Misconception #5. I know I have HPV, but I never developed a symptom, or I don't currently have symptoms, so I don't have to tell my partners.

I touched on it before, but I want to hit it harder. It's selfish, cruel, and/or stupid to say or think that you don't have to tell partners you have HPV. Oh yeah, and a legal risk. Although someone didn't develop symptoms (yet?), that doesn't necessarily mean they they won't develop symptoms, are 100% clear of HPV, can't transmit HPV, or that their partner won't develop a symptom upon contracting it. Yes, HPV can be transmitted even if you don't have symptoms. It's hard to predict whose HPV will progress, and there are a lot of risk factors. But just because you're asymptomatic doesn't mean your partner will be.

And if you're reading this thinking that no one could be so treacherous, have a look at this comment by matterofopinion, random kook:

I don't need to tell anyone I sleep with that I have it, I don't have to worry about anyone suing me, my names [sic] not plastered over the Internet, and don't have a million dollars sitting in the bank. And like I said it's a Domino [sic] effect, [sic] not too many virgins out there. And there's no test or cure for a male, they don't have a cervix, won't get cervical cancer, or should I say pre-cancerous cells. And, my ex's [sic] won't know whom they got it from, or have to worry about it unless their girlfriend/wife gets it.

Not only does matterofopinion have no idea how it affects men, she seems to be fully aware that she's risking the health of others. She even discusses the potential for future partners of her partners to contract the virus thanks to her. She seems to have no problem whatsoever hiding the fact that she's had HPV from the people she's with. So basically what she's saying is that she'll never get caught transmitting the virus, so she's not going to let the cat out of the bag, except online, anonymously. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. matterofopinion also referred to surgery to remove pre-cancerous lesions as "the price a woman has to pay for having sex." With that kind of backwards thinking, the poor girl should hurry back to her time machine and hightail it to the 1950s before it's too late.

The bottom line is that it's not for one person to decide whether or not to put someone else's health at risk, especially when it comes to something as intimate and personal sexual health and cancer. Realize that if you're going to be intimate, the decision as to whether or not your partner gets exposed is not yours to make. It's theirs. This is called basic human decency. Have some.

This is Post #5 in the series, Debunking HPV Myths. For other parts of the series, click here.