Where did herpes stigma come from?

[dilemmagirl]

I am wondering when the herpes stigma started. Yes, it is a virus. But it's not as easily spread to other people like the flu virus, right? So how come, we have a stigma for herpes? You get a sore every now and then..but it goes away on its own even without medication. So what if you get it from having sex or kissing? You can get it if you drink from someone's glass who has the virus. I mean, what happened that people started to think of it as something so dreadful? People with STIs are seen as dirty, sluts, less of a person, and the list goes on. It is just so sad that some people judge other people with herpes without even finding out what that person went through. I hope someday the stigma will be gone.

[mr_hopp]

Yeah, weird, huh? :) Check out this blog article on the Herpes Opportunity blog:

http://herpeslife.com/inventing-herpes/

 

I believe the only way that herpes stigma will fade is when each of us who have shame about having herpes move through it into self-acceptance. Then instead of spreading shame and herpes, we spread knowledge and acceptance. We can't expect everyone else to accept herpes before we accept it ourselves.

[mr_hopp]

And by the way, what you said about passing herpes by drinking after someone is incorrect. It's a myth. Yes, quite a popular one, but a myth nonetheless. :) Check out this article for more on that:

http://herpeslife.com/how-can-you-get-herpes/