Chris Olsen tells his 10M TikTok followers he's contracted chlamydia 3 times. Here's why that matters. - Yahoo Life

TikToker Chris Olsen is utilizing wit — and his level of astir 10 cardinal followers — to speech openly astir intersexual health.

In a caller video post, Olsen, 25, told a hilarious communicative astir going to get a regular STI test, during which helium revealed that he’s tested affirmative for chlamydia 3 times successful the past. (STIs, abbreviated for sexually transmitted infections, are transmitted done intersexual contact; erstwhile near untreated, they tin make into a sexually transmitted disease, oregon STD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

“So, I’ve had chlamydia 3 times — extremity the stigma,” Olsen began the video successful a joking tone, referring to the treatable STI that's the astir often reported bacterial infectious illness successful the United States, per the CDC. Then the societal media star, who identifies arsenic gay, breezily went connected to stock that the pistillate caregiver who was drafting his humor astatine the clip of his caller sojourn attempted to effort and acceptable him up with her cheery son.

“I’m like, 'OK, reel it back, reel it back. What’s his name?'” helium said successful the video. “Because I cognize my hacking skills tin find this antheral successful a second. As I leave, she tells maine his name. When I find this antheral connected Instagram, I recovered retired that helium is the ex of 1 of the men who has ghosted maine this past twelvemonth — and successful their story, they’re hanging out.”

The communicative did person a blessed ending, though.

“Anyway, she conscionable called maine and I bash not person chlamydia, this time, so, small wins!” helium said.

Responses to the video person been wide-ranging, with galore commenters praising Olsen’s bravery for being unfastened astir his STI past without layering it with the stigma, shame and fearfulness that is truthful often attached to disclosure stories.

Singer-songwriter Jewel adjacent weighed in, writing, “Omg I emotion you.”

“Congrats connected your trial results! Also kudos for being responsible!” added a follower.

“We emotion a queen that takes attraction of themselves!” 1 different admirer added, referencing Olsen’s connection to routinely get tested for STIs.

“That was a rollercoaster but yay nary chlamydia,” a commenter chimed in, portion different added: “You cognize what! I’ve ne'er loved you much than I bash rn!!!”

“I thought I was stubborn but I bow down to idiosyncratic who could acquisition that 3x and not springiness up connected dating ha,” different wrote.

Why it matters

The information is that sexually transmitted infections are rather common, with the CDC surmising that "1 successful 5" Americans volition person a affirmative STI diagnosis successful their lifetime; different sources, including the Kaiser Family Foundation, enactment that adjacent higher, estimating that implicit fractional of radical successful the U.S. volition person an STI successful their lifetime.

Meanwhile, affirmative cases reached an all-time precocious for the sixth twelvemonth successful a row successful 2019, with much than 2.5 cardinal reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea & syphilis reported that year — and fractional of each caller STI cases recovered successful young adults ages 15 to 24, according to the CDC. Though that took a sizable dip during the pandemic owed to societal distancing, by the extremity of 2020 (the astir caller stats available), cases of STIs similar gonorrhea and syphilis continued to surge. Still, galore find the taxable excessively taboo to discuss.

It’s wherefore Olsen’s video is truthful important, says Jenelle Marie Pierce, committee president of the STI Project, an enactment that aims to de-stigmatize STIs done enactment education, and spokesperson for the dating tract Positive Singles. She argues that telling idiosyncratic stories successful specified an open, accessible mode — with humor, if imaginable — creates a bully exemplary for however young radical tin person analyzable conversations astir intersexual health.

"What I emotion astir astir this video is the casual speech that's taking spot betwixt the influencer and the audience, which is nary excessively antithetic than a emblematic disclosure conversation," Pierce tells Yahoo Life. "In immoderate ways, it's serious, yes, but it tin besides beryllium amusive and affirming. It's a dialog wherever accusation is shared and decisions are made and then, hopefully, amusive is had. What's not to similar astir that, right?"

Oftentimes, conversations astir STI disclosure get "wrapped up successful a batch of trepidation, fear, ethics, and morality," she notes. And portion immoderate of that fearfulness and shame is unavoidable, what radical often hide is that disclosure tin beryllium a elemental speech among partners — thing which Olsen’s candor demonstrates.

Seeing examples of celebrities who are unafraid, unabashed — and, much importantly, liable — by encouraging their followers to get regular STI tests each "three to six months" if they're sexually progressive with aggregate partners, as per CDC guidelines, matters, particularly erstwhile it comes to dismantling stigmatizing connection astir STIs.

"I deliberation it's fantastic to spot radical with ample platforms discussing their chlamydia diagnosis — and determination should beryllium adjacent much radical talking astir it, due to the fact that we cognize truthful galore are experiencing this diagnosis," says Pierce. (There were implicit 1.6 cardinal chlamydia diagnoses successful 2021 alone, per the CDC.)

"Unsurprisingly, we don't person a batch of examples to reference," Pierce adds, noting that, historically, nationalist disclosure has had its just stock of criticism, owed to stigma and misinformation.

"Anne Heche was fundamentally blacklisted erstwhile she talked astir contracting herpes aft experiencing intersexual assault," Pierce says. "We often lone perceive astir celebrities with genital herpes successful conjecture, oregon aft lawsuits person been filed, similar successful the lawsuit of Usher. Jonathan Van Ness shared his HIV-positive presumption and was applauded for his transparency and authenticity, arsenic helium should be," though different celebrities person not fared arsenic well, specified arsenic Charlie Sheen.

Still, the interaction these celebrities person connected their audiences is profound and cannot beryllium understated.

"Some of the astir communal Google searches are 'celebrities with herpes,' 'celebrities with HIV,' 'celebrities with STDs,' and truthful on," Pierce, an advocator for reducing STI stigma online, says. "People are hopeless to find idiosyncratic they respect who has had a akin acquisition due to the fact that contracting an STI tin beryllium 1 of the astir isolating experiences of someone's life."

That is why, she adds, it's truthful important for radical to stock their stories.

"It has the powerfulness to alteration someone's full cognition of themselves," she says. "Although celebrities are powerful, and searching for celebrities with STDs is simply a communal hunt term, it's important not to understate the value of sharing our idiosyncratic experiences with radical we emotion and trust. The immense bulk of each radical declaration an STI astatine immoderate constituent successful their lives which means that idiosyncratic you know, respect, and emotion has an STI."

The much we consciousness comfy sharing our experiences with 1 different the much we recognize they are shared and we are not alone, she adds.

"You privation to attack these conversations from a spot of authenticity and vulnerability and sometimes portion of being authentic is admitting that you don't cognize each the answers, oregon laughing astatine yourself due to the fact that it's conscionable an awkward conversation," Pierce says. “That's OK due to the fact that that shows that you are human, you are relatable, and you are increasing and learning with them."

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