Reader Submitted Question: I am in my 20’s, and I contracted HSV1 when I was a teenager. I had sexual contact with one male and had safe sex with another male, and both did not know I carried the virus then. I have struggled for the last few years with HSV1 but have a supportive family & boyfriend. […]
An Op-Ed about STD Stigma – Part 3
This essay was submitted anonymously after the author participated in the STI Interviews. This is part 3 of a 3 part series. Statistics help to show just how common STDs are. According to the CDC, genital herpes is one of the most common STDs, and in the United States, about 1 in 5 people are infected. […]
An Op-Ed about STD Stigma – Part 2
This essay was submitted anonymously after the author participated in the STI Interviews. This is part 2 of a 3 part series. The fact of the matter is, if you’re having sex, you are putting yourself at risk for an STD, and you should be getting tested for STDs. Most STDs don’t have symptoms, and the person […]
An Op-Ed about STD Stigma – Part 1
This essay was submitted anonymously after the author participated in the STI Interviews. This is part 1 of a 3 part series. Many people toss around jokes as if the only way they can get an STD is to sleep with tons of people. In high school, almost daily, girls bashed each other with names like […]
Post Molluscum Contagiosum – After the STD Interview
Of the many messages we receive from our readers, there’s one type we never tire of, and that’s a success story. A little over a year ago, this reader reached out anonymously via the contact form and shared her STD Interview with us. Recently, she sent a follow-up message to let us know the molluscum contagiosum she […]
Safer Sex: Are Condoms the Man’s Responsibility?!
A-HEM! (Prepare yourself: safer sex rant to follow…) Having heard a lot (a-hem, too much) of this lately, there’s one sexual health myth needing my immediate attention. Some folks, and, by some, I mean those who are in heterosexual relationships, in particular, believe it is the man’s responsibility to buy condoms or bring them along […]
Forgotten About – Genital Warts – STI Interviews
Submitted anonymously via the contact form, this interviewee has a point: genital warts – the low-risk, wart-causing strains of HPV – are rarely addressed in the media or even via medical websites. The effect is those who’ve contracted them sometimes feel most alone. Commonly, it’s the benign forms of STDs that get publicly ridiculed – […]
HSV2 & HPV – Learning How to Deal with a New Type of Anxiety – STI Interviews
This interviewee reached out to me directly via the contact form. After exchanging a couple of emails, she asked how she could help and/or support The STI Project, so we asked her to share her story. What follows is a remarkable and insightful look into dating with an STD, the mental battle one undergoes when […]
