Turns Out You Can't Just Use Bert and Ernie in Your STD Awareness Campaign
The makers of Sesame Street, understandably, have threatened to send a cease and desist letter to a company for featuring Bert and Ernie in STD awareness ads.
Where Is the Kickstarter For the Koala Condom
Koalas. You know about koalas, right? Cute, slightly vicious, love tickling, delightful little creatures who CAN’T STOP GIVING EACH OTHER CHLAMYDIA.
Herpes Was the Best Thing to Happen to My Stand-Up Career
Any good comedian knows that if there is something you hate about yourself (or rather when, for otherwise you wouldn’t be a comedian), you turn it into a joke.
Bobby Jindal Cut Planned Parenthood Funding, Blames Them for Teen Pregnancy and STIs
In a radio interview Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal blamed the state’s high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections on Planned Parenthood, saying they’re evidence that PP is “awful at what they do.” Under Jindal, Louisiana cut millions from the family planning budget. Jindal also signed…
How to Tell a Potential Partner You Have an STI
The CDC estimates that you have a 50% chance of getting a sexually transmitted infection before you turn 25. Even though STIs are remarkably common, most people feel uncomfortable having honest conversations about safety with new sexual partners. Having an STI is never going to be a walk in the park, but sharing your…
After NYC Reduced Funding For STD Clinics, STD Rates Skyrocketed
In March of this year, the most popular free STD clinic in New York City was shut down. BuzzFeed reports it was the third closing of a major NYC clinic in five years, and one of the many “discreet changes” to public health services made since 2010. Turns out, when you spends less money on STD prevention, STD rates go…
Campaign For HPV Vaccine Requirement May Have Been Hasty, Backfired
Gardasil, the brand name for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, serves as a shield against nine strains of the virus which cumulatively comprise 90 percent of cervical cancer cases in the United States. So why are public schools so reticent to require it?
"Ben and I Did Have Sex in the Ocean": A Field Guide to The Bachelor Sex
“Season 11, Week 6: Dublin, Ireland”: A Bachelorette episode which will live in infamy.
Scientists May Have Finally Discovered a Chlamydia Vaccine
Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, infecting around 1.4 million people in the United States in 2012. The infection is gnarly: it can lead to ectopic pregnancies, pneumonia, and infertility in women, and can also cause blindness if you get the infection in your eyes (which you should…
Tinder to Blame for STD Increase, Says RI Department of Health
Tinder, the illustrious scapegoat of Internet dating, is now allegedly to blame for the uptick in STD cases in the states of Rhode Island and Utah, where apparently unprotected sex has been en vogue, say state officials.
School With No Sex Ed Doesn't Have a Chlamydia Outbreak After All
No one was surprised last week when news broke that a small-town school without a sex education program was teeming with chlamydia. Unfortunately, that story has proven to be false, leaving a tiny Texas town traumatized with embarrassment over an error reported as fact by the school’s superintendent.
The Blogger Who Tells the Whole World About Her Genital Herpes
Women’s Health has an essay today from Ella Dawson, a 22-year-old who wants you to know she has genital herpes. After her diagnosis in college, Dawson, whose day job is on TED’s social media team, has also made a second career writing frequently, openly and quite cheerily about the past two years of living, dating,…
A Very Special 1944 Message to Women from the Government About STDs
Recently, we all had a good laugh at an inappropriately upbeat PSA from the early 70s, warning America that VD is for everybody. But it seems downright contemporary compared to this 1944 special message to women, in which a VERY disappointed family physician informs a young woman that she has gonorrhea.
Oklahoma Senator Proposes Bill to Keep Marriage STD-Free
A bill proposed by Oklahoma state Sen. Anthony Sykes (R) would mandate that all couples seeking a marriage license undergo a blood test "for the discovery of syphilis and other communicable or infectious diseases."
STD Map Lets You See How Many of Your Neighbors Have the Clap
If you live in California, Texas, Michigan or New York, you probably know someone who has the clap. If you’re in Alaska, it wouldn't be unwise to just assume you have the clap.
Planned Parenthood to Offer Birth Control and Counseling Online
Birth control for everyone! Planned Parenthood services are available online if you live in Minnesota and Washington state and need medication and, soon, counseling for sexually transmitted diseases. They’re basically a nurse in your purse.
New Tampon Could Prevent HIV So Women Can Safely Ride Bareback
A team of bioengineers have developed a dissolvable "tampon" that delivers medication that prevents HIV minutes before having sex. Currently in clinical trials, the hope is that the product will eventually allow us all to raw dog it.
Need a Professional Opinion on That Scary Dick Rash? Use This App!
Got a worrisome pustule on your crotch that's probably an ingrown hair but could theoretically be something more serious? Well, there's now an app called First Derm that'll allow you to text a doc a pic of your, ahem, situation. Finally, you can stop pestering your friends in the medical profession about your oozing…
We Got Genital Herpes From Making Sweet Love to Chimps
It turns out that herpes simplex virus 2—the penis/vagina/butthole kind with which 25 percent of American humans are currently infected—is a result of some ancient bestiality between our ancestors and chimpanzees, which lends a whole new meaning to "hot monkey love."
Heads Up: Lots of People Have Herpes. Maybe Even You!
Since knowledge is power, Vox would like you to know that you definitely, probably most likely have herpes. Don't you feel powerful?
