Recently, I was watching an episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an action-packed, fast-paced science fiction story about a teenager who joins an on-the-fringe team of cyborgs, running dangerous jobs and unraveling an intricate scheme between two cutting-edge tech companies. In one scene, while David Martinez is training with one of the team’s veterans, Lucy, she says something that stuck with me.
He asks Lucy why she joins in the dangerous activity of “edgerunning” since she’s a “netrunner,” the designated hacker of the team, not the muscle. She replies, “Netrunner, edgerunner. No difference. Stamina is everything.”
The message was clear to me. No matter who you are or what you do, building stamina through daily consistency is essential and transcends any demographic category. Everyone who encounters true stamina in another respects and values it, no matter their differences. The message really spoke to me. It also definitely helped that the message was embedded in a layer of fantasy since, who knows, maybe in the distant future, I’ll need to join a gang of revolutionaries to uncover a corporate scandal affecting society at large. You never know.
The relevance and resonance of that moment conversely made me think of how “cringe” some sexual health awareness campaigns have made me feel when I’ve encountered them. “Cringe” is that internal feeling when something I’ve seen is misaligned with my perception of self and with the diversity of experiences I’ve seen around me, as defined in this fun article by Daisy Jones from The Face, a print and online magazine. It is typically a millennial or Gen Z term (take a look at this social listening reporting article from Ann-Derrick Gaillot and Elena Tarasova at Meltwater, an online-media monitoring company), but it should force the teams creating sexual health content for any audience to examine how up to date their digital literacy is.
Campaigns that have felt cringe to me have lacked diversity and range in the experiences portrayed. They have focused a message or product on a specific group instead of making their messaging neutral and accessible to individuals of all orientations, genders, and abilities. But in the instances when a campaign or messaging exercise is done well, it is really done well.
Take the at-home healthcare portal Everlywell for example, and their Q&A with Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye, a television show, and JVN Hair, a hair product company. The interview featured his engaging, honest reflections on being HIV positive, handling stigma and shame from his healthcare providers, and navigating conversations with new partners—all things I certainly am keen to learn more about, as I’m sure others are. As a member of the queer community, Van Ness is an icon for individuals of many marginalized identities, and that visibility is powerful.
Wisp is another great sexual and reproductive health–focused company that has an excellent blog they describe as “The next best thing to calling your bestie.” The articles are honest, straightforward, and transparent. Although the imagery could be more gender-neutral, since individuals of all genders have vulvas, they make an attempt to share this essential information on sexual health maintenance in a sex-affirming, gender-neutral tone that makes for some very engaging reads.
Lastly, to assess how conversations happening on sexual health are evolving, TikTok is one of the best places to go. There are creators pushing the boundaries of sexual health conversations. Posts from creators who are physicians and researchers such as Thatgaydoctor, lance_in_your_pants, gianamj, or createtheerotic and coachshanasingleton spotlight their own experiences, their interactions with patients and clients, and their expertise to drive conversations around sexual health in the digital world.
The next time you see an ad from a sexual health and wellness brand, think about how it makes you feel, if it resonates with you, and if it pushes you to find out more. At the end of the day, it feels good to be seen, and that is what sexual health awareness is all about.
