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Empowered or Intimidating?
The way someone perceives another's level of confidence depends on whether they are in alignment with our authenticity, as Courtney and his guest Brenda discuss in this episode about surviving HIV.
Something Positive for Positive People Podcast Episode 136
Brenda Emily (@BrendaEmily on Instagram) is an HIV survivor who did not contract it sexually, as one may assume. We discuss some of her experiences with hookups and rejection as someone navigating the dating world with HIV and cerebral palsy. We touch on HIV criminalization laws, despite the U equals U campaign being more strict than the criminalization of rape. There's some overlap in herpes and HIV stigma that we address. Overall, we can let others mistake our being empowered for intimidating. Those drawn to us will affirm our empowerment, whereas those who find us intimidating, well, are just intimidated.
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As someone who has lived with genital herpes for more than 18 years, Brittany shares a plethora of experiences — from the information she received upon diagnosis in the early 2000s to what she learned as time progressed.
When you ask, "what can I do?" that shouldn't even be a question a human has to ask about injustices done to other humans.
