Who I Am Now (This Is a Coming Out Post)

October 29, 2016.Reading time 23 minutes.

I wasn’t ready to come out. Then a stranger sent an email to my coworkers and I didn’t have a choice anymore.

I, Ella Dawson, Am a Slut with Herpes

September 24, 2016.Reading time 11 minutes.

I lost my virginity at eighteen, because real sluts wait until they can also vote and buy lottery tickets.

An Open Letter to the Bachelor In Paradise Producers, From an Abuse Survivor

August 2, 2016.Reading time 6 minutes.

You failed the women of this franchise, and you failed the survivors of Intimate Partner Violence who watch your shows.

Why I’m Taking a Summer Vacation From Activism

July 4, 2016.Reading time 12 minutes.

Barring an unforeseen celebrity scandal, I don’t want to publish the word “herpes” until the heat breaks in Brooklyn.

Everything 2015 Taught Me About Harassment

December 31, 2015.Reading time 11 minutes.

It would be easy to say 2015 was about herpes. In reality, this year was about my voice and the Internet and growing up and falling short. I conquered some demons by capturing a specter in words. I gained a few thousand Twitter followers. I broke my own heart and never wrote about it. I moved into […]

We Can’t Allow Sexual Harassment In The Herpes Community

December 21, 2015.Reading time 15 minutes.

UPDATE 4/21/2016: Although I will always stand by the contents of the letter below, I no longer feel comfortable endorsing the work of Rafaella Gunz going forward. While I wish her well, we have professional differences as activists and as writers. The headline of this post has been changed to reflect that. No matter the circumstances, the sexual […]

Why I Stand With Planned Parenthood

November 27, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’m watching CNN. There is an active shooter at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado and the exact number of casualties is unknown. They don’t know much other than the gender of the gunman: male. People on Twitter think he’s white. I can’t help but feel numb, watching talking heads bicker about if this could […]

The Selfie Tradition: 2015 Edition

November 21, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

I made a pact with myself last year to take a selfie and share it every November 21st. The date has special significance to me; November 21st, 2013 was the night I met some of my closest friends who put me back on track to being a smug, self-loving bitch after six months of struggling with my herpes diagnosis. I […]

To The Teenage Girls Who Have Herpes

October 20, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

This world will tell you that you are worthless: because you are a girl, because you are sexually active, because you have a virus, because you have a voice. Don’t listen to it.