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32% of gay and bisexual men in Washington, D.C. are infected with HIV
- Thread starter MrOogieBoogie
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MulderYuffie
Member
No probs lol really if I get it it's on me as much if not more than the person who may or may not be knowingly infected me. I will take the big advances in medication over the last few decades and gladly not have to worry that I'll die and it would be marganly harder to actually get it from me or whoever is on the medication and I will be the type to always announce my status to my sex partners if or when I knowingly find out.
Chill dude it is a thing it's not going to end the world anymore you are going to be okay regardless of what other people do it's a thing just don't worry about it I don't.
yeah seriously the medication works wonders and you are way less likely to get it from someone honest enough to announce and be on meds from it than "clean u b 2" or "tested may 4th 2016 negative" because really guys between may 4th and now I dont know how many dozens of guys you've fucked since then or right before. Just because you are told to get a checkup every 3 months doesn't mean you are automatically clean for the whole 3 months before or after lmao. Anyways HIV or not you all stay safe in general and take care of your health.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Seems so scary that I'd be scared to get some loving if I was in that situation. My goodness. 1 in 3?
Welcome to life as a gay guy. The anxiety/worry is always there. It's why when some guys would rather just get infected and "know" rather than deal with that anxiety on a daily basis? You don't really agree or condone it, but you totally get where that irrational impulse is coming from.
MulderYuffie
Member
Yeah I've accepted what HIV is and does in this day and age (thankfully a lot better as far as meds go) but I am going to have my fun in this world and I'm not gonna worry my head off and act like my sweet little ass didn't do anything wrong if or when I do get it.
What if you contract HIV but are unaware of your status for a period of time, during which you have sex with others and pass it onto them? Will those others be at fault then?
In any case, I think it unfortunate that you seem to have such a willingness to play with your health. You're worth more than that.
I wonder if that impulse comes from a lack of feeling self-worth. I'm reminded of a scene in Louis Theroux's recent documentary on alcoholism, where a woman acts almost surprised that she has remained alive despite her chronic drinking - it is clear that she has long given up on a belief that she can have a fulfilling, value-affirming life, and her alcoholism is but a long-winded way to end it. Granted that HIV is a highly treatable condition now, why deal with the anxiety of having it, and have it be something that you have to keep in check? Do people believe that they deserve to go through such a process?
This is a problem in many big cities, it's very worrying.
I basically assume everyone I am with is positive and act accordingly. I test every year as well.
Well if you are in treatment the chances of passing it are dramatically reduced, and with the use of condoms it's almost effectively eliminated.
Anyone would have less chances to catch it from you than a random person in a bar. It's why knowing your status and starting treatment is so important.
I basically assume everyone I am with is positive and act accordingly. I test every year as well.
Well if you are in treatment the chances of passing it are dramatically reduced, and with the use of condoms it's almost effectively eliminated.
Anyone would have less chances to catch it from you than a random person in a bar. It's why knowing your status and starting treatment is so important.
Amibguous Cad
Member
What judgmental homophobia? Maybe it's the people calling for the imprisonment of HIV positive people who have sex.
I am shocked. I will also never understand why people spread this shit.Too easy to not to... Of course there is nothing wrong with people that are born with this of course, but people that can protect everyone should fucking do that and if they don't? Put them in prison.
Yeah, that's not reminiscent of Reagan-era discourse about AIDS at all.
Zaptruder gives us a double whammy - collective imputation of responsibility with the added spectre of the perverts infecting the straights.
Because I guess it's fine if gay people are spreading the disease, but if they staqrt to spread it to the innocent straights, then we have a problem.
How about that old chestnut of the bugchasers?
I won't bore you with a detailed sexual history, but suffice it to say that if bugchasing was anything like a real phenmenon out in the real world, I'd know about it. A roleplaying site I've been using for years has a pre-selected list of kinks one can add to the profile, and it's pretty extensive - over 200 if I recall correctly. Bugchasing isn't anywhere to be seen. In years of using the site I can think of the number of profiles that have mentioned it on one hand - and that on a fantasy roleplaying site. And no, judging by the other pre-selected kinks on the list, they're not shying away from it because it's controversial.
Meanwhile, there are about a million straights that are kinking on risk of pregnancy, and people of all orientations that are kinking on some sort of danger. And that's fine - fantasy is fantasy, porn is porn, roleplay is roleplay. Nothing wrong with exploring darker themes in that, whether that's blowing a guy's head off in Doom or liking bareback porn. But the vast majority of gamers aren't going to shoot up a mall and the vast majority of even the tiny minority of gay men that do get off on the fantasy aren't going to run around having unprotected sex for that reason. To act as if such people have a noticable effect on HIV infection rates is simply homophobia.
I guess what really rankles is the notion that it's those people *over there* that are doing risky shit and putting *me* at risk when, y'know, it takes two to tango. This pops up most often in the rhetoric around bisexual men or men on the down-low. Straight women are supposed to be relatively safe from HIV, so if they do get infected, it has to be the bi guy's fault. For whatever reason, no one thinks to admonish the straight woman for having unprotected sex with a population they know to be more likely to have HIV.
For my part, I've never had unprotected anal sex, and I never intend to. That's partially because I lean poly, but even in the monogamous relationships I've had I haven't budged on that. If, despite those precautions, I wind up positive I'm not going to blame my partner for being irresponsible. I know the risks, and I'm not going to pretend that I'm completely safe just because I'm being a good queer by using protection all the time. I just wish everyone else would get with the program.
MulderYuffie
Member
Both or everyone is at fault to some extent but if I was not in a relationship I would test regularly and while I mentioned it's probably not going to prevent other partners from getting it but I can notify as many people in those time frames that I can and tell them to get checked and keep aware and know their status. A lot has changed in the last few decades and it's gotten a lot better as a whole I do appreciate the concerns though thank you.
TickleMeElbow
Member
Kind of fucked up that people are still dying from that shit all over Africa, but some people in the US are all "no big deal, I'll just take meds if I get it". I don't know why, but that kind of thinking pisses me off.
You can't concern yourself about the .1%. If you're on PreP and a partner's on treatment, you're worrying about hitting 00 twice in a row on the roulette wheel. It's like worrying about a plane crash.
You have to learn to just ignore the fear/anxiety and just live your life, or it will suffocate you.
TickleMeElbow
Member
Obviously a bunch of people in some places aren't on that shit/don't give a fuck.
MulderYuffie
Member
Sex Ed is geared towards straight people. You basically have to self-educate and learning "no you can't trust people" is unfortunately part of that. People do dumb things when they're young and don't know any better.
CornBurrito
Member
Please. Having risky sex isn't an inherent part of the gay identity.
TickleMeElbow
Member
I agree, but I know for sure that people in certain communities know the risk of being infected with HIV because it's a lot more common. It's the nonchalant attitude about it despite knowing the risks that's bothersome to me.
It's really not fine. I mean... I empathically feel bad for the gay community - that this sort of risk is a reality at all. But I'd be lying if I said that empathy meant that I was willing to share in the sort of risk levels that the gay community have to deal with.
Like that number's a nightmare... of course having some time to think about it, it's unlikely that HIV transmission can ever get to those numbers among the straight population - unless everyone suddenly went crazy and decided that bug chasing was fun or something. (which is not to imply that gay people are bug chasers - but rather to imply that for vaginal sex to transmit at the rate of anal sex, it'd have to be done purposefully).
Red Arremer
Member
For the record, those people who are saying bugchasing is a myth, it is very real. There is in fact several sites that have pozzing/bugchasing as topic, including a proper dating/hookup site.
Yeah, it definitely exists, but it still is a more marginal part of the gay community, and bugchasing/pozzing is definitely not something I consider to be a significant contributor to these high HIV infection rates. Most gay people I know also condemn this practice. It's a very niche kink, despicable as it may be.
Yeah, it definitely exists, but it still is a more marginal part of the gay community, and bugchasing/pozzing is definitely not something I consider to be a significant contributor to these high HIV infection rates. Most gay people I know also condemn this practice. It's a very niche kink, despicable as it may be.
Yup. IIRC they wanted to standardize condoms to make them easier to test.
QuickSilverD
Member
I can't read most of this textObligatory (very NSFW text)
MulderYuffie
Member
Apologies everyone I was on mobile and posted it and apparently double clicking didn't help fixed and readable now.
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