Here and Now/Hear and (k)Now [abstract]

Abstract

Funny, frank, informative and touching, "Here and Now/Hear and (k)Now" is a one-woman show examining female sexuality within the context of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) epidemic. It is presented through the eyes of a middle-aged woman who is a newly diagnosed carrier of the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control, by the age of 50 more than 80% of American women will have contracted at least one strain of HPV. Certain strains of the virus cause 70% of all cervical cancers. In recent years HPV infection rates have reached epidemic proportions among young women (and presumably among young men). At present, the epidemic is addressed by a campaign to vaccinate young women aged 9-26 against the four most virulent strains of HPV. There is no vaccine currently being offered to men.