Check In, Get Tested, Get A Badge

Wanna by the mayor of STD testing? Foursquare has launched a new partnership, and it could make a difference for sexual health.

I’ll admit I have a love/hate relationship with Foursquare.  I very seldom make it out of the house, which made my “crunked” badge that much more embarrassing, and when you are the mayor of such hot places as your local library, a CVS pharmacy, and not one but TWO different healthcare centers, you start to feel a little, well, lame.

But Foursquare, the mobile application that allows you to announce your personal location and activities via facebook and twitter, has partnered with MTV to add a new badge that they hope will take any stigma and embarrassment out of having a healthy sex life.

Via Mashable:

“STD testing center” seems like number three on a list of “Embarrassing Places to Check in on Foursquare,” but this September, MTV and the geo-location service are aiming to quash that stigma by offering a badge to all those who get tested as part of MTV’s GYT: Get Yourself Tested campaign.

The GYT campaign marks a milestone for Foursquare, which has never offered a cause-related badge before.

MTV launched GYT in April of 2009 as part of a partnership with Kaiser Family Foundation titled “It’s Your (Sex) Life.” The initiative seeks to help young people become more aware of how common STDs are — according to MTV, one in two people will contract an STD by age 25. For more info on getting tested and staying healthy, you can head on over to MTV’s “It’s Your (Sex) Life” page.

The Foursquare partnership encourages people to follow MTV on Foursquare, check in after getting tested and shout “GYT” to their followers. After doing so, users will earn the GYT badge, and thereby make it known that they’re taking control of their sex lives. Those who score the badge will also be entered to win a trip for two to New York City, as well as backstage passes to MTV’s 10 on Top.

So, will people check in and display their badge proudly?  In honor of the new endeavor, I will attempt to get my own when I go to my own clinic to do more prenatal care and testing (prenatal care is taking charge of your sex life too, right?).

And if they won’t give me a badge, at least I should maintain my reign as mayor of the place.