Posts
A University of California-Los
Angeles performance troupe’s lighthearted, humorous and open approach to sexual
health matters recently had a ninth-grade audience interacting and laughing.
Unusually, no one was texting. The UCLA Sex Squad, part of the Art and Global
Health Center’s “AMP It Up!” project, regularly performs at local high schools,
discussing safe sex and involving students in related art projects, including
poetry, skits, and visual arts. An audition is required to join the Sex Squad.
The high-school performances include
Sesame Street spoofs using condom puppets talking about the correct use of
condoms, and discussions of physically and emotionally fulfilling sex,
masturbation, orgasms, how alcohol can impair judgment, and informative
personal stories about squad members’ first-time sex experiences, as well as
interactive songs about the ways HIV can be transmitted.
HIV testing increased more than
three-fold, from 14 percent to 59 percent, among sexually active students
offered screening during the AMP It UP! programs, one study found.
“That’s what we want to see,” said
David Gere, the health center’s founder and director, and brother of actor
Richard Gere. “It indicates a belief that it’s important to know your status.”
Gere and center staffer Bobby Gordon
recently hit the road to help bring the UCLA Sex Squad model to Southern
high-school students. The two worked with Emory University in Atlanta and the
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to create troupes that will be adapted
to their local environments. Gere and Gordon are confident the program will
succeed in other parts of the country.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
