Grindr is a lot of things. Battery killer, time waster, hook-up facilitator and late night drug solicitation tool to name just a handful. Now it can add this: PrEP marketer.
It’s no surprise that guys are hooking up online in staggering numbers — there’s a bevy of scandalous services out there — so if the goal is to reach a market of potentially unsafe sex practicers, seems like a good place to start.
They recently told Buzzfeed in a statement:
To date, Grindr has helped raise awareness surrounding numerous PrEP initiatives including studies and information sessions.
Grindr is highly committed to promoting safe sex within the community and strongly encourages our users to engage in safe sex practices, get tested and know their HIV status.
And here’s what you might have seen lately before you load more guys:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
tdx3fan
There are some problems with PrEP…
http://www.thebodypro.com/content/72567/weighing-risks-of-tdfftc-prep-side-effects-in-peop.html
For example, I’m pretty sure that long term low bone density and chronic kidney disease are bad… mkay!
Then you experience cost and rather it is covered on insurance for non-HIV+ individuals (although there is an assistance program for cost through the company).
Then comes the fact that you have to follow a strict regiment to have the immunity.
It seems like a lot to deal with to get around condom usage. That being said, I think if you have casual sex or even romantic sex (with only one partner) it is a good idea to protect yourself even while you intend on using condoms the majority of the time. Also, I have yet to see any argument be made that you can just PrEP and go bare back all day with every guy by anyone furthering the movement.
Billy Budd
I say *No Thanks* to the pharmaceutical companies. I will continue wearing condoms.
SportGuy
To each their own, but I will stick with condoms. Cleaner, no side effects, cheaper and more reliable. If someone wants to take this drug and BB, which most all are, then that is fine, but I won’t be getting involved with them.
vive
@Sportguy, @tdx3fan, this campaign is also about PEP (a month-long course of antivirals post-exposure to prevent establishment of infection), not just PrEP. Accidents happen with condoms (they’re prone to breaking when the bottom is tight, as I have found several times to my chagrin), or you may realize you have some gum bleeding after oral sex, for example, so it is very important for every gay guy to know about PEP. PEP has been around for decades and it is unforgivable that gay men in the U.S. are still not informed about it.
michael mellor
Will Grindr take responsibility should Truvada lead to side-effects such as erectile failure or cardiac arrhythmia? Maybe it’s best to avoid Grindr.
Saint Law
When it comes to long-term anything best not to look to Grindr methinks.
Masc Pride (masc4masc)
Stuff like this makes me wonder if Grindr and Gilead are in cahoots. Businesses are way more concerned about money than your health/safety. Condoms have worked fine for me for 29 years and counting. Unless you’re someone who’s prone to being reckless (random barebacking, backrooms/book stores, PNP, etc.) PrEP is unnecessary. Americans have generally gotten too dependent on pill-popping. I tend to avoid putting any chemical in my body that isn’t a necessity.
@michael mellor: Agreed. Avoiding Grindr is probably the most effective PrEP.
Lvng1tor
Every drug on tv has a “thought to work” warning along with the “May cause…” How about this, Let people use what they choose to use. Be glad that we are making strides and people are using SOMETHING! Stop with the pious judgement and take responsibility for yourself. Let’s invest money and tech into not only curing HIV but finding a better alternative to Truveda (cause it’s the start) and it will get better as did HIV treatments in general over only the past 5 years.
@Masc Pride (masc4masc): You’re wondering if a social network is being somehow “paid” to promote this…..SHOCKING!!! You cracked the code Sherlock! At least people are getting informed on their choices.
Lvng1tor
@Masc Pride (masc4masc): BTW…I do agree that people should keep using condoms and that deciding to use a drug that could do harm (no matter how small) is riskier and chemicals in general should be avoided when possible. That’s my feeling but it’s not what people are doing so having another option and probably more in the next 2 years is a good thing overall. Plus it’s not my life and people are more than how they choose to have sex….I’d rather judge a person on personal experience and not a narrow minded view of who these people must be cause they use PrEP and not how some believe they should live.
vive
The bottom line is most young guys don’t use condoms consistently. Even those who are, are not getting full protection from them, given that they are only about 95% protective if used perfectly (I’ve seen many guys using condoms wrong, by the way). Say what you want about side effects (which are minor to nonexistent in most cases, carefully monitored during treatment, and reversible), PrEP is much less harmful than contracting HIV. It is also much cheaper for the health system than treating HIV.
Tackle
@vive: The side effects that you say are nonexistent in most cases has more to do with most guys use of these drugs being ” very” recent. Just wait till 5, 7 and 10 yrs down the road. And come on, you KNOW that most people do not use condoms wrong. In my 30 + yrs of using condoms, over a hundred times, only had two that broke, and I’m in good health. Don’t have to worry about constantly going to a doctor to check for this, and monitor for that. And it’s much cheaper then PrEP…
Masc Pride (masc4masc)
@Lvng1tor: Gilead obviously sees dollar signs in the gay male population. They’re still enjoying a nice steady paycheck from the poz pop, and now they’re obviously wanting to tap the neg market. Grindr is popular with gay men. Why do you find the concept so implausible? Especially for apps/sites like Grindr and a4a that continue to promote some of the most reckless behavior out there, it just makes me scratch my head when they try to preach safety practices. Makes me think either there’s some ulterior motive or they’re just hypocrites. I wasn’t telling anyone how to live either. I simply stated what has worked totally fine for me for years.
Lvng1tor
@Masc Pride (masc4masc): Wow for someone who snarks so well you didn’t smell the sarcasm…SHERLOCK
…or should I say @DarkZephyr….I’ve noticed you’re never in the same room at the same time!!! Duh Duh Duuuuhhhh!!!
BTW it’s not hypocritical it’s capitalist run economy and political system…so yeah I guess it is hypocritical but just business being business.
Don’t hate the player…hate the game….problem is I think we signed away our rights to “hate the game” when we didn’t read our Facebook TOS clearly….CRAP!
onthemark
@vive: “(I’ve seen many guys using condoms wrong, by the way)”
I’m almost afraid to ask. What do they do, put them on backwards? Blow them up like party balloons?
onthemark
Nobody is taking a poll on this, probably, but I would guess that a slight majority of Grindr users in most places are poz already (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Truvada is simply for your own reassurance if you’re neg. The other guy can SAY he’s on Truvada or SAY he’s undetectable or whatever, they can say whatever they think you want to hear. In which case only a condom would be believable to me.
Lvng1tor
@onthemark: Sadly I’ve met many guys who think real lube isn’t needed and instead use baby oil or spit or what evs. Many guys don’t know the difference in lubes…use too much with latex condoms. Guys who think using 2 condoms is better than one……guys who don’t know the right way to use dental dams or anal condoms that don’t require extra lube or lube the penis first…It’s astounding how many dip wads are out there.
PrEP just gives more options. It doesn’t say don’t use condoms it just says here’s another option if you aren’t using condoms or in conjunction with condoms.
@Tackle: Truvada is not a new drug. Each person is an individual absolutely unique chemical factory….no one can ever say how a med will individually affect someone in 7, 10 30yrs….there will be some people who it will not react well with but after so many years of prescribing it already and more years in trials before that those people are few. Same as any med you go on for anything!!! PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY not judgement cause it’s not for you
Lvng1tor
OMG my last post was flagged because I said “lube the C0ck” so i changed it to “penis” and it wasn’t flagged….I can still say fag though
Teeth
@Lvng1tor: And you can still say slut. But you can’t say c0ck or Tra**ny, even if you are doing so within context and in support. They went down a slippery slope with word policing which has cheapened the experience.
Teeth
Never would I have guessed the reaction we are having to good pharma solutions– what we all marched for and demanded in letters to our representatives. If I were still doing academic writing, (which I hope to never do again), I would really want to examine this.
Ludwig
PrEP is not an *ANSWER* people are using it as an excuse for behavior that is causing the problem, the British study is not even going to be complete until 2017 and we really are out of the “loop” and only have empirical evidence that this Truvada can work but then there are the all the other STI’s. We know that unprotected sex with an HIV+ is the HIGHEST risk for getting infected. But when someone says we need to be safe “bareback queens” scream their rights are being infringed and its “personal choice” and how all gay men are hypocrites and we all watch “bareback porn”… I for one work as and STI and HIV educator for youth and I try to teach that you need to use a “barrier” because someones else’s fluids can infect you.
The truth is HIV is nothing more then MANAGEABLE at this point in time it is still lethal and it is a VIRUS and there is no virus to date we have cure for, only vaccines or treatments, and if we do not find a cure if you get HIV you will *most likely* develop complications and succumb and die… no BS this is what I do for a living go to the CDC or governments AIDS sats web sight and not that fluffer pox-equality web sights.
(I don’t advocate mistreatment or discrimination of HIV+ people just a heavy dose of reality when they say stuff like “your bathroom is more dangerous then sleeping with me” -someone said that on Huff-gayvoices.)
Masc Pride (masc4masc)
@Lvng1tor: You confuse me. Everyone else is just consistently bitchy. Sometimes you’re bitchy, and sometimes you’re nice. It throws me off. lol
DeeJayMiles
gay sex is WAY too complicated, i quit.
Teeth
@Ludwig: yes. And seat belts make people drive badly.
Teeth
@Ludwig: you clearly don’t understand that Prep oily is prophylaxis..not treatment. Evidence has shown, clearly, that most people dip not change their sexual practice on it..just their seroconversion rate.
Ludwig
@Teeth : Look at NYC Mayor saying he is going to “subsidize” Truvada or this HIV+ Magazine from the UK on people abusing PrEp thinking it is “golden ticket” : http://www.gmfa.org.uk/Sites/fsmagazine/pages/fs141-the-new-negative-sorry-guys-you-still-have-hiv.
Teeth YOU do NOT under stand the subject and like most TROLLS on the net you are committing a basic “debate flaw” called “ad hominem” and even “post hoc” where you are thinly veiling an attack against me not the content of my subject matter… and you really added nothing just repeated what I already said people use as “propaganda” in support to misuse PrEP.
Masc Pride (masc4masc)
@Ludwig: You must be new. Ad hominem is the only way these guys know how to respond to opposition. Though I see you’ve already learned how to call someone a troll simply because they disagree with you. Now just learn to play the multiple account accusation game, and you’ll do okay here. 🙂
Teeth
Not at all.. behavioral studies from the AHP @ ucsf show that personal sexual behavior is pretty steady…the safe people stayed safe. PreP fills an important need…it helps people not get hiv. There are other ways to not get hiv..ones that don’t involve expensive meds or side effects…but for the people who don’t always use condoms or who are still drinking, etc, this is a sound harm reduction strategy.
Cobalt Blue
Well, if people is afraid about Truvada ( or can’t aford it ) and don’t like condoms the only way to have a safe fuck is to fuck a papaya…
Tackle
@Lvng1tor: You’re right it’s not new. I should have stated the way it’s being used. How it’s being used. And what it’s being used for is new. For otherwise healthy, non HIV positive people and the regimented use of this drug is new. And I hope (I) was not being judgemental in my previous post.
Ludwig
@Teeth: First the studies are not even complete and the “evidence” that PrEP would work on a long term basis is PURELY empirical and hate to say something like this but the “HIV+ Special Interest” that wants the gay community to think getting HIV is just like having diabetes is pushing being on PrEP, and being “undetectable”, as completely safe even though they are not completely proven studies and scientifically proven as safe.
Second, PrEP assumes that you are HIV- and using a condom and your partner is HIV- and also being safe and on PrEP and then if one of you has had a “slip up” there is a DECREASED chance of a transmission… seriously Teeth read the study material from the FDA, CDC and AIDS.gov and educate yourself and stop spouting ignorant propaganda you either just think, made up or heard on a pro-HIV+ web sight.
Masc Pride (masc4masc)
Just read Truvada’s site in the info for uninfected individuals section, and it states that PrEP is intended for use along WITH safer sex practices. Nowhere on the site does it state it’s meant as free pass to bareback your brains out.
“TRUVADA is used with safer sex practices at all times (in bold type), to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 in men who have sex with men who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex, and heterosexual couples where one partner has HIV-1 and the other does not.”
http://start.truvada.com/individual
Ludwig
@Masc Pride (masc4masc): “that most people dip not change their sexual practice on it..just their seroconversion rate.” My response was to that comment… so if there not going to change their sexual practice, i.e. barebacking, and if you read threads like this on Huff-Gayvoices:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renato-barucco/beyond-poz-and-neg-five-h_b_5039729.html … Notice last status and the promotion is “risky” sexual behavior along with it as being “safe” now you are on PrEP…
Which you are reinforcing my point of people like Tooth and the Huff-Blogger not reading the studies.
Ludwig
I do not know if this will help but PLEASE READ all of it… this is the CDC’s flash point presentation they releases on the FDA’s study on Truvada, which is not “fully” cleared, but is released to the public to see if people in the general population can adhere to the STRICT guidelines that will allow it to work: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/advisoryCommittees/committeesMeetingmaterials/drugs/antiviraldrugsadvisorycommittee/UCM305777.pdf
It’s wordy, a lot of chart, figures with graphs and some of terms are specific… just try not to jump to conclusions to read into it.
Masc Pride (masc4masc)
@Ludwig: From what Truvada’s site states, it seems like this is meant to make serodiscordant couples (that ARE also using condoms) safer in the event that a condom is defective or happens to malfunction. It doesn’t seem like they’re saying “take this so you can get on Grindr and bareback with the nearest random guy ‘safely'”. Also seems like the drug is really hard on the liver.
Ludwig
@Masc Pride (masc4masc): You are seeming to trying to argue with me over same point…I am not going to Truvada’s sight because from my experience the drugs manufacture gives the barest info as required by law/FDA.
Basically: *OFFICIALLY* Truvada is ment to be used in a very specific way and under very specific crimstances; the manufacturer, the CDC, the FDA and AIDS.GOV all agree on that. My point is being people are being told like to poster I quoter and the Huff-Blogger that they do not need to change their sexual practices.
HIV+ Gay Rights Activist and author Larry Kramer who is a public health advocate and co-founder of live saving organizations Gay Men’s Health Crisis and ACT UP said this about taking PrEP and the current mentality about it:
“Anybody who voluntarily takes an antiviral every day has got to have rocks in their heads. There’s something to me cowardly about taking Truvada instead of using a condom. You’re taking a drug that is poison to you, and it has lessened your energy to fight, to get involved, to do anything.”
buffnightwing
If anyone read, the new study in PPREX says that if you take it 4 times a week or more, no one in the study became HIV positive. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON.
PrEP works.
I don’t care what any of you thinks about MY PERSONAL bedroom decisions. It’s not for any of YOU to decide what I do in my private life.
Glad condoms work for you, but when I put one on, my boner goes down and I can’t feel a fucking thing. While I’m fucking. LOL
What we really need is comprehensive sex ed from grade 4.
Go PrEP!
I will be telling everyone I know about this wonder drug.
SHAME on the rest of you.
Ludwig
@buffnightwing: OMG… the CDC statement I posted above that is going that *OFFICAL* study people became infected… and that article on thebody.com is posted before the official CDC statement I linked, you would see this if you look at the publication date and not just go fishing for a excuse to scream for your “bedroom rights” no matter how they may impact the gay community at large because you think there is a magic pull that is not completely proven or fully tested yet.
buffnightwing
You GALS are all worried about your liver, what about all the drinking ya all do?? Please! Enough with the excuses MARY. Go PrEP!
The study I mentioned is on http://www.thebody.com
Ludwig
@buffnightwing: “Glad condoms work for you, but when I put one on, my boner goes down and I can’t feel a fucking thing. While I’m fucking. LOL
What we really need is comprehensive sex ed from grade 4.
Go PrEP!
I will be telling everyone I know about this wonder drug.”
You seem you also need to read the web sight of Teuvada and PrEP… they say to NOT get an HIV infection while on PrEP you need to USE a condom at the same not not just pop the “magic pill” and not worry like you seem to think.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: OK, I was wrong. Here is the right web page. ZERO INFECTIONS READS THE HEADLINE.
http://www.thebodypro.com/content/74799/zero-hiv-infections-when-prep-is-taken-4-or-more-t.html?ic=wnhp
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: ZERO INFECTIONS WHEN PREP IS TAKEN 4 TIMES A WEEK OR MORE.
There is your study and your proof. I am glad a bunch of young guys will know why its like to enjoy sex again without being afraid every time you get horny. SEX is a natural and awesome thing. PrEP just makes us rest a little easier.
Condoms do kill the feeling. They suck, which is why NO ONE is using them anymore. DUH
Ludwig
Your blatant ignorance and intense fishing expedition for justification for using PrEP and PrEP being something it’s not is astounding. Look up a few posts and you can read the OFFICIAL CDC STUDY REALSE where the facts are not slanted like on your “pro-HIV+” the body pro sight. The maker of PrEP says you need to use a condom, yet in your infect all gay men with HIV a by promoting “natural” sex now we have PrEP is the dangerously wrong message to send to young gay men… Read, the official statements and studies not blogs and second hand news stories without sources and don’t spout silly self righteous “my bedroom my rights” BS because as an public health worker and youth STI infection counselor I have seen too many people infected by people not disclosing and not being honest.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: This is a study from the International Aids Conference. TheBODY website is full of science. Stop being an idiot. PrEP is for anyone that thinks they are at risk, and I will recommend it to any young gay guys that has more than 2 sex partners a month!
People not disclosing is exactly why i want everyone on PrEP!!!! You argument is ridiculous.
The study is not bogus.
Ludwig
Are you able to read beyond a 2nd grade level? The “study” you claim they did is actually the plagiarized CDC study with them slanting the results and then acting like it was from the time the International AIDS Conference did the study which is not a scientific body but a “think tank” of HIV/AIDS issues dipnut get an education.
It’s people like you that make condoms not work by making them seem unnecessary. First people seemed safe and we had viral meningitis with a few deaths, then syphilis, them genital/anal warts, them herpes/HSV now we have the tracking results from the CDC and AIDS.gov that the HIV infection rate in young gay men went up
exponentially in the tracking years for men who did not use condoms… So my way the AIDS projects and RedDoor and CDC way works.
You are a hedonistic troll that only cares about momentary pleasure and will screw very one else over for that agenda and if PrEP is means to that end all the better for you … And you all all RAGING that you are faced with the logic that you cannot be “natural” and take PrEP like propaganda tells you and you will have to be safe like a SANE and RESPONSIBLE gay man should be.
Get over your self loser and really face that most gay men “play safe” not like your delusional world of the coming PrEP savior.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: I suppose you LECTURE them on using condoms ONLY and give a stern warning, eh? LOL
YOUR way is not working anymore. These kids are not using condoms. YOU are the one trolling and fishing my friend.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: So NOW YOU attack me. Guess that means I hit a nerve. Personal attacks aren’t cool, but I would expect that much from a low informed person such as yourself.
I like to bareback, myself, personally, but I am not going out telling guys to do it. They do that on their own.
Before calling people names maybe you should look in the mirror.
The OLD ways don’t work, if they did then there wouldn’t be any increases in HIV.
So, now we try PrEP.
Yell at me all you want, but it won’t stop PrEP.
Truvada works. People at risk should take it.
END of story.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: There is a vaccines for meningitis, and sti’s can be treated with antibiotics. Guys aren’t using condoms, so PrEP will at least protect them from HIV. If you have more than a few partners a month, like I do (maybe like 2 or 3) then you should use PrEP.
Ludwig
You attacked first like a coward you now scream I am attacking you and all you can do is ad nauseam repeat yourself without adding anything. You need to go to the Official PrEP web-sight and it sates I if you do not use a condo
it is not effective you fool.
As to low informed? I have masters and real professional career you are probably a 40 year old retail bar slut.
1.1% of the population has HIV that hardly qualifies your generalization that “guys are not using condoms” … Just enough ignorant hedonists like you that don’t care or love them selves or others to protect them or their partners… And are too stupid to understand PrEP requires protection as well and in fact was designed for monograms serocorcordant couples not what you seem to think it it’s for.
onthemark
@Ludwig: Let’s not drag meningitis into this – it’s not even sexually transmitted.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: I seriously doubt you are a healthcare worker, talking to me the way you do. You can’t even have a conversation without attacking me personally, cause you get so worked up by PrEP. WHO cares what you think? Guys are getting HIV cause they don’t use condoms. PrEP is a great new tool.
You can get left behind on the island of idiocy.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: Maybe you should just stop before you embarrass yourself anymore. I certainly never attacked you personally. I just said you were low informed and not being realistic. I guess you forgot what it’s like to be 19.
If FDA approved it, it’s good to use. They don’t approve any old drug.
I have to take Truvada everyday. I have no choice.
Guys are gonna use it without condoms, sorry that bothers you so much.
Healthcare workers are very ignorant about sexual practices among gay men. They let their bigotry get in the way.
Screaming at guys ( like you a re doing to me) only makes them not do what you want in the first place.
If you are really a healthcare worker, you would be so nasty and mean.
Just because you have a masters degree says nothing. LOL
Obviously it has not served you very well.
No be gone before someone drops a house on you!!
Ludwig
The FDA has not approved it yet that is ignorant propaganda and had you had the bravery to be proven wrong and read the results from the CDC on PrEP you would know it is in the “review” section of the approval process.
Secondly, you are HIV+ and bare backing… You are the cause and the reason for your argument for needing PrEP… This way if your partners get infected it’s their fault for not taking PrEP and not remotely your fault for being responsible and following the guidelines and using protection.
Third, you and sgatz are psychotic my iPhone had been blowing up with your inane double and nit picky and hair splitting posts.
And finally read the CDC study the MAIN study group was monogamous HIV-/HIV+ men … Even in a earlier post I cite and link a British web magazine for HIV+ men with the same test grouping and same results as I have been saying but the Britons are not completing their study till 2017.
And yes I think you are all ignorant thinking bareback is healthy or acceptable and the nonsense you justify it with since I am seeing peoples lives, namely youth and young adults since those are my clients, because the wrong messages are getting out from people like Buff because who knows who he tells the none sense that “no one uses condoms so just don’t use one” while saying “bare backing is my personal choice and you stay out of my bedroom.”
So until you counsel a young person who was poorly educated on the dangers and risks if HIV and how needs to know their options..,
Go away before someone drops a house on you before you sound any more ignorant!
onthemark
@Ludwig: “buffnightwing” says he has 2 to 3 sex partners a month, so he hardly sounds like a wild slut.
And although PrEP is great for serodiscordant couples, I’ve never heard that it was “designed” for them. Let alone the “monograms serocorcordant” couples – unless you are referring to the monograms on their guest towels?
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: OH, I get it now. You must work for AHF. That explains the TONE.
Now I really do think you are a LOSER. LOL
There, THAT, was personal. LOL
vive
@Ludwig, PrEP isn’t meant just for “serodiscordant couples.” Sounds like you want to be back in the 50s/60s now, where many doctors wouldn’t prescribe birth control to single women.
Most gay guys today don’t use condoms much (Gen Y and Millennials hardly use condoms at all in my experience) – that barn door has been open and the horses fled a long time ago. The CDC and the WHO, who have studied the epidemiology of HIV quite a bit more than any of us posting here, consider it justified to recommend PrEP for them.
@Ludwig, In trials, BOTH treatment and placebo groups were told to use condoms in addition to the drug or placebo. The statistical analysis allows them to separate the protection from PrEP from any effect of condoms, allowing them to draw the conclusion that PrEP ALONE is 99%+ effective when taken every day. This is, by the way, a higher level of protection than that afforded by condoms. So for someone who is comfortable with the protection afforded by condoms but doesn’t like condoms, it is rational to discard condoms in favor of an even more protective measure like PrEP.
If the company is recommending PrEP WITH condoms, it is for political reasons, not scientific. They know the anti-barebacking crowd will have a fit otherwise.
Like buffnightwing, I don’t like condoms – I find it impossible to enjoy sex or to orgasm with a condom because I don’t feel anything that way.
buffnightwing
I feel the need to suddenly bareback. LOL
vive
@Ludwig, it is ironic that you quote Larry Cramer in SUPPORT of your argument. In the midst of the AIDS epidemic, Larry Cramer was against condoms because he thought only “sluts” who sleep around would need them.
vive
And by the way, liver issues are pretty much unheard of with Truvada monotherapy for PrEP.
vive
@onthemark, about 50% of the time guys will start putting the condom on the wrong way around (since it is hard to tell which way it rolls) and then flip it around (so now there is possibly infectious precum on the outside) instead of discarding it. Ditto if they put on the condom with the same hand they just got full of their own precum from masturbating. They may start putting it on wrong and then try to unroll it from the inside with their fingers, damaging it with their nails. They will use the wrong kind of lube (dissolving the latex). They may go soft and then hard again without changing the condom as they are supposed to. They use expired condoms from the bottom of their dresser or heat-damaged condoms from their car. In group sex they will top two bottoms without changing the condom (possibly transferring blood from one bottom to the other). And so on.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: First of all, I am HIV positive and monogamous. I just said it to see you react like the dbag that you are. If you really are counseling youth about HIV, then GOD help us all.
I would rather these guys use pREP than get HIV. They don’t use condoms at all, and if you were REALLY an HIV educator, you would know this.
I think you should quit, because you are not very nice person, and you wanna blame anyone with HIV for just being themselves.
YOU are why people don’t get tested.
I CARE about these young guys. More than YOU do.
Ludwig
@buffnightwing: I started to read you post and realized you have constantly changed you BS story and have basically LIED though your, probably METH rotten, teeth.
You and vive are just spewing nonsense that the younger generation are not using condoms the LGBT youth centers in my metro area and the bars that have “teen” nights are CONSTANTLY asking for MORE condoms from us… you have no idea just spew pro-barebacking propaganda to promote unsafe sex.
I am not going to click on your ling but dip nut having access to to *OFFICIAL* flash point presentation of the study I linked it for all of you… but you are too much of and IDIOT to realize my generosity so here you go again, just don’t share you gift of AIDS with me: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/advisoryCommittees/committeesMeetingmaterials/drugs/antiviraldrugsadvisorycommittee/UCM305777.pdf
I know advanced AIDS causes dementia … but come on DUDE your making your case for your ability to make rational decisions and not be pathological worse.
Also, Jeton Ademaj… That is a political decision because if you notice that is not a “main stream” media source and the Mayor have tried force the prescription of PrEP and it was shot for because it was Unconsititional because you cannot force Doctors or Insurance Companies to prescribe something that not medically necessary… so this is why this this stoy is not making HEADLINES because is ILLEGAL and will not hold up in court… sorry these “drugs” don’t save lives they prolong it because HIV will cause complications in everyone that has it and will result in their deaths because to date the human race has never been able to find a cure for a virus and we are focusing on something like PrEP that people like buff want to make “unsafe sex” seem safe for their own hedonistic ego’s rather then finding a cure for this plague.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: Here’s the press release from the FDA webpage you idiot. BOY you are one ornery healthcare worker. You should retire before you make things worse, DUDE.
http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm312210.htm
Jeton Ademaj
PrEP works better than condoms at preventing HIV, at any given rate of adherence. PrEP requires adherence…but condoms actually require much greater adherence to achieve meaningful protection.
PrEP has *potential side effects experienced by small minorities of users, all of which are reversible by stopping the drug*. one notable side effect compared to condoms is that the sex is better by most accounts.
the new assistant health commissioner, heading the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, has stated that a medical provider who declines to prescribe PrEP when medically indicated (per the CDC and NYS DOH guidelines) to be committing malpractice.
the debate has shifted and the public health authorities have finally weighed in, forcefully. trolls no longer matter, even the trolls who don’t think they’re trolls.
http://www.poz.com/articles/iPrEx_OLE_results_761_25922.shtml?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=tji&utm_campaign=conference
like condoms or partner limitation or treatment-as-prevention or no-anal, PrEP is one more tool to use.
it’s a DECISION, not a DEBATE.
buffnightwing
@Jeton Ademaj: Thank You. A decision for each person ALONE. Not anyone on a comment section. These drugs have saved my life, and I highly recommend PrEP so we can get rid of HIV!
vive
@buffnightwing, “They don’t use condoms at all, and if you were REALLY an HIV educator, you would know this.”
…well, if he is, they are sure as hell afraid to tell him. Given his abusive way of talking about HIV and shaming sexual behavior, nobody can blame them.
Ludwig
@vive: thats for the troll of the day award!
buffnightwing
Now you are saying I have AIDS dementia. You are a loser. I feel sorry for you, but you crossed a line. Youa re worse than sara palin and john mccain. You pretend to care then say nasty things like I have dementia. Screw You buddy.
Ludwig
And I am going to help people who need help and debate people who are senseless and not willing to read or respond to plain facts like school girls. I wish there as an “ignore” feature… but I am just going to unsubscribe. Rather you think I am a troll and know I am right then pollute my mind with your nonsense.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: Your a self hating homo. The worst kind. You shouldn’t be allowed near teenagers or young gay guys at all. DBAG.
buffnightwing
@Ludwig: Please do. It would do all of us a huge favor to not read your ignorance on here anymore. BYE. Don’t let the door hit you in the rear.
Jeton Ademaj
@Ludwig: your reply there is a mess of bad logic and bad writing.
this is a mainstream science source here, trumping your “media” attack. PrEP works extremely well if you use it:
http://download.thelancet.com/flatcontentassets/pdfs/S1473309914708473.pdf
QNetter
@Ludwig: The FDA approved Truvada for PrEP on July 16, 2012. Over two years ago, and two months after the outdated presentation you posted. Next false claim?
Jody
FYI, if people are interested in reading a good overview of PrEP, the site below does a great job of exploding the myths — many of which were posted here as “facts” — about PrEP.
PrEP is a safe and effective tool to prevent HIV. It’s why the CDC, multiple US cities, and now the World Health Organization, are behind implementing this drug to save lives.
People need to know their status. Between anti-viral drugs for people who are positive rendering the virus uninfectious, and either PrEP or condoms for those who are negative, we have the ability to stop new HIV infections once and for all.
http://www.thechristianwrite.org/prep-checklist-what-you-should-know/2014/7/23/prep-checklist-what-you-should-know
Polaro
Qweetry comments are always such a freak show. The number of judgmental, bitter queens never fails to astound me. They could announce a cure to HIV for free with no side effects and there would be whiners. We have been wanting a simple drug like Truvada for decades – a drug that prevents HIV infection that the facts show to be highly effective even without condoms and pretty much fool proof with. If you don’t want to take it, don’t. But don’t be an unmitigated bore and ass if people chose to take it. And, no, you do not get to comment on how, when, or with whom I have sex. We’ll leave that to right-wing bigots…whom some of you sound very much like.
barkomatic
@Polaro: Yes, especially when it comes to PrEP. It boils down to assessing the risks and doing what’s best for you. You can’t let jealous, judgmental people who are somewhat hysterical keep you from protecting yourself.
Stefano
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28389275
Lvng1tor
@Masc Pride (masc4masc): So sweet of you to say….don’t tell any one but the reason I can be funny or bitter is…..I’m a sour patch kid…..sssshhhh!
What do we want SOUR PATCH KIDS RIGHTS! When do we want em….3wks ago!
Tackle
@vive: What you told @onthemark: is erroneous and not based on any fact of someone becoming HIV positive do to improper use of condoms, the way you describe. Those 50% who improperly use condoms as you describe, would actually be 100% safe. Reason why you may ask? Because the HIV is very fragile. As soon as air hits it, the virus dies. Hopefully it’s just misinformation on your part and you’re not trying to use scare tactics or fearmogering to MAKE your case…
vive
@Tackle, I don’t want to get into back and forth speculation here when neither one of us has hard data, but for the virus in the middle of the drop of body fluid to be exposed to air, the drop would first have to dry up, unlikely in the couple of seconds before intromission. (Apart from that, you are slathering some lube on it also, keeping it wet and away from air.)
Flipping the condom is in any case a big no-no in the instructions for correct usage. It’s in the first lesson! A condom whose outside touched the tip of the penis should be thrown away.
The high estimate for the effectiveness of condoms in prevention of HIV transmission is only about 95% protection. I didn’t invent that figure. Who knows how exactly the 5% of infections happened? Nobody can tell us for sure.
Teeth
It’s disheartening that so many people are so ugly about PreP being available. If you don’t want to take it, then don’t. But please don’t spread anxiety and lies about what PreP can do. I’m not on it because I don’t need it– but if I were young, single, and a bottom, I would be very happy to have one more way of fighting this. Maybe it’s a generational thing.. the younger crowd grew up with semi-decent meds avail, but my generation grew up with AIDS being TERRIFYING.
Tackle
@vive: Ok. You call it ” speculation.” If you acknowledge that it is speculation, then way present it as fact like you did to @onthemark: ???
And after all the HIV/AIDS meetings/clinics/conferences that I’ve been to, hearing and talking to expert’s in the field, I’m not gonna let this misinformation slide: HIV in semem or pre-semem does not have to dry up to be rendered ineffective.
Air: a few seconds of it will kill the virus. Plain and simple. So you can drop the backward condom and Cum on the hand theory. And BTW, the idea of putting on condoms right, and the proper usage has more to do with, and was originally intended for the prevention of pregnancy.
If you want to use PrEP by all means do so. And yes inform others of it. The good and the bad. And I wish you good health in doing so. But don’t use scare tactics , lies and misinformation in your condoms vs PrEP theories, as to which is safer.
buffnightwing
@Tackle: Scare tactics are not what he is trying to convey. He is not using scare tactics to make anyone use pREP, he is just putting the idiots in their place.
If you think gay men are nasty to each other, try going to school with a bunch of women. OMG. I’ve seen fights in hair school that would put the homes to shame. LOL
buffnightwing
I watched a whole bunch of my friends die a slow awful death from AIDS. I highly recommend taking PrEP if you are sexually active. It’s worth it. Everything else is treatable.
vive
@Tackle, flipping the condom is incorrect use. You have to throw it away. It’s in the instructions, period.
At room temperature infectious virus can survive in dried blood for 5 or 6 days. http://www.aidsmap.com/Survival-outside-the-body/page/1321278/ Though no studies have investigated the survival of HIV in semen outside the body, are you really going to tell people it’s okay to flip the condom? How about testing that theory on yourself? I didn’t think so.
Stating examples of incorrect use is not scare tactics – just use the condom the right way and you don’t have to be scared.
Tackle
@buffnightwing: Thanks for your pleasent reply. But I’m not to sure about his tactics.
Tackle
@vive: This is the last I’m going to write on this post about this. But this is the reason why I encourage people to get involved. Attending HIV/AIDS seminars, conferences, reading books, or just going to your local clinics , and asking questions will help you separate fact from fiction. The link that you provided does not substantiate what you told@onthemark: The link is about HIV/ AIDS surviving outside the body,
on different objects, temperatures and surroundings. It backs up what I’m saying.
And that is, as a contagious pathogen, it cannot be passed on. Because it’s still present, (ie) traceable: does not mean it’s contagious. An HIV positive person who has the virus under control, and down to undetectable levels is not likely to pass HIV on.
And not to keep arguing this, but my main issue with you is you presenting a unproven theory as fact. Even the link that you provides, which has nothing to do with possible transmission, continually uses the word ” may”.
What you did would be as bad as someone making a false statemen about the a mode of transmission from PrEP.
And the question of if I would still resuse a condom if at first I found it to be the wrong way. In the rare circumstances where this has occurred, we just flipped to the right side and get to pumping. No problems at all…
But nice having a non-bitchy correspondence with you…
vive
@Tackle, I’m not presenting anything as fact – I was giving examples of various known ways of incorrect condom usage, among which flipping it was only one, by the way. But the high end estimate for condom effectiveness is only about 95% (with some variation up or down depending on the source), and nobody can tell for sure what happened in the remaining 5% – it is just not scientifically possible to prove a negative here. I would consider it irresponsible to tell people it’s okay to flip the condom when it is considered risky usage, perhaps not highly risky for HIV, but in any case certainly risky for various other STIs. So I wouldn’t allow someone to flip a condom when topping me.
I may be a proponent of PrEP but I am also very much a proponent of condom usage. I wouldn’t want to scare anyone away from them. But they should be used more carefully than they are from what I have seen.
But I agree we have probably ridden this horse as far as it can go. so I’ll shut up about it now also. 🙂