Thread by @beingyoked

Ok, buckle in for one of those stories that make you go “Whaaa…?” with a life lesson at the end. Brought to you in partnership with @FemiClear #LetsOpenUp #partner 1/

About a decade ago, I was in the wedding of my ex-future sister-in-law. I was there with my husband (then bf), my ex, his wife who hates me, and more. Only half of that is relevant to the story, but the background - gossip, whatever - is important to the context. 2/

Me & my ex-future-SILs went to an adult store. The bride-to-be had never been to one and we thought it would be fun to take her before the big day. I was fornicating to my heart’s content at the time, so any chance to find some goodies at the sex store, I was in! 3/

As we strolled along the fun-time aisles, I wandered over into the lubricants. Tingly, tasty, slippy and slide-y…I picked up one that had this warning on it. It said something about it shouldn’t be used if you had a certain health condition. I asked the clerk what it meant… 4/

He said that anyone who had herpes should be careful when using it. I remember being freaked out and throwing it back on the shelf. It was as if, somehow, touching the bottle would give me herpes. 5/

But that’s not how you get herpes. If you don’t know how you get it, it’s the same way you get babies.*

*HerpesIsASexuallyTransmittedDiseaseContractedThroughOralOrGenitalIntercourseWithAnInfectedPerson. ThisActivityHasAlsoBeenKnownToCausePregnancy. Some exclusions apply. 6/

Fast forward, to a few weeks ago. One of my friends tagged me in a post that was looking for content creators to work on a campaign to dispel the stigma against people who have herpes. My first thought was like wait, why you tag me in this?

Well, what had happened was… 7/

I’m part of a daily co-work session in my blog community and one night, the conversation took a turn for the grown and sexy. I had mentioned that I was gonna go to an adult store to film some footage for a project we’re working on... 8/

My girls remembered and asked if I actually went, which turned into a show-and-tell of sorts. Body paint, body glitter, some tingly lube for the lady bits 👀 I picked up the orgasm enhancement gel and, after vouching for it, was like “Did you know...?” #LetsOpenUp 9/

The gel, amazing at it is, has arginine in it. It's the amino acid that helps your body build protein. It also stimulates blood flow to the clitoris, which heightens sensitivity. But arginine is an irritant for people who carry the herpes simplex virus. #LetsOpenUp 10/

The viruses are incredibly common. About 1 in 6 women have it, which is 2x more than men; transmission from man-to-woman is easier. Even though it’s ubiquitous, there's still a stigma & shame that comes with the diagnosis. #LetsOpenUp 11/

Because of stigma/shame, women don’t talk about it or know of ways that lessen the impact of the virus on their body and health. And while people can live healthy lives with the virus, there are certain things that can aggravate the condition. 12/

With those numbers, you for sure know someone who has the diagnosis, whether they’ve shared it or not. I know 5 people personally who've been diagnosed. TBH, their disclosure took me aback, but thankfully, I didn’t have the same reaction I had with the lube ~10y ago. 13/

Having that reaction to a person’s diagnosis only serves to feed the stigma and shame that people carry.

Facts: Stress, illness, hormonal changes due to pregnancy or menstruation, fatigue…anything that throws your body chemistry off can cause an outbreak. #LetsOpenUp 14/

Arginine is just one of the things that can cause an outbreak. Since this whole thing started with a story about sex lube and its ingredients, let’s talk about arginine.

Like I mentioned before, it's an amino acid that helps the body to build protein. #LetsOpenUp 15/

It’s found in dairy, red meat, fish, poultry, soy, whole grains, beans. Pretty much the only avoid it is to eat air. In an unrelated press junket, one of the guests stated that, in order to live your best life, you have to know your body and know how it reacts to things. 16/

This is where @FemiClear helps. #ad It’s a natural, OTC product that helps to relieve symptoms of a herpes outbreak. Even though it’s been proven to kill 99.9% of the virus, it’s not a cure for herpes. Use it w/your Rxn antiviral meds. #LetsOpenUp 17/

Need stats? More than 90% of women who tried @FemiClear reported that they experienced less itching, burning, and pain. Also, 80% of women who tried @FemiClear reported a shorter duration of an outbreak. #LetsOpenUp #ad 18/

https://twitter.com/beingyoked/status/1319372070527131653/photo/1

If you’re a woman who has been diagnosed with genital herpes and looking for symptom relief, @CVSpharmacy
has you covered. You can find just what you need in the Personal Intimacy aisle. #LetsOpenUp #ad 19/

Let’s remove the stigma of a genital herpes diagnosis. #LetsOpenUp and create safe spaces for women in our lives to be able to live their best life. To enjoy both the foods they love & the tingly lube for their lady bits w/o shame/pain. Find @FemiClear at @CVSpharmacy. #ad 20/20