Understanding Herpes Rejection: Bridging Science and Social Stigma
What we know herpes to be as strictly a virus, versus what society believes about herpes end up in confrontation with one another.
This happens during diagnosis, disclosure, media & social media interactions, and even in sex education spaces—especially those that are not comprehensive. The debate of science versus social representation is perpetuated through these same spaces (does this sound like a familiar debate?).
What is herpes, scientifically speaking? It’s a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that belongs to the virus family, herpesviridae. This virus family also includes chicken pox and shingles. The herpes simplex virus (HSV) is typically what people think of when they hear the word “herpes”. It is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, with or without symptoms, and can result in oral or genital lesions, though many remain asymptomatic or with minimal presenting symptoms. There are two types of HSV, HSV-1 (oral or genital) and HSV-2 (almost exclusively genital). It is a common infection when reviewing data and statistics from various sexual health resources (check @who, @ashasexualhealth, @cdcgov, etc.)
What does society say herpes is? The end of one’s sex and dating life. A consequence of moral action. Punishment. Shameful. An infection that only a certain “type” of person gets. Constant outbreaks.
Like many debates, the scientific evidence and social values are neither in alignment nor agreement. Typically, confrontation with one’s own herpes diagnosis, or someone else’s taps into deeply-held stigmas and shame about sexuality.
Rejection of someone with herpes is rarely rooted in science or statistics. Ones decision is more calculated and influenced by a potential partner’s moral and social beliefs about herpes and sexuality in general.