A friend of mine who works as a healthcare provider told me that sexually transmitted diseases aren’t referred to as STDs anymore, but rather STIs. “They’re not diseases, they’re infections,” she said.
As a former English major, I am completely on board with the idea that words have power and that we should carefully modulate our use of words so as not to cause undue harm. For example, I encounter an unbelievable amount of stupid people on a daily basis. But I don’t call them that. I don’t even call them cretins. Instead I refer to them as “competence impaired.”
However, I’m not sure that STIs is a more positive term than STDs. When I think of STIs, I think--well, to be honest, the phrase makes me think of a Satellite Defense System. If someone told me they had an STI, I’d say “Cool! How does the laser tracking system work?”
But when it comes right down to it, the word “infection” and the word “disease” aren’t all that different to me. Is one really going to make someone feel better? Plus, I mean, they’re diseases. It’s not like a lifestyle choice where someone decides to wear speedos to a public swimming pool and therefore we need to respect his individuality. Rather, it’s something that someone doesn’t want to get that they’d like to be cured. That’s a disease.
I think I’d be the first to say that if I got one. I’d say “This is a disease, and I’m fully comfortable calling it an STD because that’s what it is. However, I’d prefer it if you didn’t refer to me as a ‘victim’ of the disease. I prefer to think of myself as ‘gonorrhea capable.’”
Us Subaru enthusiasts will respond to “I have an STI” with “Really? That’s so cool!”
Gonorrhea capable? A kid in back is asking, “condom impaired?” (applause) Clap, clap
“Former” English major… Is that like “recovering” Catholic?
I suppose when alcoholism is a disease, then it is important to understand that syphilis is an infection.
If the new phrase catches on, that will kinda take the fun out of my personal shorthand for Save The Date cards at work.
My friend who is a teacher told me that the use of red pens is being discouraged by school boards. They think red ink is too angry and aggressive to be used in correcting papers. Green or purple is preferred. I think the same people who would feel cleaner about having an “STI” would feel smarter about having purple mark-ups on a D+ paper. That’s good, America, shield the stupids.
‘Infection’ might be more accurate because these afflictions are contagious. ‘Disease’ does not inherently imply that.
and you are one cool english major. I never was able to interact with any at my gargantuan university.
To take renaming a silly step further, the scientific community is taking steps to rename the creatures ‘sea stars’ and ‘jellies’ instead of starfish and jellyfish (according to an employee at the GA Aquarium). I think the public can figure out that they are indeed not fish.
As a colleague of your mate, she’s 100% correct, and here’s why.
Just because you can be infected by lots of things, doesnt’ mean that in you, they’re going to manifest themselves as a full-blown version of the disease that they can cause.
Hence, infection applies to those more secretive, the sneaky infections. That may have a side effect, but may not be as obvious as purulent cankers.
You heard it from her first!
N