It seems strange that a pill that’s shown incredible promise at curbing new HIV infections could still have so much misinformation and stigma attached to it, but such is life.
Maybe if Michael Weinstein and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation would step up and do their jobs right, we wouldn’t still be debating the effectiveness of Truvada at making a meaningful dent in world health.
Below, the Community Healthcare Network draws from a meme-gone-by (remember all those “shit ____ say” videos?) to shine a light on some of the common misconceptions about PrEP:
redcarpet30
Forgot “BIG PHARMA!” “SLUT” and “MORON”, “SIDE EFFECTS” “DRUG RESISTANT” “THE NEXT DISEASE!” and “LONG TERM SIDE EFFECTS”.
Which is all shit if you have actually talked to a doctor about it.
Stache
Can a prescription for PreP come with a ball gag for this little silly queen. She shouldn’t worry so much about getting any std’s. Bigger concern would be someone strangling her.
Stache
@redcarpet30: I would think that would’ve happened already in the 70’s.
Stefano
The guy in the video is annoying. Is that OK for your ‘sensor machine’ ?
Stefano
Censor machine… Loll
paulbear30
“Maybe if Michael Weinstein and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation would step up and do their jobs right, we wouldn’t still be debating the effectiveness of Truvada at making a meaningful dent in world health”.
Maybe if gay entertainment and health outlets would stop the insidious conflation of gay and anal fucking, then wouldn’t be debating the effectiveness of Truvada OR condoms!! How about that?
HollyScorpio
The pill doesn’t have a stigma. The guys who use it and don’t then practice safe sex are the ones with the stigma.
Russell David
Man, I really wanted this to be good :/
dwes09
@paulbear30: What exactly is the “insidious conflation of gay and anal fucking”? A significantly larger portion of the male gay population engage in anal intercourse than the heterosexual population, and anal intercourse is more effective at transmission of HIV than either vaginal or oral sex. And it is certainly more fun than oral sex or the rather prissy “frottage” (more intimate as well). The study most often quoted bases its conclusions on the nature of the LAST REPORTED SEXUAL CONTACT. That only 35% of gay men had anal sex on the most recently reported tryst says little about long term behavior. The study also said that 40% of the encounters were with committed partners or regular dates. all this tells us is that anal sex is only shared unders certain circumstances (where preparation is possible and partners are already intimate perhaps).
By contrast 30-50% of heterosexual men and women admitted to having had anal sex at least once, which, given the taboo implies it is much more common among heterosexuals than assumed.
paulbear30
@dwes09: “What exactly is the “insidious conflation of gay and anal fucking”
Those statistic are absolutely irrelevant! Nowhere did I say anything about heterosexuals. The only thing of value in your reply is what you reveal about your true motive in offering up that pro anal sex pitch. Thanks for proving my point and answering your own question.
Realityis
@redcarpet30: Oh silly boy…. Big Pharma and Long Term Side Effects are absolutely relevant. If Big Pharma didn’t give a shit about money, they’d bring out the cure… so I can live the rest of my life without this horrible disease.
And I am on Truvada for 2 years now and I have gotten new side effects from it. hmmmm…
I won’t tell anyone not to take it, because when used with a condom, it’s a great defense, but I also want people to learn from my experience. Truvada is no joke and not to be taken lightly.
dwes09
@paulbear30: Excuse me? What exactly is “my motive”?
Please get a grip on reality. I asked a question, and gave statistics that counter what seem to be agenda-based assumptions on your part. You respond with WHAT YOU CLEARLY IMAGINE to be my motives. Please enlighten me as to what they are. Also, what is a “pro anal sex pitch”, I have no idea what that refers to. And you made no attempt to answermy question art all
And since I am trying to relate to reality here, how is a comparison with heterosexuals irrelevant when we are talking about the relative commonness of a specific act engaged in by both? Please use facts in your response rather than what you “feel”, “think” or “believe”, or at least use actual facts for support.
I will restate my question: What exactly is the “insidious conflation of gay and anal fucking”? YOU made that statement, I assume there was at least a tiny bit of thought behind it.
dwes09
@Realityis: They’d bring out the cure”…
Statements like this reveal more about the posters misunderstandings regarding science and medicine than about the (fairly obvious) greed of the drug companies.
There have never been any cures for viral diseases in the past, simply vaccines, controls and symptomatic relief. There have been recent breakthroughs involving hepatitis c, but none involving HIV. That has more to do with the nature of viral particles than with the desire of drug companies to make money. Bacteria are much more easily killed than virus (at least until recently given their fast evolution of resistance), which are not really even living things.
Our ability to easily kill bacterial infections may be coming to an end, our ability to easily kill viral infections has not yet begun. Greed or conspiracy are not the issues here, biological realities are.
Stache
@dwes09: “There have never been any cures for viral diseases in the past”
Actually, that’s not true. You might want to read this story…
http://www.queerty.com/five-things-you-dont-know-about-the-first-man-cured-of-hiv-20150204
dwes09
@dwes09: And yes, side effects and long term effects of PrEP as well as anti-retroviral therapy is a HUGELY relevant issue. There are way too many people who do not tolerate HIV drugs well, and a small group who do not tolerate them at all. It is a myth that HIV is “a manageable disease like diabetes” for all those infected. And even were it so, there are inevitable long term effects for many if not most diabetes sufferers.
The best tactic regarding HIV is still to do all you can to avoid infection.
Realityis
@dwes09: I absolutely believe their is a cure. I’m not misunderstanding anything that I know of.
Not concerned about bacteria or virus, I just want to be HIV negative. My only motive.
dwes09
@Stache: There are reasons why this does not really count. A bone marrow/stem cell transplant is a ridiculously extreme intervention, and always will be; if it fails (as it sometimes does) the recipient will invariably die and even if it succeeds drugs are required for the rest of one’s life. It is not a cure for HIV, but a fluke, and a lucky one for the individual involved. This offers little hope for other sufferers of HIV infection, and few would risk death to effect a cure. @Realityis: In believing that there is actually a cure drug companies are sitting on to make money (the meaning of the words you used in your original post), you are in fact demonstrating misunderstanding. No such cure exists. And despite the desires of all but truly fucked up people for such a cure to be soon found, current science makes it unlikely.
dwes09
@Realityis: And how can you not be concerned about virus when HIV is one? As an HIV positive person you should be intensely concerned about research. Real research.
Stache
@dwes09: It does count. Scientists are right now studying the CCR5 mutation from the donors stem cells. This along with more effective drugs to clean out the HIV from the bodies reservoirs. Will have a functional cure in the next 10 years and in 15-20 an all out cure.
You should watch this Vice documentary about it. http://www.vice.com/read/watch-the-trailer-for-the-vice-on-hbo-special-report-on-the-fight-to-end-aids-009
paulbear30
@dwes09: My grip on reality is nice and tight. Thanks for your concern though!
“I asked a question, and gave statistics that counter what seem to be agenda-based assumptions on your part”.
What exactly what did you think I was assuming, and why didn’t you ask me if I was assuming xyz before you made your look like a fool? Given that *I* was objecting to a conflation of two distinct phenomena which is predicated on an agenda based assumption, your question was ignorant – a failure to grasp the context. The comment that I replied to was framed in a tone of moral responsibility, therefore I responded in kind. Your injection of the stats had NO relevance to that. You clearly had a knee-jerk reaction to the mere possibility that someone had a less than positive stance on your favorite past time – getting fucked in the ass. But you can redirect that drama somewhere else!
Stefano
@dwes09: Don’t try to argue with religious nuts. They are like a dog with rabies, they are highly contagious, very aggressive and ready to jump at your throat. They are very furious if you don’t bend to their will.
Stefano
@dwes09: and like Mark Twain said : “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with expérience.”
Stefano
It seems that Mark Twain never said that…ah anyways.
paulbear30
@Stefano: Religious nuts? Wtf are you even talking about? You should drop the cliched retorts before you make yourself look like an even bigger fool, “Mark Twain”. Lmao!
Stached1
Does he mention how pretty much every guy on PreP uses it as an excuse to bareback and not use condoms or practice safer sex, and thinks that it will always protect them from HIV?
Truth_from_Hudson_NY
Nauseating, effeminate stereotypical Latina queen…oh, I’m sorry, that’s insensitive. Here’s what I should say, “Nauseating, effeminate stereotypical Latina queen.” Just proves that homosexuals and gays can be as clueless, classless, and moronic as the general population. If you think there’s something special about being gay, watch this clip. Sad!
Bromancer7
@HollyScorpio: Newsflash: taking PrEP *IS* practicing safe sex.
Bromancer7
@Stached1: You you not realize that taking PrEP is, in fact, practicing safer sex? Or don’t you understand exactly what it does? Would you prefer these guys bareback and NOT take PrEP? Cause, yeah, that’s clearly the better alternative.
People like to think that condoms will always protect them from HIV. They don’t, and that’s even when used 100% correctly, every time.
MinnesotaNotNice
@Truth_from_Hudson_NY: Absolutely so, well stated!
Stilinski26
He was cute until he started talking
Stached1
@Truth_from_Hudson_NY: LOL very true. PreP is toxic and not safer sex as pretty much everyone that takes it thinks it’s an excuse to do it BB/raw like it’s the 70s and you would think people had learned how you can’t do that anymore and that it’s not been safe to do for the last 35 years.