'Playboy' playmate exposes her personal experience with AIDS

Playboy magazine models can draw crowds whether or not they are posing naked, a strength several University organizations capitalized on last night to help promote AIDS awareness. Rebekka Armstrong, a former Playboy playmate diagnosed with the AIDS virus eight years ago, fielded questions from nearly 100 Penn students in an event designed to educate them about sexually transmitted diseases. The speech was organized by the InterFraternity Council, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Connaissance and Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health. Although she admitted to having unprotected sex with numerous partners, Armstrong believes she contracted HIV at age 16, when she had an abortion that required a blood transfusion. Today, she is a married woman who still poses for magazines and travels around the country to lecture to audiences about the disease. Although no medical cure for the virus has been developed yet, Armstrong broke down momentarily when she told the students, "My cure is knowing that there are people here that want to know." She attributed her positive attitude to a supportive network of family and friends. "My husband kicks my ass when I want to give up," she said. "And my brother is my biggest fan." Armstrong stressed the importance of educating society about the dangers of unprotected sex, emphasizing that "the thing that bothers me the most is people's ignorance about the virus?. If you're going to do it, protect yourself." Although Armstrong's message was a positive one, her affiliation with Playboy generated some controversy. The Playboy Foundation funded Armstrong's visit and several Playboy representatives attended the speech. Mary Layden, director of the Education Center for Cognitive Therapy and a representative of the Social Action Committee for Women's Psychological Health, staged a protest outside the event because she felt Armstrong was representing an organization that promotes unsafe sex. Layden said there is a "connection between Playboy and sexual violence." During the talk, Armstrong faced a variety of questions, including whether she feels Playboy promotes safe sex and if she has a problem representing the magazine. Addressing the question for Armstrong, Playboy representative Alison Raleigh said, "Playboy is very positive about what it says about sex." Raleigh also noted the Playboy Foundation's support for speakers such as Armstrong and the magazine's frequent "Playboy Reform" editorials which promote safe sex. And she stressed that "Playboy does not display pornography. It displays pictures about sex." Despite the controversy, students who attended the event were impressed by what Armstrong had to say. Kevin Schwartz, a College sophomore and SAE brother, said he thought "she was great." College junior Jennifer Pearl praised Armstrong for her openness and for being able to relate to the students. "She acted at our level," Pearl said.

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