Singers Tinashe and Baby Rose, TV personality Ts Madison and curator Marz LoveJoy have partnered with ViiV Healthcare–a pharmaceutical company focused on HIV and AIDS. The intention of the partnership is to educate women about how to improve their wellbeing through sexual health with the assistance of a series of workbooks.
The activity books are meant to spark conversations about pleasure, desire and intimacy within the context of sexual health through the use of exercises, games, prompts and guides. The initiative also hopes to help remove the stigma around HIV, which disproportionately affects Black women. More than 40% of new HIV infections in the United States occur among Black people and African Americans are 7.8 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than white men and women.
One half of the initiative was an event, featuring the aforementioned artists. It incorporated lightning talks by Tinashe, Marz Lovejoy and Ts Madison, a performance by singer Baby Rose, a meal cooked by award-winning chef Kia Cooks, and beverages curated by mixologist, author and educator Shannon Mustipher. Other guests who showed up at the event included Villano Antillano, Gia Love, and Myesha Evon Gardner.
The second half of the initiative, the workbook, focuses on elucidating the benefits of engaging in HIV prevention such as increasing intimacy while being protected. By removing the stigma and shame, the hope is that women of color, in particular, feel empowered enough to seek prevention methods and treatment.
“Women are rarely prioritized in HIV prevention efforts, and at ViiV Healthcare, we are working to change that,” said Dr. Kimberly Smith, Head of Research and Development, ViiV Healthcare. “Led by insights from Black women in the communities most impacted by HIV, we are exploring the roles that intimacy, desire, and pleasure play in both if and how women engage in HIV prevention care and services. We know that by prioritizing “reasons” for prevention rather than “risk,” we can open the door to talk about sex and intimacy as part of whole person health and, in turn, move closer to ending the HIV epidemic.”
The activity books come in three versions: one for personal use, one for use with a partner, and one for use with a healthcare provider. All three can be downloaded for free.
