6 ms·

Reminder that the stigma against herpes is a pharmaceutical marketing creation from the mid 1970s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex#Society_and_cul

Reminder that the stigma against herpes is a pharmaceutical marketing creation from the mid 1970s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex#Society_and_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex#Society_and_cul... >Pedro Cuatrecasas states, "during the R&D of acyclovir, marketing [department of Burroughs Wellcome] insisted that there were 'no markets' for this compound. Most had hardly heard of genital herpes..." Thus, marketing the medical condition—separating the 'normal cold sore' from the 'stigmatized genital infection' was to become the key to marketing the drug, a process now known as 'disease mongering'. >Much of the hysteria and stigma surrounding herpes stems from a media campaign beginning in the late 1970s and peaking in the early 1980s. Multiple articles were worded in fear-mongering and anxiety-provoking terminology, such as the now-ubiquitous "attacks", "outbreaks", "victims", and "sufferers". At one point, the term "herpetic" even entered the popular lexicon. The articles were published by Reader's Digest, U.S. News, and Time magazine, among others. A made-for-TV movie was named Intimate Agony. The peak was when Time magazine had 'Herpes: The New Scarlet Letter' on the cover in August 1982, forever stigmatizing the word in the public mind.

reaperducer 8y ago
The peak was when Time magazine had 'Herpes: The New Scarlet Letter' on the cover in August 1982 It's was actually "Today's scarlet letter: Herpes." https://goo.gl/images/hVd6um https://goo.gl/images/hVd6um Sad when people can't do a simple Google search to verify most easily verifiable claims.
- g45y45 8y ago
  Did you update the wikipedia article with the correct citation? Its easy to complain on HN, takes a little more effort to correct misinformation for future internet users.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Did you update the wikipedia article with the correct citation? Nope. And for reasons I've outlined elsewhere on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19400846 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19400846
  - Teever 8y ago
    I've never been able to successfully alter a Wikipedia article, even for something as simple as a typo correction. Bots always revert my changes within seconds.
  - soperj 8y ago
    I updated it.
- dwringer 8y ago
  Agreed, but the article itself from that issue is titled "The New Scarlet Letter"[1]. The statement from Wikipedia seems to conflate the cover line with the article itself. [1] http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1715020,00.html http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1715...
- andrepd 8y ago
  Why so confrontational? It's a simple mistake, and relatively harmless since the meaning is not at all changed.
ericol 8y ago
"The stigma against" is exclusively a US bound thing. I consume a lot of media (Plus memes) from the US, and people make a real fuss about it. In my country people give it the same importance as a simple cold.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  Judging from the content on the linked wikipedia page for Herpes Simplex it strikes me as absurd that one would categorize it with the simple cold.
  - bootlooped 8y ago
    Although it's not curable, there are a lot of good, cheap treatments available, and many people can go long periods of time with no symptoms. Consider the line from the Wikipedia page: "Worldwide rates of either HSV-1 or HSV-2 are between 60% and 95% in adults." If infection rates are that high, it's probably not that big of a deal for most people.
    - dpark 8y ago
      Most of that 60-95% is oral, though. Genital infection rates are far lower, at <20% in the US.
    - burfog 8y ago
      It's also associated with Alzheimer's disease, which is a horrible way to die. It can cause blindness and death, particularly in newborns. I don't think it wise to dismiss herpes as just something mild or inevitable.
      - philwelch 8y ago
        Gingivitis is associated with Alzheimer's disease, too.
  - rjurney 8y ago
    Everyone gets it. It just goes away, often for years. There's no cure. Like colds.
dpark 8y ago
Note also though that Wikipedia claims that genital herpes infection rate increased dramatically during the 1970s. If true, it's not surprising that it would be relatively unknown before the increase and stigmatized after. HIV wasn't stigmatized in the 70s either.
Chris_Chambers 8y ago
It’s sad how people with herpes go full DARVO against anyone who dares to get upset after being infected by them. You seem to be one of those people, seeing as how you have all of these talking points ready to fire off in your defense and to calm the nerves of your latest victim. I almost wonder whether these diseases evolved an ability to directly manipulate the host’s brain to become comfortable with consciously spreading the disease to the innocent. It would explain why you all do it so remorselessly and with such cavalier enthusiasm. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/DARVO https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/DARVO

reaperducer 8y ago

The peak was when Time magazine had 'Herpes: The New Scarlet Letter' on the cover in August 1982 It's was actually "Today's scarlet letter: Herpes." https://goo.gl/images/hVd6um https://goo.gl/images/hVd6um Sad when people can't do a simple Google search to verify most easily verifiable claims.

g45y45 8y ago
Did you update the wikipedia article with the correct citation? Its easy to complain on HN, takes a little more effort to correct misinformation for future internet users.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Did you update the wikipedia article with the correct citation? Nope. And for reasons I've outlined elsewhere on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19400846 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19400846
- Teever 8y ago
  I've never been able to successfully alter a Wikipedia article, even for something as simple as a typo correction. Bots always revert my changes within seconds.
- soperj 8y ago
  I updated it.
dwringer 8y ago
Agreed, but the article itself from that issue is titled "The New Scarlet Letter"[1]. The statement from Wikipedia seems to conflate the cover line with the article itself. [1] http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1715020,00.html http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1715...
andrepd 8y ago
Why so confrontational? It's a simple mistake, and relatively harmless since the meaning is not at all changed.

ericol 8y ago

"The stigma against" is exclusively a US bound thing. I consume a lot of media (Plus memes) from the US, and people make a real fuss about it. In my country people give it the same importance as a simple cold.

newnewpdro 8y ago
Judging from the content on the linked wikipedia page for Herpes Simplex it strikes me as absurd that one would categorize it with the simple cold.
- bootlooped 8y ago
  Although it's not curable, there are a lot of good, cheap treatments available, and many people can go long periods of time with no symptoms. Consider the line from the Wikipedia page: "Worldwide rates of either HSV-1 or HSV-2 are between 60% and 95% in adults." If infection rates are that high, it's probably not that big of a deal for most people.
  - dpark 8y ago
    Most of that 60-95% is oral, though. Genital infection rates are far lower, at <20% in the US.
  - burfog 8y ago
    It's also associated with Alzheimer's disease, which is a horrible way to die. It can cause blindness and death, particularly in newborns. I don't think it wise to dismiss herpes as just something mild or inevitable.
    - philwelch 8y ago
      Gingivitis is associated with Alzheimer's disease, too.
- rjurney 8y ago
  Everyone gets it. It just goes away, often for years. There's no cure. Like colds.

dpark 8y ago

Note also though that Wikipedia claims that genital herpes infection rate increased dramatically during the 1970s. If true, it's not surprising that it would be relatively unknown before the increase and stigmatized after. HIV wasn't stigmatized in the 70s either.

Chris_Chambers 8y ago

It’s sad how people with herpes go full DARVO against anyone who dares to get upset after being infected by them. You seem to be one of those people, seeing as how you have all of these talking points ready to fire off in your defense and to calm the nerves of your latest victim. I almost wonder whether these diseases evolved an ability to directly manipulate the host’s brain to become comfortable with consciously spreading the disease to the innocent. It would explain why you all do it so remorselessly and with such cavalier enthusiasm. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/DARVO https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/DARVO