#RockTheRedPump

Rocking my red flats!!

Hey everybody!! Right now in the U.S., African American and Hispanic women account for 80 percent of AIDS cases. This is remarkable considering the fact that they represent less than one fourth of the women population in the U.S.  Women make up half of the adults living with HIV worldwide.  Even though these facts are alarming, I do not want to spend the rest of this post throwing out facts and statistics about HIV/AIDS.  But I would rather talk about how important it is we take of ourselves.

Ladies, we are something else.  Even if we have the flu we must continue to work, do chores, take care of husbands, pay bills, and whatever else.  We do not stop.  This is why it is so important that we take care of precious bodies. 

One way to take care of ourselves is by knowing our status.  If you are sexually active, do not be afraid to get tested.  Knowing your status can be life saving.  Knowing your partner's status can also save your life.  If your partner is not willing to get tested or show you proof of their test then don't let them touch the goods.  Go to http://hivtest.cdc.gov/ to find a HIV testing location near you.

Wrap it up.  I know you all remember the BET commercials telling you to "wrap it up".  As corny as this commercial became it's message was clear: put a condom on!  The average price of a box of condoms is $6.00.  I understand that in this economy that might seem a little steep but compared to cost of medications for AIDS and the stress from having a non-curable disease $6.00 is not bad.  Remember, your life is priceless.  Men love to say they cannot feel anything when wearing a condom.  But let homeboy know that if he doesn't want to wear a condom then he can have fun feeling the inside of his hand.

Educate yourself.  When AIDS first hit the scene there were a lot of misconceptions.  Let's be clear, this is not a gay, black, white, or Hispanic disease.  Anybody can contract AIDS.  This disease does not discriminate.  We know how to protect ourselves from AIDS; we have to be willing to put that education in action.  Also, by educating ourselves we will not stigmatize those with the disease.  AIDS is not a bad person's disease or contagious. 

Do not be afraid to have conversations with your friends, daughters, cousins, and nieces about AIDS.  Emphasize the importance of protecting their bodies from the disease and how to treat others that have the disease.  Let's teach our young girls to value their bodies.  Teach them to stand firm in protecting their bodies. 

Thank you for reading this post and if you didn't get anything else out of this post please get this: Know your status!