I submitted a question to okcupid for the first time. It was rejected.

[darxus]

Do you have an incurable STD (Genital warts (HPV), genital herpes (HSV), or HIV/AIDS)?


[Poll #1050519]

The options were: 1. Yes 2. No


Here is some of the user feedback we received:

Response Comment

Offensive / worthless

Uninteresting or too obscure for most people
Near 100 % of sexually active adults have one or more HPV types, so you could just as well ask "Are you a virgin?" - which is a question that does not exist per se, but is part of the answer of a few others

Offensive / worthless

Too similar to other questions

Uninteresting or too obscure for most people
You thinkg soomeone with those conditions really wants to be reminded of this on a dating site?

Offensive / worthless

Too similar to other questions

Too similar to other questions(Emphases added.)

UPDATE: Resolution here.

Comments

[tisana.livejournal.com]

This is under the "People suck/People are willfully ignorant" part of hating society.

I remember reading some statistic in college about men who were faithfully monogamous being more willing to wear a condom than those who had cheated, because wearing one was like admission of either being high risk (by cheating) or having an STD.
Um.
Ok, people with attitudes like that seem to be willfully ignorant; they'd really rather not know, either so they can't be blamed for it later, or so they can be happily oblivious unless it becomes an issue. And I think a lot of society is like that...especially when, in going for complete STD testing, I got an awful lot of suspicious treatment: "Why do you need this test? Is there something we should know?"

(This is where I really started to see that poly and monogamous folks have veeery different views on safe sex.)

There's stigma in having an STD. Even if, as the person (mostly correctly) pointed out, most people have been exposed to some strain of HPV, and most adults have been exposed to HSV-1. People react to anyone with an STD (minor or not) like they're lepers; so asking what you asked, to them, is like saying, "Is there any reason we might want to ostracize you and you'll never have sex again?"

People are blissful in their ignorance...this simply doesn't surprise me.

[darxus.livejournal.com]

That's probably the most useful info I've heard about HPV, thanks. I'd still like questions with my wording for the other two.

[coraline]

Don't bother with the HPV test, then. I guarantee you it will come back positive.

huh, i wonder what that's based on... (knowing people who insist on HPV tests in poly contexts, and having just had one myself and come back clean...)

[devoken.livejournal.com]

Whoa whoa whoa. I have spoken to 3 doctors/nurse practitioners, at least 7 para-medical staff, health insurance agencies, the stupidest receptionist ever*, and done about 20 million hours of research looking for an HPV test. Everything I found/was told conclusively stated that one didn't exist.

Where is your clinic and how hard is it to get an appointment?

*I called up a PP clinic a few months back and asked them to look through the list of services and tests they they offered to see if an HPV test was included. The receptionist said "Oh, of course we offer pap smears." Seriously. I had to explain to her that a pap smear was not an HPV test. I was pretty pissed off at PP for a long while after that. I mean, this is basic stuff. I know she's not a medical professional, but she is still the first person people talk to when they have a question and she needed to be trained so that she could give accurate information.

[devoken.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. Thank you.

Alas, it is actually not the test that I want. I'm looking for a test that detects certain benign strains of HPV. Unfortunately, I have a record of being treated for HPV ~20 years ago and it's making obtaining the vaccine problematic. My health insurance won't pay for Gardisil unless it's proven that I'm not already infected. It's dumb, but that's insurance companies for you.

Ironically, I have several friends who could creat a test. Not that it would be accepted if they did.

[feng-huang.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I got guff from a physician once for wanting to get a routine checkup. "Why are you here?" "I want to get a routine STD test." "There's no such thing. Why are you here? What makes you think you have an STD?" "What are you talking about? I want a routine screening."

[devoken.livejournal.com]

I signed up with my current doctor when I lived a 20 minute walk away from her clinic. I've moved since, and it's now an hour and a half minimum to get to her, but I am absolutely never leaving her practice precisely because I've never had to deal with that type of thing from her. Routine is something she understands, and she doesn't let my insurance agency get pissy over me getting screened every 6 months. Having had experiences like the one you described, I consider myself very lucky to have found her.