You can take your sexual morality and shove it up your ass.
Sorry. But that is how I feel when I read the backwards, selfish, homophobic, sex-phobic, uneducated and vicious, negative reactions to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxes, or PrEP.
For those that are unfamiliar, PrEP (also known by the brand name, Truvada) is an HIV prevention drug that (when taken as prescribed) is 92-99% effective in prevention of the spread of HIV. The drug, originally intended (and highly effective) for HIV positive patients to combat HIV infection, was approved in 2012 for use by HIV negative persons as a method of prevention. When taken properly by an HIV negative person, PrEP prevents the contraction of HIV.
There has been an astounding amount of debate surrounding PrEP, both within and outside the gay community. Let us have a chat (one sided as a blog-post chat may be) about three of my favorite arguments.
1. You will all become Truvada Whores.
This argument posits that people on PrEP are taking the drug as a free-for-all green light to run around having rampant unprotected sex. Those who support this sex-shaming ideology point their self-loathing fingers (it has come largely from within the gay community, including the HuffPo article that coined the term, though it should be noted that Mr. Duran later revised his thoughts) at the promiscuity in the gay community hold up PrEP as just another way we can have an excuse to be sluts.
But here’s the thing . . . sluts are sluts. We are. We do not care if you do not like that. Sex is fun and awesome and amazing, and we believe people should have as much sex as they want and can have. PrEP does not increase or diminish the amount of sex we are having, and neither does your shame.
HIV and AIDS are spread through sexual intercourse. This drug prevents the spread of HIV between people who (see above) are already having sex, PrEP or no. So if there is a drug that prevents the spread of HIV and you are against that drug on the basis that we should not be having so much dirty butt sex in the first place, you are a self-righteous gay-hating prick. If you think the presence of PrEP will turn us all, suddenly, into raging sex addicts, you are probably delusional about the amount of sex we were having in the first place.
This is a health crisis and your sexual judgments, to which you are entitled, have no place in the discussion of disease prevention.
2. It only works if taken as instructed.
The efficacy of PrEP is reduced proportionately with the level of improper usage. Studies show that those that did not take PrEP on a daily basis (as prescribed) showed a lower level of effective results.
Yeah. Duh. Same with condoms. And aspirin. And antibiotics. And computers. If you do not use a thing as instructed, that thing will not work as intended. Is that really a reason to remove a method of HIV prevention from the market? It is a ridiculous circular argument that could be applied to literally ANY medication.
And yes, I understand that these people are saying that a person on PrEP who has not taken the drug properly might still go out and have unprotected sex holding the belief that their body is immune to HIV infection. But given that the effects are reduced proportionately, that person is still at a much lower risk for infection (awesome) and there is no evidence to support that a person in this category was having 100% safe sex prior to taking PrEP.
One might also argue that a person who cannot manage to take a once-a-day pill is probably also a person not consistently capable of making healthy decisions, no? So perhaps sending them out there at 75% lower risk is actually a positive. Some prevention is infinitely better than none.
3. PrEP does not prevent the spread of other STD’s.
The argument here goes that the primary motivation for gay men to use condoms comes from fear of HIV infection. Remove the fear via PrEP, and the condom comes off. Cue the rampant spread of other STD’s.
Remember when we were a completely (as opposed to mostly) misogynistic society and used this same argument against birth control for women? And remember how we argued (see above) that women would become raging sluts when they couldn’t get pregnant and our civilized society would collapse under the weight of all the resulting sexual immorality? And remember how there was this massive increase in STD’s among women . . . oh wait . . . that last part didn’t happen, did it?
Putting aside the homophobic sex-negative undertones of this argument, there are two obvious holes in the logic. The first is that you are talking about a group of people (PrEP takers) that take their sexual health very seriously AND are required to have regular medical check ups that include STD testing while taking the medication. We are a people concerned with our health and the sexual well being of our partners, so to assume that we will suddenly change our behavior and thereby greatly increase our risk of other STD’s is without merit. If symptoms or test results indicate the presence of an STD, we stop having sex and get treated.
The second problem is, and let me be a little blunt here, that sucking dick transmits most STD’s. People rarely use protection when performing or receiving oral sex. I would guess that most gay men concerned enough with their sexual activities to seek out PrEP have recently had a dick or two in their mouth, and are therefore already at risk for most sexually transmitted diseases. So to accept the logic of this argument, you must first adopt the incorrect assumption that your control group was not already at risk for other STD’s.
But the glaring insidiousness of this argument is that it ignores the primary fact: PrEP prevents the spread of HIV and AIDS. Full stop.
Sorry. But that is how I feel when I read the backwards, selfish, homophobic, sex-phobic, uneducated and vicious, negative reactions to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxes, or PrEP.
For those that are unfamiliar, PrEP (also known by the brand name, Truvada) is an HIV prevention drug that (when taken as prescribed) is 92-99% effective in prevention of the spread of HIV. The drug, originally intended (and highly effective) for HIV positive patients to combat HIV infection, was approved in 2012 for use by HIV negative persons as a method of prevention. When taken properly by an HIV negative person, PrEP prevents the contraction of HIV.
There has been an astounding amount of debate surrounding PrEP, both within and outside the gay community. Let us have a chat (one sided as a blog-post chat may be) about three of my favorite arguments.
1. You will all become Truvada Whores.
This argument posits that people on PrEP are taking the drug as a free-for-all green light to run around having rampant unprotected sex. Those who support this sex-shaming ideology point their self-loathing fingers (it has come largely from within the gay community, including the HuffPo article that coined the term, though it should be noted that Mr. Duran later revised his thoughts) at the promiscuity in the gay community hold up PrEP as just another way we can have an excuse to be sluts.
But here’s the thing . . . sluts are sluts. We are. We do not care if you do not like that. Sex is fun and awesome and amazing, and we believe people should have as much sex as they want and can have. PrEP does not increase or diminish the amount of sex we are having, and neither does your shame.
HIV and AIDS are spread through sexual intercourse. This drug prevents the spread of HIV between people who (see above) are already having sex, PrEP or no. So if there is a drug that prevents the spread of HIV and you are against that drug on the basis that we should not be having so much dirty butt sex in the first place, you are a self-righteous gay-hating prick. If you think the presence of PrEP will turn us all, suddenly, into raging sex addicts, you are probably delusional about the amount of sex we were having in the first place.
This is a health crisis and your sexual judgments, to which you are entitled, have no place in the discussion of disease prevention.
2. It only works if taken as instructed.
The efficacy of PrEP is reduced proportionately with the level of improper usage. Studies show that those that did not take PrEP on a daily basis (as prescribed) showed a lower level of effective results.
Yeah. Duh. Same with condoms. And aspirin. And antibiotics. And computers. If you do not use a thing as instructed, that thing will not work as intended. Is that really a reason to remove a method of HIV prevention from the market? It is a ridiculous circular argument that could be applied to literally ANY medication.
And yes, I understand that these people are saying that a person on PrEP who has not taken the drug properly might still go out and have unprotected sex holding the belief that their body is immune to HIV infection. But given that the effects are reduced proportionately, that person is still at a much lower risk for infection (awesome) and there is no evidence to support that a person in this category was having 100% safe sex prior to taking PrEP.
One might also argue that a person who cannot manage to take a once-a-day pill is probably also a person not consistently capable of making healthy decisions, no? So perhaps sending them out there at 75% lower risk is actually a positive. Some prevention is infinitely better than none.
3. PrEP does not prevent the spread of other STD’s.
The argument here goes that the primary motivation for gay men to use condoms comes from fear of HIV infection. Remove the fear via PrEP, and the condom comes off. Cue the rampant spread of other STD’s.
Remember when we were a completely (as opposed to mostly) misogynistic society and used this same argument against birth control for women? And remember how we argued (see above) that women would become raging sluts when they couldn’t get pregnant and our civilized society would collapse under the weight of all the resulting sexual immorality? And remember how there was this massive increase in STD’s among women . . . oh wait . . . that last part didn’t happen, did it?
Putting aside the homophobic sex-negative undertones of this argument, there are two obvious holes in the logic. The first is that you are talking about a group of people (PrEP takers) that take their sexual health very seriously AND are required to have regular medical check ups that include STD testing while taking the medication. We are a people concerned with our health and the sexual well being of our partners, so to assume that we will suddenly change our behavior and thereby greatly increase our risk of other STD’s is without merit. If symptoms or test results indicate the presence of an STD, we stop having sex and get treated.
The second problem is, and let me be a little blunt here, that sucking dick transmits most STD’s. People rarely use protection when performing or receiving oral sex. I would guess that most gay men concerned enough with their sexual activities to seek out PrEP have recently had a dick or two in their mouth, and are therefore already at risk for most sexually transmitted diseases. So to accept the logic of this argument, you must first adopt the incorrect assumption that your control group was not already at risk for other STD’s.
But the glaring insidiousness of this argument is that it ignores the primary fact: PrEP prevents the spread of HIV and AIDS. Full stop.
You have probably inferred from the above that I am on PrEP. I am a sex-positive and sexually active gay man in an open (non-monogamous) and loving relationship. I decided to begin taking PrEP because, as I said to my doctor, I act with a fairly low risk of HIV infection but the risk is not zero. I take PrEP to greatly reduce my risk of contracting HIV and AIDS, thereby also eliminating my risk of spreading it to others.
My Truvada prescription sits inside my coffee filters, so when I make my coffee each morning, I take my pill. I have been on PrEP for just over a month and have taken my pill every day. I have had one incident of behavior that I would consider a medium-to-low level risk (yes, I am highly educated on the methods of how HIV is spread) and one or two very-low level risk behaviors in the time I have been on PrEP. This is similar (almost exactly the same, actually) to my behavior during the month prior. I might, occasionally, now engage in behavior that would be riskier were I not on this drug. I am currently STD free, and my previous commitment to being tested for HIV and STD’s every six to eight months has increased to regularly scheduled doctor appointments every three months.
I am HIV negative. I am not afraid of people who are HIV positive. I would like to remain HIV negative for myself and so that I do not spread HIV to others. That is why I am on PrEP.
If you do not like that, do not have sex with me. We probably wouldn’t get along, anyway. But before you publicly advocate against PrEP, perhaps you should consider your intentions. Do you want me to be healthy, or do you just hate me for having sex?
My Truvada prescription sits inside my coffee filters, so when I make my coffee each morning, I take my pill. I have been on PrEP for just over a month and have taken my pill every day. I have had one incident of behavior that I would consider a medium-to-low level risk (yes, I am highly educated on the methods of how HIV is spread) and one or two very-low level risk behaviors in the time I have been on PrEP. This is similar (almost exactly the same, actually) to my behavior during the month prior. I might, occasionally, now engage in behavior that would be riskier were I not on this drug. I am currently STD free, and my previous commitment to being tested for HIV and STD’s every six to eight months has increased to regularly scheduled doctor appointments every three months.
I am HIV negative. I am not afraid of people who are HIV positive. I would like to remain HIV negative for myself and so that I do not spread HIV to others. That is why I am on PrEP.
If you do not like that, do not have sex with me. We probably wouldn’t get along, anyway. But before you publicly advocate against PrEP, perhaps you should consider your intentions. Do you want me to be healthy, or do you just hate me for having sex?