What Herpes Activism Looks Like In Trump’s America
It’s time to do the systemic work and take on the underlying structural issues that make herpes stigma so powerful.
Read MoreTag: herpes stigma
Why I Will Never Support Herpes Dating Sites
Let me be very clear: I will never endorse an STI dating site. Period. Ever. You’ve got the wrong woman.
Read MoreWhy I’m Taking a Summer Vacation From Activism
Barring an unforeseen celebrity scandal, I don’t want to publish the word “herpes” until the heat breaks in Brooklyn.
Read MoreWatch My TEDx Talk: STIs aren’t a consequence. They’re inevitable. [With Transcript]
I don’t care how you got herpes. An STI is not a reflection of your character or a consequence of a bad decision.
Read MoreWhy I Don’t Call Herpes a “Gift”
We need to make space for nuance as the conversation about STIs becomes more than the occasional personal essay on a lady blog.
Read MoreHow to Give a TEDx Talk When the Internet Wants You to Shut the Fuck Up
CW: threats of violence, encouragement of suicide and self-harm, gendered slurs, sexualized harassment On Saturday morning, I woke up at 7am. I took a shower, got dressed, did my makeup, chugged a Diet Coke, and picked up two of my best friends. We swung through the Middletown Dunkin Donuts for coffee and breakfast, and then […]
Read MoreI Am Not “Suffering” From Herpes
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 […]
Read MoreWhy Should I Date Someone With Herpes?
Here’s another pet peeve of my email inbox: when a man (because it’s almost always a man) asks me if he should continue seeing this woman he’s been dating who just told him she has herpes. Sometimes the question is data-based, about what transmission statistics are real. Sometimes the question is esoteric, about whether or not […]
Read MoreBachelorella: We Need To Retire The Las Vegas Herpes Joke
I haven’t been writing Bachelorella recaps this season of The Bachelor because I am busy and tired and nothing interesting has happened. And then tonight The Bachelor put Ben H.’s harem of girlfriends on a jet (or, possibly, on a passive aggressive party bus) and dragged them to Las Vegas. And I cringed, because I knew what was […]
Read MoreWhy Having A Boyfriend Doesn’t Cure Herpes
We’ve all read that essay: the woman who gets herpes because she caves to temptation just once and has a regrettable one-night-stand, but goes on to find happiness because she meets that one man who loves her just as she is, STI and all. You can find it in glossy women’s magazines and anonymous chat […]
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