![]() : A virtual, inclusive support group that hosts women and all-gender meetings each month.Ella Dawson and her TEDxTalk : Although Ella Dawson is retired from herpes activism, her work remains as a foundational resource for those working through the effects of herpes stigma and their partners.American Sexual Health Association : More user-friendly than the CDC’s website while maintaining itself as a source for facts.Additional new resources for herpes-positive folks have also popped up in the years since my diagnosis.īelow are a few of my favorite resources (ones I wish I had had when I was diagnosed): It’s more than just a set of statistics or government guidelines it’s something that lets herpes-positive people acknowledge, confront, and work through stigma in their own time. It’s a tangible tool that can be used in medical and therapy offices, with partners, and most importantly, with yourself. I also created the Resilience Affirmation Deck, a card deck with thirty-three affirmations for those working to reclaim their identity and overcome the stigma around STIs. It's dedicated to redefining the narratives around herpes and other STIs and relationships. This lack of resources led me to create my website and instagram, Se圎LDucation. I've found trans and queer representation in pamphlets and resources to be nearly non-existent, leaving many doctors without recommendations and guidelines to share with these patients. There's also inadequate information for anyone diagnosed with herpes who identifies as part of a minority group. You also likely won't be aware if you are experiencing asymptomatic viral shedding, which means the herpes virus is active and still transmissible without visible symptoms.Īmidst nights of bathing in uncertainty, I began to learn just how little my sex education and undergraduate coursework had actually taught students about herpes. While there are estimates of transmission rates and studies on the impact of suppressive antiviral therapy, everyone’s body responds differently to the virus and treatment methods. That's one of the most difficult aspects of being diagnosed with herpes, or any STI. I remember nights when I stayed up until two and three o’clock in the morning scouring forums, blogs, and the crevices of Google search results for answers to questions like, “what is my rate of transmission to sexual partners?” and “how many outbreaks will I have going forward?”īut a lot of these questions don't have definitive answers. So I did what anyone with questions and elevated levels of anxiety does: I turned to the internet. After all, the only media representations of people with herpes that I recalled involved rejection and humiliation. I wondered how much they were paid to pose for the images. ![]() The photographs of happy partners with hopeful futures seemed fake. The more I scanned the herpes informational pamphlets I was given, the further removed I felt. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |