Love in the Time of Herpes
Since we first started writing about sex nine (!) years ago, we've been passionate about providing safer sex info along with our sex advice. (And yes, we always insist on saying safer sex--because the only truly safe sex is with your own right hand.) We are so freakin' sick and tired of people complaining that using condoms and discussing your sexual history with a partner before doing the deed is "unsexy." And another thing we're sick and tired of? Sexual freakin' ignorance.
[Video: Do you ask about your partner's sexual history before sex?]
We're currently shooting a TV show based on our most recent manual, and as we were rehearsing a segment about STDs, one of the producers said, "You can't just say HPV, no one will know what you're talking about." To which Lo replied, tongue-only-half-in-cheek, "You probably have it." Seriously, people, 75 percent of you will be exposed to this virus at some point. Which makes it officially bigger than ANTM and American Idol combined. And yet no one in the entire studio had heard of HPV. Er, what?!!
[Video: A trip to Babeland opens up the wonderful world of condoms.]
And yet another thing which really gets our goat? The fact that, despite their popularity, STDs are still so stigmatized that people feel they have to lie about them in order to get laid. Which only makes things even more miserable for the few brave souls who decide to fess up. Which is why our new blog crush is Love in the Time of Herpes. Here's an excerpt from her latest post:
"I did everything by the book. I am not a prude, but picky, and actually always had a fear of contracting an STD. I would obnoxiously ring off the statistic to my friends, 'You know, one in four people have an STD, and condoms don't protect you from everything.'...The guy who gave me GHSV [genital herpes] was someone I knew and trusted, in my circle of friends...We used a condom. Isn't this what people do? Four days later I was at Planned Parenthood in tears, with a virus in my body that's never going to go away. My body, that I have always taken care of so well, that my mother took care of so lovingly before that. And one night of (protected!!!) sex, and I've thrown it away. (I haven't really, but that's how it felt at the time.)"
Give this blogger a medal for her services to the safer sex industry!
Related Links from Daily Bedpost and Glamour:
