What's up Ladies? (Obvious Magazine: Womens Issue, Sping 2009; never published)

Women, have they lost their minds?!

Masochists or the misinformed: Why women ignore the risk of infection

Raw Love Issue

Spring 2009

Obvious Magazine: Women

By Marcus Scott

On June 5, 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued statements in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that unusual clusters of Pneumocystics pneumonia or PCP were found in five homosexual Los Angeles men. The disease that caused these outbreaks was titled the Gay Related Immune Deficiency. It wasn’t until the discovery of heterosexual couples, drug users and prostitutes having contracted the disease, that it was titled the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, better known as AIDS. On the brink of 28 years after it was first discovered, the virus is now a pandemic according to “The first postmodern pandemic: 25 years of HIV/ AIDS” by L. O. Kallings, the former Secretary-General of the International AIDS Society. Despite the risk of infection, more and more people worldwide are contracting the disease, with over 6000 people, ages 15 to 24, becoming infected with each passing day according to http://www.about.com. Women are the most at risk.

According to About, women practically accounted for the 50 percent of all living beings with the disease worldwide, as 57 percent of women in the Sub-Saharan Africa are HIV positive. You might say that 28 years is a lifetime. In that time, we say the birth of MTV and the music video era, then the ever-addictive Youtube, for example. So, why is it women aren’t getting the education they need to prevent contracting the disease? Is it lack of funding that causes the lack of education, which in turn, enables the spread of the disease? Is it their choice to engage is unprotected sex or is it absolute carelessness? Women, after all have been the victims of a higher patriarchal power, which was instilled in them that they are homemakers and live for their partners and their children.

On February 19, 1963, only months before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, TX, a young feminist Smith College graduate published a landmark for the ages, after sending a questionnaire to her female classmates. The questionnaire showed a common discontent for their lives. This groundbreaking work placed the triviality women felt in positions that required them to be academically, psychologically and monetarily reliant upon their husbands/partners was called a “mystique.” Defined by the book’s author, Betty Friedan, as “the problem that has no name,” the revolutionary work was called The Feminine Mystique. In this book, Friedan hypothesized that all women may possibly be victims of a counterfeit belief system which requires finding depth and individuality in their own lives through their children and husbands/partners. Maybe there is some truth to this, as some men even believe that women exist merely as objects for a man’s own entertainment and sexual satisfaction. And then there are men, who have realized this and made artistic criticisms of the male chauvinism. For example, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1879’s “A Doll’s House” characterized a woman leaving her husband after he refused to give up his honor for the love of his wife, a sacrifice many women have been doing for centuries. But, as these women, who are cerebrally trained to give up their honor for love, are they trained to value themselves?

With the spread of infection, virus and disease populating the world, it seems as if more and more women are throwing caution to the wind, despite risk of contracting contagious ailments. According to Population Services International, 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV or AIDS, and of that number, over 15.5 million women have contracted the virus, in agreement with Advert. It’s also a leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to 34, with HIV rates in Latino women increasing. So, with loads of information on the World Wide Web as well in libraries and clinics, why aren’t women going to the source to protect themselves? Four female New York college students agreed that carelessness and self-esteem issues maybe the root of why more women in U.S. are becoming victims of the AIDS virus.

“Some women, in the heat of the moment, aren’t thinking of the consequences and some of them think of right then and right there” said Christina Foster, 21, a Social Work major from Buffalo. Like many women her age who were interviewed, Foster agreed that incidents of rape and even the “Virgin Cure” aren’t reasons for the rise in Sexually Transmitted infections and diseases.

In developing countries outside of the US, the “Virgin Cure,” a very popular notion in countries like India and Thailand, as well as the continent of Africa, is the panacea to combat the disease. Largely controlled patriarchal societies, the disease spreads like wildfire, with South African children younger than 15 estimated at more than 580,000 in agreement with http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za. According to the website, the myth of the “Virgin Cure,” is the belief stemming from the notion that a woman’s intact hymen and a minor quantity of vaginal secretion prevents transmission through sexual intercourse. Mike-Earl Taylor, the author of the research, says the believe stretches back to 16^th century Europe and notably in the Victorian 19^th century England where outbreaks of syphilis and gonorrhea were prominent. But this doesn’t necessarily mean, especially with the resources in the US, that this ideology is true for most American women.

“Nowadays, women don’t really care about their bodies and won’t happen, and don’t necessarily think about the consequences. [One] has to beware of the culture factors because where I come from, you don’t use condoms because that’s your partner for life,” says Faduma Farah, 19, a Muslim migrant from Somalia attending a SUNY school. “Before you even marry, in my religion, you have to know your partner well enough to know that he is clean and free of diseases and in my culture that means you have to be a virgin.” Other women agreed with this, and said that it may be a cultural issue or other outside sources. “A lot of it may not be sexual, sometimes it may be health insurance or that they are not being educated enough,” explained Narcisa Núñez, 21, A New Yorker attending school in Upstate New York, who states that there may be other reasons for women contracting infections, despite carelessness.

“People think that they are not vulnerable to these diseases and think that ‘oh, it won’t happen to me.’ You see these billboards and it’s like 1 out of 4 people are infected, and if there’s eight people in the room, mostly likely, two people are infected,” said Kristin Antis, 20, a Buffalo State student from Elmira, New York.

None of these women noted that prostitution was not as huge an issue of being careless or not health insurance, stating that these women, as sex workers, are more aware of the risk than the masses. So, what is it really? “It’s something deeper than it is,” the women said. Maybe it is carelessness, not so much that women are going out into the community and engage in sex, but putting their partners first, something most of the women agreed to.

“In any type of relationship, especially marriage, you still have yourself to think about, first and foremost because you are born in this world alone and you will die alone,” posited Nichole Williams, 24, a student from Brooklyn, New York, pursuing a master’s degree in history. “In marriage, we tend to put our guard down, the fact that you put yourself first and take charge of your well being, doesn’t mean you don’t trust your partner, you are protecting yourself and that’s what matters in the end.”

A Designed Dream

You have men that are into fashion and looking good. Then someone just appears and catches your eye. That is exactly what Aswad Abasi did when he launched his Abasi Couture clothing line. The DC native has taken the whole world of appearance into his hands by becoming the designer that he wanted to be, no questions asked.

The man who had been sketching for years prior to his success didn’t have any formal training in designing. “I was originally music major at the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts at Berkley,” Abasi said. He still plays his music and uses it as a muse for his line. “I enjoy shopping for myself. I use mainstream designers to put things together and create my own style.” The main focus was a women’s clothing and accessory line for the company. While Abasi was focused on the clothes, his brother was busy sketching ideas for jewelry and handbags. Abasi suffered the loss of his business partner and brother in 2003, but new visions began to unveil itself and he is continuing what was started long ago.

“Fashion designing was my therapy while coping with the loss of my brother and it helps me to this day,” Abasi said. The Abasi Couture logo with wings symbolizes the clothing line taking flight in honor of his brother. Because of the support and motivation of local designers when he was new to the industry, he participated in local shows and fittings. His collection debuted in 2008 in Washington DC. “Over 200 people came to see my show and I did all of the promoting online,” Abasi said. “At least 90 percent of my work is conducted over the Internet.” His MySpace page, his website, www.abasiworld.com, and people purchasing his clothes on www.nyfashionconnect.com is better because he doesn’t mind spending so much time online. His website is showcasing his designs, his Phoenix Rising fashion show, pictures and peeks of models promoting his talent. The dream that Abasi and his brother started and the vision that continued from him is a result from the support of his loved ones.

“My parents and other relatives started their own businesses and keep their businesses motivated,” Abasi said, speaking of role models and inspirations he looks to for his work and success. He has magazine collage clippings to help him create his next piece of clothing in addition to his original sketchbook that he kept prior to his business starting that he uses for new ideas. Additionally, his collection is also derived from a person’s body shape and the associating compliments to an outfit.

In the days to come, Abasi is working on a women’s shoe line, handbag line, a men’s line and a fashion magazine as well as more fashion shows. His company is also heading towards model management in efforts to connect models with fashion designers and shows. It is no doubt that Abasi’s brother would be very proud of the success that his business partner is achieving by keeping his dream alive.

Photo courtesy of fierceambition.com. Check out the original article at www.divadymes-ezine.com!