Damaged Goods?
Subtitle: Women Living With Incurable Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Publisher: Temple University Press
Published: June 28, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9781592137084
Subjects: Health systems & services; Women's studies; Social Science; Gender Studies; Sociology; Diseases - Contagious; Health Care Delivery; Social Science / Gender Studies; Diseases; Papillomavirus diseases; Sexually transmitted diseases; Social aspects; Women
Description: From the publisher. How do women living with genital herpes and/or HPV (human papilloma virus) infections see themselves as sexual beings, and what choices do they make about sexual health issues? Adina Nack, a medical sociologist who specializes in sexual health and social psychology, conducted in-depth interviews with 43 women about their identities and sexuality in regards to chronic illness. The result is a fascinating book about an issue that affects over 15 million Americans, but is all too little discussed. Damaged Goods adds to our knowledge of how women are affected by living with chronic STDs and reveals the stages of their sexual- self transformation. From the anxiety of being diagnosed with an STD to issues of blame and shame, Nack -- herself diagnosed with a cervical HPV infection -- shows why these women feeling that they are "damaged goods," question future relationships, marriage, and their ability to have healthy children.