The STI Project

The STI Project ✧ President at The STI Project & Founder of Bold Kind Labs

Established in April of 2012 during STI/STD Awareness Month, The STI Project is an award-winning independent website and progressive movement eradicating STI stigma by facilitating and encouraging awareness, education, and acceptance through story-telling and resource recommendations. We welcome all people and all thoughtful opinions regardless of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, or experi

ence with an STI/STD. Through The STI Project, we post interviews and the stories of those who have sexually transmitted infections or diseases, the viewpoints of the people who have loved someone with a sexually transmitted infection or disease, as well as a plethora of news and resources related to STIs/STDs; testing, treatment, prevention, and more. By facilitating and encouraging awareness, education, and acceptance, we are taking steps toward modern-day prevention by advocating for conscientious and informed decisions.

So thrilled to be featured in - a pioneer publication in the s3xu@l health space! This is such an honor!!! "When Jenell...
09/21/2023

So thrilled to be featured in - a pioneer publication in the s3xu@l health space! This is such an honor!!! "When Jenelle was diagnosed with herpes at 16, she felt devastated and embarrassed. Yet living with an has not stopped her from pursuing her dreams, and it shouldn’t stop you either. Read more of Jenelle’s story..."

Just did my first interview in a little over two months covering what it's like to live with herpes and it felt good to ...
09/19/2023

Just did my first interview in a little over two months covering what it's like to live with herpes and it felt good to be talking about STIs and stigma again! Most days, I don't even think about living with an STI, but if anything, it's made my life more rewarding not less!

Want to chat about s*xual health, safety, risk assessment, stigma, shame, and navigating these conversations with ease? Hit me up if you have a podcast, and I'd love to schedule a time to chat!

You are not a capitalist machine. You are human and your needs, priorities, and energy will naturally fluctuate so how t...
08/31/2022

You are not a capitalist machine. You are human and your needs, priorities, and energy will naturally fluctuate so how that materializes online will change over time.

Whether you are on social media for personal or professional reasons, you don't owe anyone an explanation for your periodic absences unless you would LIKE to share why you have been posting less frequently. Otherwise, it's perfectly normal to simply take a break and focus on something else for a while.

The idea that you must always be posting and engaging publicly in order to demonstrate that you are doing well in life or to run a successful business is born out of capitalism and only benefits the privileged folks who profit from your continued investment in their platforms.

You can be flourishing without an omnipresence online, and I dare say you will even fare better than if you subscribed to the mindset that consistency in your life and in your business means a daily social media post. The only type of consistency that is necessary is consistently showing up for yourself and your endeavors, and often that means working on things that aren't social-media-worthy.

Having been an advocate for over a decade, there's always someone who says, "She's not online enough." While I know I don't owe anyone an explanation and I rarely offer one, I share this post with ya'll so you too can feel the freedom to be present in the ways that serve you best.

As an example, in the last few years, I had a baby, started a new role in a non-profit, and bought a house. Those things have naturally pulled me away from scheduling daily posts, but my life and work are flourishing. Also, the resources I offer are always accessible: asynchronous webinars and courses, personal consulting, press and media interviews on trending topics, etc. To learn more, click the link https://linktr.ee/thestiproject!

Especially if your work is service-oriented, it's important to note that you can both serve others and serve yourself and that "service" does not have to equate to a social media post every single day. You get to decide what that service to yourself and others looks like and the algorithm can go kick rocks!

Part of the etiology - the cause - of STI stigma is social control. Using stigma as a form of social control says that i...
07/05/2022

Part of the etiology - the cause - of STI stigma is social control. Using stigma as a form of social control says that if we disincentivize s*x and the pleasure that is derived from s*x by catastrophizing some of the natural outcomes of having s*x, like sharing pathogens with one another, then fewer people will have s*x, and thus we will have achieved our goal of control.

However, this mechanism of control has largely failed because STIs are SO adversely stigmatized that the folks who contract them (the vast majority of all people) never share their experiences with others and that causes most people to feel like it's an irrelevant risk - STIs are something that will never happen to them - and people continue with the behavior (having s*x). So another mechanism of control becomes necessary.

This is where the pro-life movement comes into the equation. If we have failed at disincentivizing s*x by sensationalizing STIs, then we must find another way to trigger fear by making one of the other natural outcomes of having s*x, pregnancy, into an irreversible and life-altering consequence.

If the pro-life movement wasn't centered on control and was instead geared toward protecting lives, it would have first established the infrastructure that is necessary to ensure those lives have access to equitable resources.

However, establishing those resources is in direct conflict with the political beliefs typically held by those who champion pro-life ideology which is to say that the infrastructure necessary to ensure that babies and their caregivers have accessible and equitable resources requires more government involvement and not less, therefore those resources will never be created, and the movement remains centered on control, much like all stigma is a form of social control.

I'm quoted in another book, ya'll!!! Thanks so much to for including my work and my perspective in her fun and informat...
05/19/2022

I'm quoted in another book, ya'll!!! Thanks so much to for including my work and my perspective in her fun and informative new book, "Do As I Say, NOT Who I Did: Honest Advice on Hookups and Relationships in College" - such a delightful read and even more thrilling to be a part of it!

Go get yourself a copy and then buy a second for the young adult in your life! ❤️

In light of such potentially catastrophic news...⁠⁠Remember, overturning Roe v. Wade doesn't mean that abortions won't h...
05/03/2022

In light of such potentially catastrophic news...⁠
⁠
Remember, overturning Roe v. Wade doesn't mean that abortions won't happen - abortions have always taken place for the wealthy, and they have always been performed without consent on members of the disabled community. Overturning Roe v. Wade means more marginalized community members (women, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, members of the trans community, and people who are gender non-conforming) will die. Period.⁠
⁠
So, here's an important resource to bookmark. I also suggest downloading it.

https://jewishcurrents.org/how-to-give-yourself-an-abortion

While juggling a 1-year-old and an incredible new role with I almost forgot to share the fun article I was quoted in fo...
04/21/2022

While juggling a 1-year-old and an incredible new role with I almost forgot to share the fun article I was quoted in for where I talk about how to clean your toys!!! *hint hint* It's less complicated than you might assume, and you only need to buy fancy equipment if that's your thing! Otherwise, good ole soap and water do the trick. also offers some great input about toy materials. *hint hint* Spend your money on a quality toy made with non-porous medical grade materials - it's worth the investment! Thanks so much and for including my $.02 - the pleasure was all mine! ;)

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/s*x-and-love/a19932343/cleaning-s*x-toys/

How to Talk about Uncomfortable Things with
03/16/2022

How to Talk about Uncomfortable Things with

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Asheville, NC
28801-06, 28810, 28813-16

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