Those of us who have so-called genital herpes are caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand we are ostracized by the minority of the population (about 40%) who dont currently have herpes simplex in their body, which is bad enough, but more cruelly we are often isolated by our fellow members of the herpes community who have so-called cold sores (heroes simplex 1 of the mouth and face). Frankly the lack of support form the majority of population who has cold sores bothers me far more than the stigma placed on me by unsympathetic members of the uninfected population. After-all they dont know what it feels like to have herpes so I can cut them some slack. But for those of you who have cold sores and continue pretending that you dont have herpes and who distance yourselves from those who have their outbreaks genitally rather than facially- shame on you. If it wasnt for your unwillingness to come to terms with the reality of your herpes infection, the herpes community would be a more united majority of the population far more empowered to boldly go out into the community and reject the unjust and irrational stigma placed on people with herpes.
Sixty percent of the...