Sex

‘You’ll Be Just Fine’: A Comic by Sarah Winifred Searle

Artist Sarah Winifred Searle's personal journey through diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection, stigma, and treatment highlights the importance of accessible and affordable health care for all.

Artist Sarah Winifred Searle is not afraid to get personal in her work. From how she found love to her (NSFW) chronicle of the online body-positivity community’s impact on her sexual confidence, Sarah’s comics are as intimate as they are accessible. For Rewire, Sarah recounts another powerful and personal experience—being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI). “At the time, I fell into despair and thought I’d look back on what happened as trauma,” says Sarah. “But it turned into a constructive experience that has shaped my attitude toward STIs and sexual health for the better.”

The treatment Sarah got from her local Planned Parenthood was invaluable, but she knows the results of the high-stakes battles ahead over the Affordable Care Act and federal funding of Planned Parenthood will determine whether other people will be able to obtain the same level of care.

Sarah expresses a level of apprehension shared by many. “Deeply concerned doesn’t do this sick feeling justice,” she says. “I’m genuinely terrified. Access to health care is necessary for every kind of body, but for people who have uteruses in particular, to lose access to birth control and routine screenings has devastating repercussions.”