Sexual Health in Little Bags and Conversations

By Jorge Luis Aguilar Cruz

Two years ago I had the amazing privilege to work at a city healthy clinic, in which we went to businesses, personal consultations, and even some high school to present on the topic of stigma and sexual health.  In this great journey, we met and spoke with teenagers, single and married people, people in their twenties. We spoke to truckers, teachers, dancers, strippers, sex workers, Chinese, and Mexican people. Our search and conversations were vast and absolutely amazing.

            The significance of a conversation about sexual health is in itself very important, groundbreaking and necessary, although from my experience, this sort of conversation is considered to be taboo, through the application of positive deviance, the conversations flowed for hours and days even.  Positive Deviance, at its very essence enables the participants to take a route not taken before, to act on the unknown and build from there.  In this case, social standards, personal and communicative barriers involving sexual health were torn down. Details of such accounts, involved conversations about condom use, pregnancy, abortions, sexual inadequacies and experimentation, HIV and STD testing.

            Significant progress with these individuals was made throughout the time I was there, and I had the opportunity to hear their stories about success involving sexual health, and how they have passed it on, paid it forward.  Applying positive deviance, compassion, and love in a very important topic of sexual health is something I have a great passion for.  To this day as a University Assistant through the permission of my great bosses, I still enact positive deviance with social awkwardness, for example, every semester, I hand out a little bag, the little bag contain lube, flavored condoms, oral contraceptives and more importantly, a sticker announcement with information where they or other people can get free HIV and STD testing and care.  Through Positive Deviance we can encourage people to enact the right action; their choice is ultimately theirs, as the power of choice is in their hands.