Gayety

Tag: HIV

  • Study Shows Most Gay Men Don’t Use Protection

    Study Shows Most Gay Men Don’t Use Protection

    According to a new study by FS Magazine, most gay and bisexual men didn’t use protection during their most recent encounter. More than 3,100 men participated in the survey, which asked a variety of health and relationship questions. Of those men, 72 percent said they didn’t use a condom during their last encounter. And, of the men who didn’t use protection, 37 percent bottomed and 72 percent topped.

    Although PrEP can help prevent HIV infections, it’s also been connected with encouraging unsafe encounters. It’s important to remember PrEP decreases your change of infection, it doesn’t fully protect you from HIV or other STDs. PrEPFacts.org says, “It does not protect against other sexually transmitted infections (STI) or pregnancy. It is not a cure for HIV.” Which is why you need to wear a condom to protect yourself.

    The results of the study are alarming, but 50 percent of the men in the study who had unprotected same-sex sex did it with a long-term partner. For more stats from the study, click here.

    Photo by Enrique Lin of Cayden Ross for Randy Blue.

  • Candace Bure Asks Danny Pintauro If He Takes Responsibly for His HIV Status

    Candace Bure Asks Danny Pintauro If He Takes Responsibly for His HIV Status

    Danny Pintauro, best know for his role as Jonathan Bower on Who’s The Boss, recently came out as HIV positive. His proclamation has inspired mainstream media outlets, such as The View, to discuss HIV. After appearing on the daytime talk show to discuss his status, the LGBT community is up in arms regarding Candace Cameron Bure, a new panelist for the show best known as DJ Tanner on Full House, and her questions regarding Pintauro’s choices that led to his positive HIV status

    Related | More Straight Men Contracted HIV Than Gay Men in Australia

    During the interview, Bure boldly asks Pintauro a few extremely personal questions.

    “I want to know, do you take responsibility for your actions? For being promiscuous, going into a lifestyle of having heightened sex because of the meth that you were using? I want to know what the message is. Because you want to be the face of HIV, to give that a face. But what is the message that you have? What does that mean?” Bure asked.

    Although many LGBTs are angry with Bure’s questions, she never criticizes, blames, or implies that Pintauro became HIV positive because he’s gay. Instead, she focuses on his recreational drug use and poor decisions.

    “I want to know, do you take responsibility for your actions? For being promiscuous, going into a lifestyle of having heightened sex because of the meth you were using?”

    Pintauro immediately takes responsibility for his choices that led to becoming HIV positive. Pintauro says he doesn’t want to be a hero. “I don’t want to be a role model. I want to be an example,” he said.

    By disclosing his current medical condition and previous substance abuse,  Pintauro is using his platform, with the assistance of shows like The View, and reporters like Bure to prompt dialog about two detrimental conditions plaguing the queer community — unsafe sex and drug use, which according to Independent, a UK publication, is 7 times higher in the gay community.

    We commend Pintauro for taking responsibility and being transparent. It is imperative to not only discuss the disease but the actions that can cause life-altering consequences. As for Mrs. Cameron-Bure, cut her a little slack. If we kill her with kindness, we might just gain another ally, right? You can watch the full interview here.

    H/T: Independent

  • Does HIV Prevention Medication Truvada Really Work?

    Does HIV Prevention Medication Truvada Really Work?

    You have probably seen dozens of articles claiming that HIV researchers discovered a miracle HIV prevention medication. Well, this time it’s for real. A recent study conducted at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco examined 600 high-risk gay or bisexual men over two years.

    The participants began the study HIV negative, and took a daily HIV prevention medication called Truvada (pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP). And, the results were nothing short of miraculous.

    The results concluded that 100 percent of the participants remained HIV-free.

    In a press release, Jonathan Volk, the lead author described the study as, “the first to extend the understanding of the use of PrEP in a real-world setting, and suggests that the treatment may prevent new HIV infections even in a high-risk setting. Until now, evidence supporting the efficacy of PrEP to prevent HIV infection had come from clinical trials and a demonstration project.”

    When The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied Truvada, they concluded that it could reduce the risk of infection by up to 92 percent if you take the HIV prevention medication daily.

    Despite the wonderful affects of this HIV prevention medication, Truvada has a bad rap for being a party drug. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation believes that PrEP encourages unsafe sex. When the hashtag #TruvadaWhore went viral on Instagram, their point gained tangible evidence.

    To learn more about the results of this HIV prevention medication study, click here.

    Related: HIV Symptoms

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  • Zachary Quinto Opens Up About His PrEP Comments

    Zachary Quinto Opens Up About His PrEP Comments

    When Zachary Quinto made comments about PrEP, the Twittersphere went absolutely berserk. But, in a recent interview with Michelangelo Signorile of the Huffington Post, he addressed his comments brilliantly.

    In an effort to exmplin his position on HIV prevention and PrEP, Quinto said:

    “Look, I just think we need to be vigilant as a community and a community of gay men. It was not my intention to judge anybody or to rankle anybody, or to put myself in some kind of superior position by any means.

    I think if people use PrEP as part of a responsible regimen of taking care of themselves and preserving their bodies and their well-being and the well-being of the people they’re having sex with, then more power to them. There was this thing that I was ‘slut-shaming.’ Anybody who knows me knows that that is the last thing I would ever do. I just think that we can’t let our guard down.”

    Read the full interview on Huffington Post.

  • Treating HIV Early Leads to Better Health and Less Transmission

    Treating HIV Early Leads to Better Health and Less Transmission

    Starting HIV treatment early, before immune damage occurs, brings real clinical benefits, a new study has shown. (more…)