STDs-are we promiscuous?

For years I haven't given a second thought to STDs being related to 'immorality, promiscuous behavior and low social status'-but when I read that, the memories of my up-bringing flooded my mind.

First off, STDs were never talked about in our house-there was an unspoken rule that we didn't talk about sex and since STDs are directly related to sex, it was never discussed. As a result, all of my knowledge came from friends and school programs. However, the few times it happened to come up in conversation, there was no mistake that only "hussy's" contracted STDs. This of course meant that only women were affected and they were affected because they "couldn't keep their legs closed"-I know it's crude but that's how it was discussed. Honestly, I've never really understood how my family could not talk about sex and when they did it was in the crudest manner. But I suppose my family dynamic is better left to the professionals!

When I think about STDs and its effect on those with low social status; I suppose I've always agreed. As I gain wisdom with my age, I see now that STDs knows no social order. I think those with lower social status tend have a larger risk of contracting diseases due to lack of funding, information and compassion.

As a side note, I would like throw in here that I think diseases are extremely fascinating. All things taken into consideration, they are intelligent and incredible at what they do. I'm in complete awe of them; what else can you think of that has killed millions of people (men killing men doesn't count) and continues to do so. They're tiny prokaryotic cells that logically shouldn't be able to wipe out generations yet they do. Consider this; HIV is killing the most intelligent life form on the planet. Point being that I personally think we don't give viruses the credit they deserve.