The Truth About Dating With Herpes, Women Tell All
To offer insight into what it’s like navigating sex and dating as a Black woman with herpes, four ladies volunteered to share their stories. Woman pictured is a model, not the subject; Getty/Klaus Vedfelt
Dating is hard. In the dating world, Black women are often made to feel like they aren’t good enough and not worthy of actual healthy, loving and meaningful relationships. Add having herpes to the mix, and things can get even more complicated.
There’s such a stigma surrounding sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially herpes. Shame, fear, confusion, and assumptions about herpes is due to misinformation and a general lack of knowledge. The truth is, it’s extremely common. It’s so common that many people already have it but just don’t talk about it. According to the CDC, more than one in six people have genital herpes (caused by HSV-2). And per Johns Hopkins Medicine, between 50 to 80 percent