Sexual Health News - Sexual Health and Behavior

University of Minnesota exhibit examines role of sexual health in pop culture

By Lisa Oldson, MD Nov. 30, 2012
Looking back on the many changes in public media advertisements is a major focus of pop culture studies, but a new exhibit debuting at the University of Minnesota examines the complicated issue of sexual health in popular media. According to the Star Tribune, the exhibition examines many of the public sexual health campaigns from the American Social Health Association over the course of the 20th century. A series of posters, pamphlets and films allow students to analyze the role of sexually transmitted disease prevention and other forms of health policy from the past.

One of the notable features at the exhibit is a World War II-era poster depicting a curvy woman flanked by two soldiers with the phrases, "Booby Trap" and "Syphilis and Gonorrhea." While some of these advertisements are certainly blunt, humorous and sometimes offensive, the exhibit curators believe that the materials could spark important conversations about STD testing, prevention and other sexual health concerns, the university reports on its website.

"You're able to see how this all started and where we've come today... But what you get to see is not only how far we've come, but how we actually haven't come very far at all, in some respects," Darren Terpstra, the exhibit's designer, told the news source.
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