SPFPP 257: OHA Series - Testing Positive Made Me Sex Positive

Zia is 22 and tested positive for genital herpes last year during the pandemic and in college. Her experience with the health care providers was neutral and she saw Planned Parenthood. Our discussion brought up this idea that what she learned through sex positivity could’ve been more useful to her if integrated in sex education. Her education was a group project where groups presented what they found on Google about different STIs and the message was “if you have symptoms, get tested”. Nothing on communication, frequency of testing, the fact that condoms on penises aren’t the only thing to discuss with sex and how sex and intercourse are so locked together when we discuss the two. We’re beginning to see a need to separate intercourse from sex, sex from sexuality, and pleasure from sex so that we can best offer transparent, consistent, accurate information to guide youth into their experiences with sex when they get there. An interesting note was that the sex ed she received potentially doing more harm than having any impact at all. She said it made no difference, but we’ll explore this in future interviews.

Link to Thesis on herpes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRyqQ0klBlgMA80nmlYRit5kyopGtN5cpZTBxPnYnIhaexnk4gN1RjLLLlATXLVZHGe4BL4-RUPvoGw/pub