like an all-in-one stop shop all-in-one shop you just do it do 185 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:40,160 samples and then you literally just put it in the box seal it take it to the nearest 186 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:45,040 post box post office it's all paid for as well like the postage drop it in you get like 187 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:49,000 text message updates or email updates within like three days you've got your results if 188 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,360 it's a positive then you just go into your nearest sexual health clinic which they tell 189 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,200 you which are the closest ones to you and then you get your free treatments done for 190 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,680 whatever you may have and if you're all green then you go and live your best life get out 191 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:05,640 there and get slutty if you want to and in like London obviously is a lot bigger city 192 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,120 than where I live right now but also I just found that there's abundance of sexual health 193 00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:14,060 clinics especially like queer clinics as well it was much more accommodating to go to them 194 00:17:14,060 --> 00:17:19,680 as well then booking in for a specific STI appointment with your GP I know that here 195 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:24,960 in Australia there are some STI clinics but they're not as abundant I would say as they 196 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:29,760 should be and also if you want to go get an STI testing you have to go and book into the 197 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,920 GP and pay for it and then also you have to sit down and if your GP is not someone that 198 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,920 you're like comfortable with or you know well or that you go to regularly you just like 199 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:42,640 drop into medical centers it can also have like a bit of nervousness or unwillingness 200 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,760 to go I don't know especially if you go to like an old GP probably an old male GP you 201 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:53,280 know they can just be so fucking I don't know the word to explain it I'm just judgy and 202 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:58,120 like narrow minded and just like no so you've been having sex have you unprotected sex out 203 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:03,920 of marriage oh get out you know I mean not all GPs like that but there's some out there 204 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,320 stay away from them okay back on track because I'm rambling a bit so the World Health Organization 205 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:15,920 estimates that over 1 million new cases of STIs occur every day around the globe so you're 206 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,840 not alone if you've contracted an STI 1 million other people have also done it every single 207 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:27,240 day so get off your high horse it's nothing special about you but you're not an outlier 208 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:33,520 if you contract an STI and the most common being chlamydia gonorrhea trichomoniasis 209 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,920 I'm probably not saying that right and syphilis these are all easily treatable with conventional 210 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:44,760 medicines and the sooner you get tested the better it is because leaving an infection 211 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:49,600 go uncheck can result in more problematic health conditions down the line so if you 212 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:54,000 think that you might have contracted an STI if you've got any type of symptoms at all 213 00:18:54,000 --> 00:19:00,760 go and get tested the sooner the better okay okay so where does all this shame around STIs 214 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:08,200 come from in society well there are multiple factors being culture religion of course family 215 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:14,180 and trauma the shame sits in our bodies and is carried around like a burden and shame 216 00:19:14,180 --> 00:19:19,800 prevents us from taking control of our sexual health so if you're proactive and practice 217 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:25,640 safe sex you will greatly lower your chances of contracting an STI but hey we're not perfect 218 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,960 and when sometimes when you're feeling hot and you're feeling heavy and you're in the 219 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:36,880 moment this can often be bypassed and that may result in you contracting an STI if you 220 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,980 or your partner are unaware that you currently have one because sometimes symptoms can not 221 00:19:40,980 --> 00:19:45,320 show up for two weeks after you are infected you know or sometimes you just may not have 222 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:51,120 any symptoms at all that's why I say get tested regularly just in case so if this happens 223 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:55,400 number one don't play the blame game unless I don't guess here unless someone has blatantly 224 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,800 lied to you about having about not having an STI when they knew they had one and they 225 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:05,480 still continue to have unprotected sex with you that's on them for being a poor sexual 226 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:11,080 partner and also an asshole okay that's the only reason where you can be like you willingly 227 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,040 had sex with me when you knew you had an STI and you didn't tell me or to get treated low 228 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:19,520 blow then you can blame them for catching it don't ask them in public but make sure 229 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,080 they know that they're a fucking asshole and they should go get tested and treated immediately 230 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:27,960 and not do that to anyone else ever again okay back to the main part so it's not your 231 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:35,200 fault for contracting STI but it is your responsibility to seek treatment and inform your most recent 232 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,360 sexual partners that you have contracted one that may be a little bit awkward especially 233 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:43,800 if it was a one-night stand or didn't end well but there are anonymous text lines that 234 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:49,840 you can send messages of a positive result to so you can let the person know that they 235 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:55,640 have been exposed to an STI and they should go get tested anonymously if you have no idea 236 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:02,680 who they are you have no way to contact them try your best to you know just try your best 237 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:07,000 so when it comes to SPI is basically I believe you just got to be an adult about it you're 238 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:11,200 not a bad person and seeking treatment as soon as possible is the best thing you can 239 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:17,600 do for yourself and others now in saying this it is easier said than done but healthcare 240 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:22,720 professionals are there to help you they've seen it all they will be there to support 241 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,480 you as well and I said something about GPS being ourselves but that's it's not true 242 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:31,500 they are there to help you and they want they took an oath to protect you so they will give 243 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:36,080 you medical advice and assistance just go just do it oh side note actually the more 244 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:41,600 already available testing is like the more people will do it I know for a fact that where 245 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:48,160 I work they have a STI self testing kiosk in one the bathroom so you go in this little 246 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:53,200 like computer thing you just like grab a sample bag from next next to him and it has like 247 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,560 a code on it or whatever you punch in all your details and it then registers into the 248 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:01,140 system and then you go and do your samples so your swabs and your pickup it's just for 249 00:22:01,140 --> 00:22:04,600 chlamydia and gonorrhea so it's not like any blood tests or anything like that do your 250 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:09,560 samples and you drop them in the sample box and then same kind of thing text message lets 251 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,400 you know they've been collected and then you should get your results in like a week or 252 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:17,400 so fantastic everything they should everybody toilet should have one of these I think it 253 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,360 would be fantastic for the world anyway that's just another one of my little brain things 254 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:27,600 okay back to shame and STIs so these conversations around STIs bring up generations of programming 255 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:32,680 and shame but understand that your healthcare providers have seen it all and they are there 256 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:38,120 not to judge you but to help you so isolating yourself only equals more shame because then 257 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:42,920 you just go into your shame spiral of like oh my god I contract an STI like how dare 258 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:48,040 like what the fuck what am I gonna do like all that nonsense don't do that no it's important 259 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,360 to talk about it it's important to bring it to surface if you contract an STI if you feel 260 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,680 okay with it tell your friends be like I'm going to the doctor because I can't ask you 261 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,400 no don't do that but isolating only equals more shame and that's why it's important to 262 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:05,520 talk about STIs and the stigma around them like I am now because they are normal and 263 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:11,000 we should normalize that they happen and there's no point in locking yourself away and feeling 264 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,120 like pile of shit because you contracted one I know it might be scary for the first time 265 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:20,120 and you might get triggered by that whole like oh like yuck I got an STI like how gross 266 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:24,560 don't think like that that happened I can go and get tested and I can own get treated 267 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:30,380 and my life will continue on like it always had there's nothing else about it but if you 268 00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:38,040 were consistently contracting STIs I would perhaps recommend changing up your safe sex 269 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:44,480 routine by making it safe maybe don't sleep with someone who you've gotten an STI from 270 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:52,240 multiple times and if you're hoeing it up then use condoms or protection all the time 271 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:58,240 I would say that's just my two cents like you don't have to but you don't want to contract 272 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:03,440 STIs you want to avoid them sometimes it's unavoidable but the moral of this story is 273 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:10,400 safe sex will keep you safe abstinence is the only way follow your Christian values 274 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:16,000 and just don't have sex ever the more we talk about these topics the less dramatic they 275 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:21,200 can seem resulting in less guilt and better awareness because the more we have these discussions 276 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:26,000 they cause ripple effects in society so if you're open about talking about STIs you may 277 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:31,560 inspire someone who was previously afraid to to then talk about them and educate other 278 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,120 people or help other people get tested or give them resources on where to go or what 279 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:40,840 to do when you contract an STI the next part that I want to talk about is from an article 280 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:46,440 called Intimina and I thought the information on there was very insightful and quite nice 281 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:52,560 so I'm going to just like talk about a little bit so being vulnerable creates a space for 282 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:57,120 deep emotional healing the more often you do this the more comfortable you become and 283 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:02,400 easier it is to have these conversations even with new sexual partners or one-night stands 284 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:08,920 another core component to this conversation is the language that we use around STIs so 285 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:14,280 medically yes you are infected and that can carry weight because that can imply that someone 286 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:20,040 is sick or diseased or someone to avoid so perhaps try what I've been using throughout 287 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:25,120 is contracted or just saying that you have an STI don't beat around the bush be direct 288 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:31,600 be clear own it own clementia in a sense of not letting it have power over you I should 289 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:38,420 say it's just a virus or a bacteria at the end of the day we live we learn we move on 290 00:25:38,420 --> 00:25:44,040 we become more aware we grow as a society another term thrown around is clean and this 291 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:49,560 can also imply that if you get a positive test result that the results means that you 292 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:56,200 are dirty and implying that someone is dirty is to avoid or to not touch them which is 293 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,080 ridiculous given the widespread rate of people who contract STIs globally every single day 294 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:05,320 so by changing the language you use around sexual health you can be more empathetic and 295 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:10,760 sensitive to peers friends or even a colleague who may have an STI that you don't know about 296 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:15,960 be careful and mindful of what you say and how you say it refrain from judgment and instead 297 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:20,640 make a safe space where it can be openly discussed educate yourself on how to go about getting 298 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:26,400 treatments and where to get treatments and don't let an STI diagnosis define you thank 299 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:33,200 you for listening into today's episode as always nature is gay so do not hide your DNA 300 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:46,720 see you next time.