When it comes on to being responsible for their bumboclaat sexual and reproductive health, our young men are either lost or they don’t care. How can you want a woman to be clean but you yuh self nuh business or know bout yuh owna penis?
Some young men believe that once their girl gets ‘checked out’, that mean say dem good to. Bredda, a nuh so it work!
Just because your girl tested negative for an STD, nuh mean say you good. You have to go to the doctor and get checked out for YOURSELF, to find out YOUR status.
Did you know that STDs aren’t the only sexual and reproductive issues that young men can face? There are other things such as UTI(Urinary Tract Infection) and yeast infections to name a few. However, some young men are too ignorant and don’t want to hear about these things. When they hear the words sexual health, dem ears cork up.
I will say though, I have noticed that there is not enough information being provided to them with regards to their sexual and reproductive health. Our health professionals tend to focus on HIV and act as if there aren’t other health issues that our young men need to know about.
But this isn’t the main issue here, you could give di yute dem all the information dem need and they still won’t go to the doctor. I have talked about this with some young men that I know, and I have gotten the same response. They just don’t want to go because they are afraid, or they just don’t believe in going to the doctor.
According to a Jamaica Gleaner article, written by Dr. Douglas Street, “men visit the doctor 20%-30% less than women. Men will more likely wait longer to see if the problem will settle down on its own.” Our Jamaican culture could be one factor that contributes to this type of behaviour. Growing up, whenever anything happens, the first thing you are told to do by your mother or grandmother, is to drink some bush tea.
Bush cures every bumboclaat thing in Jamaica.
Another thing that will be heard by young men growing up is that if they have any sort of weird a pain – a gas…And then they are still told to go drink some tea.
A doctor’s visit has often been seen as a hassle by some of our elders. In their minds, going to the doctor is a sign of weakness and you’re not a man if you go to the doctor. Dr. Street stated that “ the main reason put forward as to why men visit the doctor less is the so-called male ‘macho-ism’. It seems men see a doctor’s visit as making them vulnerable, which is something men do not do very well but is more within the comfort zone of women.”. This is one of the main issues right here, our young men don’t like their egos being damaged. And in Jamaica, ego is very important to our men.
Dr. Street also said that, men don’t talk much when they go to the doctor. This is a fact with the young men in Jamaica, who tend to shy away from the conversation when it comes to their sexual health. They are afraid that if they bring certain things up with their doctor, they will be view less than a man. At the end of the day, it seems like our men care more about their ego than their health. So what’s the bumboclaat solution?
Well, man dem uno literally need fi bumboclaat man up and face uno fear. A yuh body we a talk bout enuh. The best way to get over a fear is to face it head-on. It would be great if there was a system in place in schools to sensitize our boys so that when they are older, they will not be hesitant or reluctant to go to the doctor. You won’t be any less of a man if you go to the doctor to check yourself out. If anything you are the better man to be brave enough to face your fear and go and sort yourself out. A only one life and one body yuh get enuh so take care of it.
