Emily L. Depasse, MSW, MEd
@sexelducation.bsky.social
✨Making taboo dating & relationship topics less awkward. Evidence-based advice on STIs, dating, & mental health. Real answers to tough questions💘
https://sexelducation.komi.io/
https://sexelducation.komi.io/
“One of my favorite myths to bust as a sex educator is about STI testing. When someone says they were “tested for everything,” the truth is—everything doesn’t actually mean everything.”
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
Why Isn't Everyone Tested for Herpes?
One of my favorite myths to bust as a sex educator is about STI testing.
open.substack.com
April 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
“One of my favorite myths to bust as a sex educator is about STI testing. When someone says they were “tested for everything,” the truth is—everything doesn’t actually mean everything.”
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
The rise in hate toward childfree people feels directly tied to the resurgence of pronatalism.
April 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
The rise in hate toward childfree people feels directly tied to the resurgence of pronatalism.
Reposted by Emily L. Depasse, MSW, MEd
Men will literally start a trade war with every other nation on earth instead of going to therapy.
April 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Men will literally start a trade war with every other nation on earth instead of going to therapy.
Reposted by Emily L. Depasse, MSW, MEd
"The lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responsible for tracking sexually transmitted infections (STIs)—including drug-resistant gonorrhea (what some call “super gonorrhea”)—has been shut down." @sexelducation.bsky.social
It's STI Awareness Month—So Why Did They Just Shut Down This CDC STI Lab?
The Quiet Closure of a Crucial CDC Lab Reveals a Dangerous Shift: From Public Health Priority to Moral Judgment
emilydepasse.substack.com
April 9, 2025 at 2:44 PM
"The lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responsible for tracking sexually transmitted infections (STIs)—including drug-resistant gonorrhea (what some call “super gonorrhea”)—has been shut down." @sexelducation.bsky.social
“ #Childfree women continue to hold space for mothers, even when they deny us space to be ourselves. Just as mothers have an internal knowing of wanting to bear children, many of us have that same internal knowing that we’re not meant to parent.”
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
In Defense of Chappell Roan: The Emotional Labor of Being Childfree
Why Moms and Childfree Women Are Fighting Each Other Instead of the System
open.substack.com
April 6, 2025 at 5:33 PM
“ #Childfree women continue to hold space for mothers, even when they deny us space to be ourselves. Just as mothers have an internal knowing of wanting to bear children, many of us have that same internal knowing that we’re not meant to parent.”
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
Not having kids because I know I don’t want to come second doesn’t make me a bad person—it makes me a self-aware person.
March 31, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Not having kids because I know I don’t want to come second doesn’t make me a bad person—it makes me a self-aware person.
“When articles simply declare ‘BV is an STI’ without nuance, they activate all the existing stigma around sexually transmitted infections. These oversimplified narratives do little to educate and much to shame.”
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
BV, STIs, and the Blame Game: How Stigma Distorts Science
How a New Study Is Reshaping Our Understanding of Bacterial Vaginosis—and Why the Conversation Matters
open.substack.com
March 20, 2025 at 2:14 PM
“When articles simply declare ‘BV is an STI’ without nuance, they activate all the existing stigma around sexually transmitted infections. These oversimplified narratives do little to educate and much to shame.”
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
Reposted by Emily L. Depasse, MSW, MEd
"Some of my followers preferred when I was stuck in my diagnosis. To be the sad writer, the girl on the examination table, the public martyr for herpes in perpetuity. Taking the brunt of the comments, giving out free advice, offering myself up as a sacrifice for stigma." @sexelducation.bsky.social
The Most Boring Thing About Me Is My Herpes Diagnosis
Most days, I forget that I have herpes.
emilydepasse.substack.com
March 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM
"Some of my followers preferred when I was stuck in my diagnosis. To be the sad writer, the girl on the examination table, the public martyr for herpes in perpetuity. Taking the brunt of the comments, giving out free advice, offering myself up as a sacrifice for stigma." @sexelducation.bsky.social
If you’re dating with herpes, read this.
I spent years romanticizing a partner’s acceptance of my status while ignoring incompatibility in other areas. Here’s what I wish I’d known sooner.
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
I spent years romanticizing a partner’s acceptance of my status while ignoring incompatibility in other areas. Here’s what I wish I’d known sooner.
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
When Acceptance Isn’t Enough
When I reflect back on ten years with herpes, a lot comes up.
open.substack.com
March 16, 2025 at 3:07 PM
If you’re dating with herpes, read this.
I spent years romanticizing a partner’s acceptance of my status while ignoring incompatibility in other areas. Here’s what I wish I’d known sooner.
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
I spent years romanticizing a partner’s acceptance of my status while ignoring incompatibility in other areas. Here’s what I wish I’d known sooner.
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
“Yes, boring. The same way a scar becomes boring after you’ve told the story of how you got it a thousand times.”
How my relationship to herpes has evolved over the years and what it means for you
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
How my relationship to herpes has evolved over the years and what it means for you
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
The Most Boring Thing About Me Is My Herpes Diagnosis
Most days, I forget that I have herpes.
open.substack.com
March 12, 2025 at 3:38 PM
“Yes, boring. The same way a scar becomes boring after you’ve told the story of how you got it a thousand times.”
How my relationship to herpes has evolved over the years and what it means for you
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
How my relationship to herpes has evolved over the years and what it means for you
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
The steady, unsexy work of scientific progress is truly what changes lives.
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
How Government Cuts Threaten Herpes Research and Treatment
What's at Stake for Millions Living with Herpes
open.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
The steady, unsexy work of scientific progress is truly what changes lives.
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
“78% of STI treatment videos on TikTok contain incorrect information, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers.” open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
There Is No Cure for Herpes or HPV: So Why Are So Many Wellness Influencers Selling Them?
From spam comments to wellness grifters, the dangerous intersection of stigma and misinformation
open.substack.com
February 19, 2025 at 4:10 PM
“78% of STI treatment videos on TikTok contain incorrect information, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers.” open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
I wrote about why it shouldn’t take a meme for us to care about sexual health in this week’s Sexual Health Wealth newsletter 🧵
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
It Shouldn't Take A Meme for Us to Care About Sexual Health
How humor became a tool for fighting misinformation in sex education
open.substack.com
February 12, 2025 at 3:38 PM
I wrote about why it shouldn’t take a meme for us to care about sexual health in this week’s Sexual Health Wealth newsletter 🧵
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
open.substack.com/pub/emilydep...
Fun story on Super Bowl Sunday as someone who is now an Eagles fan: I used to HATE Philadelphia. 🧵
February 9, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Fun story on Super Bowl Sunday as someone who is now an Eagles fan: I used to HATE Philadelphia. 🧵
Reposted by Emily L. Depasse, MSW, MEd
It’s important to know that a lot of productive activity is happening in person and offline, too.
Not all of it can be broadcast online, but we’ve had hundreds of people showing up to our trainings, mobilizations, and more.
Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything matters.
Not all of it can be broadcast online, but we’ve had hundreds of people showing up to our trainings, mobilizations, and more.
Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything matters.
January 30, 2025 at 4:03 AM
It’s important to know that a lot of productive activity is happening in person and offline, too.
Not all of it can be broadcast online, but we’ve had hundreds of people showing up to our trainings, mobilizations, and more.
Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything matters.
Not all of it can be broadcast online, but we’ve had hundreds of people showing up to our trainings, mobilizations, and more.
Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything matters.
Can’t talk right now, doing hot girl shit (fighting fascism)
January 30, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Can’t talk right now, doing hot girl shit (fighting fascism)
Did you catch Vance’s latest comments threatening reproductive autonomy? If you didn’t, I wrote about it for my latest Substack, “The New War on Childfree Women: JD Vance and the Politics of Procreation”
January 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Did you catch Vance’s latest comments threatening reproductive autonomy? If you didn’t, I wrote about it for my latest Substack, “The New War on Childfree Women: JD Vance and the Politics of Procreation”
New email response: Thank you for your patience in my response as I process the unraveling of America.
January 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
New email response: Thank you for your patience in my response as I process the unraveling of America.
PSA: If you thought you had *comprehensive* sex education growing up, think again. Only 26 states require that sex ed to be medically accurate, while 42 states (plus DC) mandate abstinence-focused programs. Misinformation isn’t education.
January 28, 2025 at 11:15 AM
PSA: If you thought you had *comprehensive* sex education growing up, think again. Only 26 states require that sex ed to be medically accurate, while 42 states (plus DC) mandate abstinence-focused programs. Misinformation isn’t education.
“Society has developed a specific disdain for women who take up digital space. Share too little, and you’re inauthentic and unfriendly. Share too much, and you’re attention-seeking and too sensitive.”
A snippet from my latest Substack essay about navigating social media after emotional abuse.
A snippet from my latest Substack essay about navigating social media after emotional abuse.
January 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
“Society has developed a specific disdain for women who take up digital space. Share too little, and you’re inauthentic and unfriendly. Share too much, and you’re attention-seeking and too sensitive.”
A snippet from my latest Substack essay about navigating social media after emotional abuse.
A snippet from my latest Substack essay about navigating social media after emotional abuse.
At the March for Life yesterday, JD Vance said, “Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another is a core part of living in a society to begin with. So let me say, very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America.”
January 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM
At the March for Life yesterday, JD Vance said, “Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another is a core part of living in a society to begin with. So let me say, very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America.”
Being gaslit by the American government is EXACTLY what I needed to heal from being gaslit by my ex.
January 24, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Being gaslit by the American government is EXACTLY what I needed to heal from being gaslit by my ex.
84% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable.
We need to confront a harsh reality: this country doesn’t care if you survive. 🧵
We need to confront a harsh reality: this country doesn’t care if you survive. 🧵
January 24, 2025 at 10:30 AM
84% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable.
We need to confront a harsh reality: this country doesn’t care if you survive. 🧵
We need to confront a harsh reality: this country doesn’t care if you survive. 🧵
I made the mistake of looking back through Project 2025 last night to see how things are progressing two days in. Friends, we are right on target…just as we expected. Just as we warned.
January 23, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I made the mistake of looking back through Project 2025 last night to see how things are progressing two days in. Friends, we are right on target…just as we expected. Just as we warned.
Reposted by Emily L. Depasse, MSW, MEd
I am going to put together a thread covering Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing. Follow along for clips and commentary.
January 14, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I am going to put together a thread covering Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing. Follow along for clips and commentary.