Women Hold Back Nothing at Norton "Sex In The City Town Hall Meeting" (7/17/07)

Washington, DC--A cross-section of District of Columbia women poured their hearts out at last night's Women's Town Hall Meeting, "Sex in the City: A Frank Discussion on HIV/AIDS, STDs, Relationships, and Today's Woman," sponsored by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). From teenagers to middle-aged women, attendees held nothing back in the discussion of male-female relationships in the Black community and the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia. WKYS radio mid-day personality, Jeannie Jones, herself a young Washingtonian raised in the Benning Road section, brought the women out to accomplish the goal of the town meeting: to relay the experiences of women and to get suggestions on how to drive HIV and other STDs from the city. Testimonials were plentiful, including several from HIV-positive women. A young woman broke down, saying she had no mother, had a baby, had engaged in unprotected sex, was continuing to have unprotected sex, and wished she had a mother. A woman then came forward, hugged her, and said she wanted to be her mentor. Miss District of Columbia International 2007 stood up to declare herself a virgin by choice and advocated abstinence to the applause of women throughout the Atrium Ballroom at the Ronald Reagan Building where the town meeting was held, while other women said that "reality" of the sexual practices of young people today had to be faced.

The women endorsed the themes of the town hall meeting: Safe Sex - Know your Partner - Get Tested and Know Your Status. A 14-year-old girl talked about her relationship with her mother, who was with her in the audience, and about how she learned to get respect for herself by playing tennis well and understanding her own self worth. The mother later said that her daughter won a tennis scholarship to St. John's College High School here. A woman rose to ask that African American women participate in clinical trials for an AIDS vaccine now going on in the region and elsewhere, and told the women that they did not have to have HIV/AIDS to participate. Other women spoke out, saying "you don't need a boy to love yourself," and recommended that mothers start early to teach boys to respect girls and women. The women recommended a focus on relationships and friendships with men, not sex alone, talking to one's partner candidly, and taking charge of their own relationships.

Norton said she was especially pleased that women were not shy about taking confidential tests offered by Family Medical Counseling Services in an adjoining room. Feedback submitted on comment cards showed that the women relished the opportunity to speak in public about the issues of the town hall meeting. Among the comments: "A necessary meeting," "Hold this meeting again east of the river." "Testimonials were very effective." "We need this event nationwide," and "Offer free hepatitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, and Chlamydia testing."