For the first time since the HIV/AIDS crisis began, more straight identifying men in Western Australia tested positive for HIV in 2019 than their gay counterparts, according to DNA Magazine.
HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with other men was down by 51 percent this year compared to the average over the previous five years. The news was less promising for straight identifying, who saw a 21 percent uptick in diagnoses.
Researchers attribute the spike in new infections to straight identifying men having unprotected sex while traveling in south-east Asia.
DNA Magazine reports:
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On World AIDS Day the WA Health Minister, Roger Cook launched the Going Somewhere? campaign to target and educate at-risk men traveling overseas.
“Going Somewhere? is particularly aimed at men who travel to south-east Asia and who may not be aware of the risk of acquiring and spreading HIV, and other STIs, while on holiday. It reminds men to take precautions, use condoms and visit a GP or sexual health clinic for a check-up when they get home,” Cook said via a WA Health statement.
Posters for the campaign will be displayed in men’s restrooms at international airports, urging people to practice safe sex while traveling and to get tested if they are at risk.
The minister is also encouraging people to consider using PrEP or PEP, adding that he believes the falling HIV rates among gay men has to do with the community’s successful safe sex messaging.
Related: Gay men increasingly accept HIV undetectable = untransmittable
Correction: An earlier version of this headline was misleading. We have updated it.
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skeldare
Key words: “straight identifying”.
AKA closeted.
maleficent
most likely
batesmotel
It says straight identifying, which means they may have likely been moving back and forth. Many more people are open sexually now. This means straight men are more open to experimenting with men than in centuries past. I’ve had many married straight men approach me at one time or another to say they would be interested in experimenting once. After having enough of them do that I realized that are people definitely more open sexually out of curiosity. There also isn’t a stigma to say you find a guy attractive.
Nic1966
Not that ‘OLD LINE’. I’m straight but there is something different about you ! Or, I’m straight but I would like to experiment.
Basically these are closeted Gay/Bi Men who think that by making the Gay Guy think he is something special will have sex. No Guy who is 100% Straight will have Gay sex. They are either fooling themselves, you or both. If a Guy wants to ‘experiment’ with another Guy he is at least Bi if not Gay.
Harley
In my day it was always “Boy was I drunk last night. I don’t remember a thing.”
okamakota
it is mostly closeted guys who do unprotected sex.
hansniemeijer
The H in HIV stands for HUMAN. For years many thought it meant HOMOsexual.
GayEGO
The Rolling Stones magazine had an article years ago that said HIV mutated from SIV in South Africa when a straight man caught it from a monkey/Simeon. So it was started from a straight guy. I heard that some men in Colorado banged some sheep, so maybe the guy in South Africa banged a monkey.
Kangol2
@GayEGO,
Simeon is a man’s name. Cf. the Holy Bible’s Gospel of Luke, etc..
Simian is another name for a monkey or ape.
BTW, ALL human beings are members of the ape family genetically.
mrottermatic
Thank you Truvada!
frankcar1965
Thank you PREP!
Donston
Yes, the Asia excuse comes off a bit of a cop-out. How about putting identity aside and asking these guys if they’re sexually engaging with cis males/trans women.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
“straight identifying”
AKA straight to the nearest cuck …….
C_Alan
@batesmotel: “I’ve had many married straight men approach me…”
Right. Many.
tjr101
Pretty sure many of these “straight identifying” men are playing sides.
Donston
These types of surveys can never be trusted. You have no clue who people are sexually engaging with. And identity is merely identity. For most people, identity is still more about sociology and how you wish to be perceived than about anything else. And that’s fine. If these men ultimately see themselves as “straight” then that’s their lives and sense of self. Identity and the spectrum is complicated and blah and blah. But if you’re saying that most of these men are inherently hetero and have only indulged hetero sexual behaviors around the time of getting contracted- yeah, I’m doubting that.
GayEGO
Those closet queens! :>)
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
We know, we know. You got it from a cheating kangaroo you cheated on with your girlfriend, not a man.
caboxerguy
Are you all assuming that only GAY people get HIV?? Educate yourselves..