According to Wikipedia, the term "promiscuity" is defined as "sex with relatively many partners" (www.wikipedia.org). Okay, thanks for clearing that one up, wikipedia! But wait ... what denotes "relatively many"? Who decides what is and is not "promiscuous"? Who sticks these labels onto individuals, and tells them how to define themselves?
*I want to be clear about what I'm saying - I am not suggesting that using the term "promiscuous" is appropriate, nor am I suggesting that anyone label individuals based on their choices regarding sexual encounters. My intention is to point out ways in which the term is used and to encourage the questioning of the term altogether.*
What about those who are happy to embrace their promiscuity? How can we encourage and support these individuals who choose to have multiple partners (maybe even at the same time!) and to be smart and safe about their decisions? What can we, as sexual health educators, allies, advocates and the simply "interested" do to make life easier on the "promiscuous" individuals of our society? How can we help those who may have been pushed or even forced into a life of promiscuity? How can we educate, befriend, advocate and question?
I'm nowhere near to suggesting that I know the answers to these questions, but I want to encourage you to consider them. How can we, as a society, remove some of the stigma around having sex and encourage individuals to make smart and informed decisions - regardless of how many sexual partners they have! Let's go beyond giving out condoms, and look at what else needs to happen to make the world a more pleasant and easier to navigate place for the sexually promiscuous.
I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading :)
