Jacob's blog

The Testing Diaries: Jacob

I was going to be taking my STI test with a friend today, with the idea we would both get tested and I could've written in the style of a comedy bromance movie like "Dude. Where's My Car?" except with less sexism and more conversations about male STI testing anxiety and our feelings.

Alas, he has made other arrangements and I'll be going solo to the testing clinic.

This clinic focuses on reducing HIV in the MSM (men who have sex with men) demographic, but is open to anyone, and so I'm here in the city centre where it is based. They test for HIV, chlamydia & gonorrhea and I've opted for all three.

UK Hurdles to Emergency Contraception

It's been a few months now since Heather posted "Back Up Your Birth Control Backup Day" making it crystal clear that, despite some pretty unethical misinformation given to young people seeking it, emergency contraception in the US is totally legal to sell to people 17+ without prescription.

It was few days later over here in the UK that I read a blog-post from a student in London that she had been refused emergency contraception, but not because of her age.

Which had me asking myself what the law actually is in the UK.

Wordbusting in Sex Ed debates! - Little words

There has been an increasing level of organisation and activity in the UK from politicians and pressure groups who are against comprehensive sex education, even lobbying against the basics like teaching body parts to primary school children and ever more increasingly speaking about abstinence. The tactics are versions of what US sex educators have been battling against for a while.

Good sex is Mudita non-zero! Pondering sexuality via the internet

I've continued to enjoy TED videos, featuring people like Aimee Mullins, and my interest really doesn't seem to be subsiding any time soon. TED is the "Technology, Entertainment, Design" conference who's video talks and lectures are released on-line every weekday. Most recently, my thoughts on it have circulated around journalist, Robert Wright...

Self-esteem, body image, super powers and Aimee Mullins

I've watched a few lectures from the TED conferences which have been put online this year and really enjoyed most them, even if I do disagree with some of the speakers on what they say... I just watched the following video where Aimee Mullins, an amputee, athlete, actress and model speaks on what she views as a shift in attitudes from a negative view of disabilities to an understanding of individuality and how her experiences with physical disabilities are also an illumination of potential, possibility and the creativity central to humanity.

Shrink Cocktail: My starter experience of counseling

In life, generally, we can get ourselves in a pickle and need someone to talk to. Our friends and families love us, they can have great advice, but sometimes it doesn't match up with what we need or want and we don't want to offload on them or ask them for some new advice and tell them some of their well-meaning words didn't work and "so... can we try something else?". Which is how I have felt a lot of the time.