Why STI Jokes Amidst Election Anxiety Are Harmful
This is not the week.
There’s a clear resurgence of STI-related jokes amidst the election. One of the biggest ones, the “Stop the Donald” (STD) campaign. Although Trump is a poor excuse of a human labeling him as an STD tells me more about your beliefs, assumptions, and ignorance about STIs than it does about Trump.
Labeling Trump as an STD tells me that you equate everyone with STIs with similar qualities and characteristics. Which begs the question, what exactly are those labels? I’m sure not anything remotely becoming.
Further disappointing is that I see a lot of accounts and friends liking a post by @thetinderblog (second slide) that compares electoral anxiety to anxiety around an STI test.
The electoral anxiety is real. The STI anxiety is fueled by your internalized stigma around receiving a positive diagnosis.
If you or someone you know receives a positive STI diagnosis (which is a likely chance, probably more than most assume), I know that you will move beyond the stigma. It might not be immediate, but I know that you will overcome the stigma. And without sounding too clinical, all STIs are curable, treatable, or manageable.
There isn’t a cure or treatment for the election results and what may ensue after. I can’t respond with certainty in that regard.
Look. I know we all need a laugh. But it’s clear we all need additional education around why using STIs as humor is unacceptable, especially considering how many people are diagnosed with an STI each day (around 1 million).
I’ll be posting tools of what I hope will offer guidance and clarity around navigating humor and confrontation of STI stigma. But for now I’m just disappointed.