Gay Dating Site For Positive People Calls For Its Members To Share Their Stories

Chicago, Illinois -

MeetPositives.com is a dating site aimed towards people of all genders and sexualities who have tested positive for an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). According to the founders of the website, its aim is to liberate people living with STDs from the stigma that society inflicts on them. The website has a section titled “Member Stories” that encourages its members to tell their stories of living with STDs. According to the website, its end goal is to create a safe space where its members can empathize with each other, learn from others’ experiences, and finally improve their own lives in the process.

The conversation surrounding sexual health is severely limited in the United States as shown by a statistic released by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) which stated that in 2014, fewer than half of high schools and only 20% of middle schools provided instruction on all 16 topics that the CDC considers essential to sexual health education. The LGBTQ community is disproportionately affected by this lack of education. According to the CDC, in 2014, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men accounted for 83% of primary and secondary syphilis cases. According to the HRC (Human Rights Campaign), gay and bisexual men made up an estimated 2% of the U.S. population in 2013 but 55% of all PLWH (People Living With HIV) in the United States.

The gay dating site, MeetPositives.com, aims to positively impact the perception of people with STDs worldwide. The aim of the “Member Stories” initiative is to spark a conversation about the shame that people living with STDs suffer from. The stories present on the website, at the time of writing, present a heartfelt picture of the lives of its members. The stories describe the struggle that its members face when they first test positive. The mental anguish of living with an incurable condition is compounded by the fact that the information has to be shared with their loved ones. The stories talk about the lack of support that its members get in the real world due to the negativity surrounding the subject.

“After receiving the news that I had herpes, I fell into depression and thought about my life, my boyfriend and my family,” says an anonymous member in their story submission for the section. Another member talks about the impact of first getting the bad news in their own words as, “What I did not understand is how the doctor was calm and he had just spoken the worst words I have ever heard in my life.” One post talks about the time it took to come to grips with their situation saying, “It took time before I got my mind around this and I started thinking about my life.”

There is a silver lining as some members talk about the process of healing. One member offers advice about mental health saying, “Word of advice; the infection is more in the mind than it is in your physical body. The faster you learn to accept yourself, the faster your body will learn to fight the virus.” Another member from the website shared, “Herpes might be a bad infection to get but living happily is possible. Keep in mind that it is an infection that can be well managed and treated.” Some stories end on a happy note as one particular member ends theirs saying, “I can look around and all I see is a beautiful life and a bright future ahead of me.”

The website is free to join. The members can sign up as singles or couples. The website lets its members specify which STD they are affected by while searching for potential partners. There is a blog section on the website that has news updates regarding recent developments in the field of sexual health. It is also available as an Android and iPhone app. The website was founded in 2014 and is owned by Positive Group LLC.