Ignorance is bliss: STIs, stigma, and the fear of testing

By Jack Randall, Second Year English

Remarkably, there is still a level of shame and fear of stigmatization associated with contracting an STI. Even today in Bristol—a right-thinking city with a student body that’s been through years of sex-ed—these anxieties still linger. But what harm does STI stigma really do? And why, in the modern day, do we still feel ashamed?

The unease many people feel around STIs owes to several reasons: the diseases themselves often don’t have the most aesthetically pleasing of symptoms, and they affect some of the most private areas on our bodies—areas with an innate sense of vulnerability.

But this is only half the story. There are many unpleasant diseases we view sympathetically, as afflictions, on which we don’t pass any judgment at all. Whilst it doesn’t help that STIs can look and feel unpleasant, the truth is that feelings of shame are typically triggered by disparaging moral judgements from others.

There is a ‘Type to get an STI,’ one student told Epigram, ‘dirty’ people who ‘don’t wash themselves after sex’.

But this is a falsehood. Whilst you may contract a UTI through poor personal hygiene, cleanliness has nothing to do with the transmission of STIs: anybody can contract one. You don’t have to be unclean, you don’t have to be particularly unsafe, and you don’t have to be engaging in casual sex with multiple partners. To catch an STI you only have to have unprotected sex once; the difference between catching one and not is, in most cases, dumb luck.

The longer you wait to get tested, the more damage you could potentially do to yourself and to others.

Still, the desire to moralise about these diseases persists. If left untreated they can become serious, but rather than admit that anyone can catch an STI, some may instead compartmentalize and blur the lines between behaviour and character. Rather than placing the stigma on the act of unprotected sex, they place it on the person themselves: it is a certain ‘type’ of person that these things happen to—dirty, or irresponsible or promiscuous. In the case of the 1980s AIDS epidemic—an age pervaded by a rampant homophobia—or the Great Pox of the 16th century, STIs could even act as an indicator of moral perversion.

When these stigmas persist it can be hard for many not to feel ashamed and even afraid of a diagnosis, even in progressive communities. Concealing these anxieties, and wilfully rejecting testing out of fear of stigmatization, serves to exacerbate the issue. ‘It’s just like blissful ignorance at the moment’, said one student, explaining why she hasn't got tested.

Though ignorance sometimes may be bliss, in the case of STIs it’s only bliss for so long, and at that point, it can already be too late

The most prevalent STIs in Bristol, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, are often asymptomatic. Chlamydia, which accounted for roughly 45 per cent of new STIs in 2019 , shows no symptoms in three-quarters of women and half of men. Gonorrhoea, which accounted for eleven percent of new STIs in 2019, making it the third most common in Bristol, shows no symptoms in half of women and one-tenth of men. Both diseases, if left untreated, can still lead to infertility. In these cases, the only way to find out if you are infected is either by getting tested or by the people you infect tracing it back to you.

The longer you wait to get tested, the more damage you could potentially do to yourself and to others.

The irony of the testing fear is that catching an STI early contributes substantially to the effectiveness of treatment. Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and even syphilis (which is on the rise in Bristol) can be cured with a short course of antibiotics or a single injection if caught in the early stages and can potentially be out of your life in two weeks. Even for diseases like HIV and herpes that can't be directly cured, treatments work more effectively the earlier they are administered. Their effects can be significantly reduced and the diseases themselves can be rendered largely untransmissible. Though STIs can do plenty of damage if left untreated, implementing proper precautions—such as testing and early treatment—can mitigate the effects that even the more serious sexual diseases may have upon your sex life.

Though ignorance sometimes may be bliss, in the case of STIs it’s only bliss for so long, and at that point, it can already be too late.

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You can order free, unmarked test kits for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and syphilis through Unity Sexual Health , even if you’re asymptomatic. It's recommended that you test every time you have unprotected sex with a new partner. If you have symptoms, you can arrange an in-person appointment at the Student Health Service.

The tests are quick and non-invasive, and prescriptions can be given soon after a positive result. In the words of one student: ‘When I had gonorrhoea it got treated faster than if I’d had a chest infection. You just have to get over the fact of getting tested. Once you've done that, it can be far less scary than you'd have thought’.

Featured Image: Unsplash / Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition

How do you think STI stigma can be challenged?