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October 31, 2005
STD Positive Dating
Niche dating sites suffer from the very thing that they seek to attract: targeted audiences. You won’t get as many people on a dating site that caters to knitting fanatics as you would on a general site, such as eHarmony.
That’s part of the attraction, though, isn’t it? You don’t have to suffer through the process of sorting out those that don’t share the same interests or demographic. I’ve just recently completed a couple of reviews for our new STD dating section. After reading the stats on some of the diseases, such as up to 2/3rds of the public have Chlamydia but may not know it, I’m surprised we’re not all on STD sites! The best one I’ve seen so far is Positive Singles. What surprised me most was the number of members with profile photos. Obviously you need to post a photo for this whole “online dating thing” to work as it should. And although STD’s are a reality these days for a large percentage of the public, I was still amazed that this site actually had that many members who a) appeared real and b) were open about their STDs. Anyway, whatever your affliction happens to be, if you’re looking for love with some strings attached, this may be a great place to start!
Posted by CupidsReviews Doug at October 31, 2005 8:56 PM
Comments
I've been an STD Patient Advocate for many years and although I believe the STD dating sites are a good thing IN The beginning when a person may feel a bit overwhelmed or isolated, I believe they can quickly become a crutch that gives way to a life of isolation and limitations rather than the more positive alternative.
As a person who lives with an STD myself, I found that something as common as herpes or HPV shouldn't be all that limiting as the STD dating sites would like to have us think.
With 1 in 4 having genital herpes, 90 plus percent having oral herpes (easily transmittable via oral sex to become genital herpes) and as many as 90% plus having some type of HPV, I believe the mainstream dating sites would be wise to include something to do with STD's in their questionaires because statistically, the majority of their members have an STD.
I've ran support websites for nearly 8 years now and have witnessed many a success between a person who has herpes or hpv and one who does not. In fact, I married a man who didn't have herpes and we have a very happy healthy and NORMAL life.
I just don't think it's right for a person to make such a decision for someone they've yet to meet. We're all adults here and capable of making informed decisions all on our own :)
Thanks for addressing the topic of STD's though! The more focus it can get, the less likely we can crimp the senseless spread through knowledge.
Posted by: Gayla at November 2, 2005 11:46 AM
I read an article in Cosmopolitan magazine recently about special dating events for people who suffer from genital herpes.
Posted by: Illegally Blonde at November 2, 2005 2:08 PM
I've often said that STD-positive-dating is the one thing online dating--and not just niche sites, but in general--is good for. Being able to immediately narrow your pool to people who are LOOKING for that kind of disclosure and aren't going to automatically run the other way when they learn the truth is invaluable if you're in that position.
Posted by: Scott Cunning at November 6, 2005 11:55 PM
I am a man with HSV2 and without a community I don't know what I would have done. It was bad timing all around for me, as I'm sure it always is, but I had people to talk to with the same affliction, information and contacts in order to inquire further about the disease and I actually started meeting people! You are not alone!
Posted by: Dubya at February 13, 2009 4:54 AM
