Herpes Diagnosis Stories
Everyone has a story. The same goes for people with herpes. These stories are usually shaped by the lack of sex education, social stigma of STIs, and religious and cultural influences about sexuality.
While there are some differences, stigma and shame tend to weave a common thread. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read a news article that go something like this:
1. Person shows symptoms of an STI
2. Person starts spiraling about testing positive
3. Person gets checked out and is confronted with a positive diagnosis
4. Spirals continue about future of dating, relationships, etc.
Does this sound like you? If you said, yes- me too in 2015.
Recently, someone went viral on TikTok (I won’t share the video for those that may be triggered, and just for the preservation of the person’s sanity after going viral) for one of these stories. The news is going to news. NBC picked up this person’s story.
These stories are usually presented alongside the narrative that we need more sex education. And, yes, that’s true! This particular article even links to an external write-up about how TikTok is this generation’s sex ed revolution (and that was in 2020). My point is this: If we’re really invested in breaking stigma and normalizing STIs, are these types of stories really “news” anymore?
I would argue no; many are clickbait that may exploit the person in focus. The sex ed community has grown in recent years, but there were some ahead of the curve (including Ella Dawson @brosandprose who has since stepped away from herpes work). Many of these individuals have been public with their diagnosis for 5, 10 and even 15 years. And we’re still here, fighting the same battles.
Storytelling is part of breaking stigma, but it doesn’t appear to be the only thing that’s going to break it down. I used to look at herpes as limiting and shameful. Now, it’s something I rarely think of on a daily basis.