I'm glad she mentioned her father's joke. HSV is the butt of a lot of jokes (including a few I've seen in the Merc), but they're really heartbreaking for people with HSV to hear. Makes people with it feel more like freaks.

Thank you so much for this, Dan. And i second @1. The jokes need to stop. Believe me, living with this disease is not fucking funny. It is, or can be, excrutiating. Particularly for women. An outbreak can feel like someone is pouring acid on your genitalia every time you try to pee. It can also be accompanied by knock-your-ass-down for a few days, flu like symptoms. And, for me, it has made me feel utterly disgusting. i hate having to even touch myself when i bathe. The psychological & social stigma of this disease is just as bad as the physical. And it's time to do what we can ( looking at you Mercury ) to stop that.

@2 ~ True, HSV is not HIV. Noone is claiming that. But, it is a disease that is, presently, incurable. And it can spread throughout the body. From the mouth, to the anus, to the eyes, & , particularly in the elderly, to the brain. Which is fatal. And i would think that someone from a community that has suffered so much from the stigma & the loss of a devastating disease, you might have a little more compassion for those who have to live with this.

Anyways, again, thanks for posting this, Dan. i too have come to realize that while it's not exactly a superpower, it will most certainly weed out those who are less than real. In other words, people that i AM interested in. It still hurts, & it still sucks. But, that's why we need to stop using this disease as the butt of jokes, or the ultimate put down. It really does hurt. i even wrote an I, A about :)

One last thing ~ the more that we shame this disease, & hence shame those who have it, the less willing people will be to be open about their status. i know of people, who i will not associate with, who know they have it, but will say nothing for fear of rejection. And hence, they risk infecting their partners. Not good people, obviously. But we as a society are attaching the shame & stigma to this disease & making it all the more likely for people to say nothing. And therefore, we are all, in part, responsible for its spread.

I agree... no more "jokes" about herpes. I got herpes from my husband after 12 years of marriage... the only man I have ever had sex with. He did not intend to hurt me, and I have very few outbreaks because I am healthy and fit, but the casual comments suggesting that a person who has herpes is a slut or dirty fill me with rage and shame. Luckily, I'm not in the position to disclose as I intend to keep the husband, but I commend this woman for doing so.