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Fear Tactics This chapter is full of facts about various…
Fear Tactics
This chapter is full of facts about various Sexually Transmitted Infections. For most, there is a description of the symptoms, treatment, and then some other interesting discussion about research or critical discussion. The authors make two interesting statements along the way:
1. “Technically, these practices are called ‘safer sex’, there being no true safe sex except no sex.”
2. “A lot of illustrations in this chapter show the symptoms of various STIs, and some of the photos may make you say ‘Nasty! These illustrations are not meant to scare you but rather to help you recognize the symptoms of STIs.”
Both of these align with the current sex-positive movement; a movement set to promoting an open, tolerant, or progressive attitude towards sex and sexuality. As part of this, an emphasis is placed on the words we use, thus the first statement about safer vs safe sex, where both is already further away than some of the earlier language about unsafe, risky, or unprotected. See this short article by Marcus and Snowden urging the change of language use for researcher as well. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6953392
Not only is it important to think of the language we use, but what the textbook does not explicitly discuss is strategies/ campaigns aimed at prevention/ decreasing STI numbers. Often these use fear and scare tactics, thus the second statement. Although a much longer article (that you don’t have to read), consider this paragraph from Fairchild, Bayer, & Colgrave (2015): https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1236
“While there is no one definition of what constitutes a fear-based appeal, creating an emotional reaction to the “threat” of disease, disfigurement, or death is key. Humor is often employed to make more palatable an otherwise harsh confrontation with risk. Fear-based appeals also call on other emotions, such as disgust and shame. 10https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1236#B10. Sometimes by design, sometimes an unintended consequence of the images and messages employed, fear-based campaigns may imply the loss of social standing. As a consequence, they are commonly critiqued as producing and reinforcing social stigma, imposing hardships on already vulnerable populations. 11https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1236#B11.-13https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1236#B12. Campaigns freighted by concerns about stigma become especially politically charged, motivating impassioned ethical debate. 14 https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1236#B14. As a consequence, relying on fear is risky business. The decision about whether to use a fear-based campaign and how far to go is not simply a technical, evidence-based determination. Decisions are almost always political, reflecting a calculation of how to balance issues of effectiveness, uncertainty, stigma, marginalization, emotional burdens, justice, community participation, and scientific credibility.”
And lastly, read the article by Alyssa Lederer from Tulane University on WHY THE USE OF SCARE TACTICS TO PROMOTE SEXUAL HEALTH FOR YOUTH MAY BACKFIRE https://scholars.org/contribution/why-use-scare-tactics-promote-sexual-health-youth-may-backfire.
Compose a main post responding to the following questions:
A. What according to you is the most important con of using fear-base strategies discussed in the Lederer article? How do you make sense of the ways these strategies can backfire when used specifically with teenagers?
B. Consider the larger, more societal impact that the Fairchild, Bayer, & Colgrave paragraph seems to hint at. What according to you is the most important con they seem to highlight?
C. Yet, both articles suggest that fear-based strategies might also have some pros. Overall, what is your take on using fear-based strategies to bring about safer sex? How do you make sense of that ‘calculation of how to balance” as Fairchild, Bayer, & Colgrave call it?
D. Lastly, using the internet search for some STI campaigns and advertisements. Using search terms like STI (either general OR even a specific one) and campaign, prevention, awareness, etc. look specifically for posters/ billboards/ images that was circulated as part of an official strategy. Choose one to ATTACH here, and tell us what you think is good/bad (i.e. the pro/con) about the strategy that seems to be used.
