STIs aren’t a consequence. They’re inevitable. [Ella Dawson’s TEDx Talk With Transcript]

May 11, 2016.Reading time 26 minutes.

I don’t care how you got herpes. An STI is not a reflection of your character or a consequence of a bad decision.

So You’ve Just Been Diagnosed With Herpes

May 7, 2016.Reading time 27 minutes.

Here’s what you should know, from someone who has been through everything that you’re going through.

I Am Not “Suffering” From Herpes

March 14, 2016.Reading time 10 minutes.

I’m exhausted today. Someone I’m seeing came over late last night to, in his words, “fuck the shit out of me,” and by the time he left it was just shy of 1:30am. I took a shower and then lazed around in bed, smelling him in my hair and remembering how he kissed my neck, how […]

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 […]

All of My Coworkers Know I Have Herpes. It’s Great.

December 16, 2015.Reading time 7 minutes.

Tomorrow I’m giving a short talk about the work I’ve done this year to combat herpes stigma. Here’s the catch: I’m doing it at my office. For my entire company. Including everyone who works remotely on an internal live-stream. That’s somewhere between 150 and 200 of my coworkers, give or take a bunch of interns. […]

Today’s Headlines on the WHO Herpes Report: RANKED

October 29, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

This was a big day for herpes coverage. The World Health Organization released a study saying that 2 in 3 people in the entire world have HSV-1, and the Internet collectively freaked out. It was both glorious and terrible. Herpes trended on Facebook. I had a lot of feelings about it. So without further ado, […]

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.

Dear Internet Commenters Who Really Don’t Want Herpes,

October 8, 2015.Reading time 7 minutes.

Your Facebook comments have made me think. I’m not being facetious—whenever I read a comment from someone (usually a man) upset that rejecting someone who has an STI makes you a bad person, I wonder why you are so alarmed and defensive. When have I ever said that turning down someone herpes+ makes you a […]

How I Lost My Post-Herpes Virginity

October 4, 2015.Reading time 16 minutes.

He must have been nervous, too. When the night finally arrived, he pulled a Ziplock bag out of his backpack full of condoms from the student health center.

A Lesson In Herpes Stigma, Via Facebook Comments

September 12, 2015.Reading time 10 minutes.

The classic mantra of reading, writing and merely existing on the Internet is “Don’t read the comments.” Internet comments, and Facebook comments in particular, are widely discredited as a cesspool of nastiness and trolling. If the writer or subject of a given article is anyone other than a straight, white man, the comments are even worse. […]