Updating STI Vocabulary in Healthcare: Challenging Stigma and Promoting Inclusivity
There are a looooot of vocab revisions and updates that I’d love to see in the medical field around STIs, but I’ll start with a few of the most common:
1. “At least it’s not herpes.”
Reinforcing the good/bad and clean/dirty dichotomy as well as presenting the hierarchy of internalized stigma.
2. “Even though it’s herpes, at least it’s not HSV-2.”
A diagnosis of HSV-1, whether oral or genital, is a great teaching moment for providers. This is the most common question that I am asked, “Are cold sores herpes?” And “do I have to disclose.” This tells me what many of us already know: 1) people truly have no idea that cold sores are herpes and 2) they are unaware that it can be transmitted genitals, necessitating disclosure.
3. “Why didn’t you use a condom?”
Although there are condom variants, most folks mean “external condom” when they reference “condom.” This makes the assumption that a patient engages sexually with someone with a penis. Additionally, STIs transmitted through skin-to-skin contact (like herpes) can still be contracted through correct condom usage. A condom isn’t the determinant in someone’s positive diagnosis.
Medical and healthcare professionals are often seen as enforcers of sexual health and prestige and hold great impact over how we see, heal, and even experience our bodies. As healthcare providers, it is imperative to sit with your knowledge and vocabulary and understand where there may be holes, gaps, or assumptions. Patients and clients do take your advice to heart and will use it with their partners and more. Your words have the power to shape not only someone’s experience of a positive diagnosis, but how that person reacts and responds to STI stigma as a whole.