Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Are Not…

According to Merriam-Webster, a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) is any of various diseases or infections that can be transmitted by direct sexual contact including some (as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and genital herpes) chiefly spread by sexual means and others (as hepatitis B and [HIV]/AIDS) often contracted by nonsexual means.

Does that make sense?

In case it doesn’t, I’d like to shed some light – for comprehension purposes of course.

Sexually transmitted diseases are common, and unfortunately so, because the lack of factual information provided and absorbed by our youth and quite frankly, even some “educated” adults. Generally, when we see mention of a common STD (i.e. chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV) it’s usually coming from social media in the form of a joke or a defamation of character.

That reminds me - whatever your beliefs are, please don’t read any further if you do so with ill intentions.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can move forward.

We are here to educate ourselves. In the case you learn that a loved one has or has had an STD, you can be a person of comfort and acceptance, rather than a person who exhibits shame and judgment***. If you think that you have no loved ones who have or have had a sexually transmitted disease… I applaud you for the bubble you’ve created for yourself. I also applaud your loved one(s) for choosing well in not spilling that tea to you because you may not have been ready to hear it.

***Correction. It shouldn’t take a loved one’s diagnosis for anyone to have compassion for those affected. We are here to educate ourselves so we can be the change. We are here to educate ourselves so we can be an ally in the fight to advocate for normalizing getting tested and getting the help needed thereafter.

In an attempt to alleviate some of the misconception about STDs – and there is a lot of it – I would like to do a little debunking.

1. No one deserves to have STDs transmitted to them, no matter how sexually fluid they are.

2. People who have or have had an STD are NOT dirty, no matter how many partners they’ve had.

3. Folks should not be disrespected for having STDs, even if you decide to refrain from engaging.

Apologies if you’re uncomfortable. I hope it’s uncomfortable because you just can’t believe I had to debunk those idiocies. There’s no way there are individuals in 2020 who are so uneducated and ignorant to think that people living with STDs are dirty, right? Wrong.

Believe me, I am uncomfortable having to do this myself however, it’s critical to have these types of conversations. I can recall an occasion where I was surrounded by peers who were discussing sexually transmitted diseases. I recall in this particular conversation I was in observation mode, absorbing different opinions and noticed some signs of disgust.

Statistically speaking, there was at least one person who was actually diagnosed with some type of STD. That fact alone gave me sorrow to think how they must have to shield themselves from the disapproval of their friends and family day in and day out, just to feel accepted and safe.

That moment has stayed with me since. It was made very clear how ill-informed and judgmental we can be as a society. Although I didn’t offer any insight of my own during that conversation, I knew then I had to be a voice going forward.

Today I will use my voice to say, “Be understanding. Be sympathetic. Be kind.”

Love,

Autumn