XPost: alt.fatty-fuckers, sac.general, alt.journalism.newspapers   
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   From: the-faggot-network@cbs.com   
      
   “I thought I had Herpes for seven months: The overstigmatized   
   public health clusterfuck that is HSV-2”   
      
   This is a post from someone who wishes to remain unnamed, about   
   their experiences of having, or believing that they had genital   
   herpes. I am myself a carrier of HSV2. I am very public and open   
   about my status. I have largely been protected by some privilege   
   that allows me to carry this condition without it having   
   affected my life so much, and thus I talk about it often and   
   wear it on my sleeve in an attempt to break the stigma. After   
   living with this for years now, I’d posit that one of the most   
   damaging aspects of HSV2, is not the breakouts, but the harmful   
   way those with the virus are treated by others.   
      
   It is not, of course, as easy for everyone to be this open, and   
   my hope is that writing about it might start that dialogue that   
   will bring this era of HSV stigmatization to an end. Whilst the   
   relief of finding out that one is not a carrier (as per this   
   story) must be immense, for me the lesson here, is that we need   
   to stop panicking about this relatively harmless and extremely   
   common virus, that, with two vaccines underway, will likely be   
   eliminated in our lifetimes regardless.   
   - Zarinah   
   —   
   I thought I had Herpes for seven months: The overstigmatized   
   public health clusterfuck that is HSV-2   
      
   STDs are the kind of thing that happen to other people — until   
   they happen to you.   
      
   I’ve always thought, perhaps naively, that with a bit of   
   conscientiousness and some positive thinking, I could avoid   
   contracting an STD. I’m a man who has sex with men, almost never   
   penetrative, and didn’t see my sexual behavior as carrying too   
   much of a risk.   
      
   This is the story of the time I thought I had Herpes for seven   
   months, only to learn that I didn’t, and what I learned along   
   the way about how backwards our culture addresses this condition.   
      
   The warning   
   One day, I received a text message from a past hookup. He had   
   tested positive for Chlamydia and warned that I may have been   
   exposed and should be tested. It didn’t seem like a huge deal to   
   me — Chlamydia can be cured with a brief course of antibiotics —   
   but he was having a rough time telling everyone he’d slept with,   
   one of whom responded with a ton of anger. “No sweat,” I   
   replied, and went online to schedule an STD test.   
      
   I prefer taking charge of my own health when a doctor isn’t   
   strictly required, so I signed up for a test on   
   stdtestexpress.com, checking the box for each STD. Within an   
   hour or so, I was at a Quest Diagnostics getting my blood drawn.   
   And in a few short days, I received an email with my results.   
      
   It was a beautiful Saturday around noon, and I was about to walk   
   into a friend’s house to begin a packed and exciting day. Just   
   before walking in I opened an email and clicked the link.   
      
   In big, red, bold letters: “You are positive for herpes II”.   
      
   A punch in the gut. I sat down on the sidewalk, breathing hard.   
   My sexual life was over. Physical connection was denied. I was a   
   leper.   
      
   For the rest of the day, I quietly reeled inside. It was an hour   
   before I was able to bring it up with my friend. His sympathy   
   was soothing, though I kept reminding myself that he did not   
   have this curse to bear. That night I went to a party, where it   
   was overwhelming to look at the happy people connecting around   
   me. Twice, I pulled a friend aside and broke down, confessing.   
   One of them, it turned out, had HSV-2 as well. There is life   
   after it, she reassured me.   
      
   I had done everything right: used protection, minimized my risk…   
   I even got the optional HPV vaccine, paying out of pocket,   
   because I didn’t want to be the cause of someone else (or   
   myself) getting cancer. It felt like I was being penalized for   
   being conscientious. I alternated between casual nonchalance and   
   despondence.   
      
   Like something out of the 1950s   
   The next day I did a lot of research and learned more about HSV-   
   2. It’s possible to have the virus and be asymptomatic (I never   
   had symptoms.) It’s also possible to spread when you don’t have   
   symptoms.   
      
   The statistics shocked me: depending on the population, 20–80%   
   of people have the virus. And 90% of people who have it don’t   
   know it.   
   Why? It turns out that the CDC doesn’t actually recommend   
   testing for the virus unless you have symptoms, saying that   
   “there is no evidence that diagnosing genital herpes with a   
   blood test in someone without symptoms would change their sexual   
   behavior and stop the virus from spreading […] the risk of   
   shaming and stigmatizing people outweighs the potential   
   benefits.”   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)