As an older gay, I can attest that this is an important topic. I feel so bad for people when their logic slips to a point that acquiring such a disease sounds like a good idea. I've lost so many friends to HIV/AIDS that my heart aches for people who dismiss the realities simply because it isn't as lethal as it used to be.
People gloss over the realities because the idea of not having to worry about catching it sounds so appealing. It's incorrect.
While it's amazing that meds like PrEP can help reduce transmission, people seem to forget that there are other diseases that can't be cured. People who routinely engage in unsafe sex are just as likely to have those diseases as they are HIV.
Medications can be great, but lifelong medications are bad for the body. Sure, contracting HIV can get you out of having to worry about catching HIV, but now you get to worry about:
~Relationships;
~Having children;
~Immediate side effects such as: Gastrointestinal and Neurological Distress, Sleep Disturbances, and Skin Reactions; and
~Long-Term effects such as: Kidney Disease, Bone Density Loss, Metabolic Changes, and Lipodystrophy (a change in how the body distributes fat).
--> And that's just from the medications, not the disease.
The bonus diseases unsafe sex can bring your way include:
~Genital Herpes - which medications require kidney function monitoring;
~Hep B - which medications cause flu-like symptoms and can lead to bone thinning and kidney damage; and
~Human Papillomavirus (HPV) - which treatments can cause skin redness or scarring, while the disease can lead to a variety of cancers despite treatments.
QAF should be required LGBT+ viewing. I even made my straight kids watch it as they got older, if for no other reason than for them to see just what life was like for us just a couple of decades ago. It floored my kids when they found out that Bug Chasing was a thing. But, making them watch Golden Girls helped prepare them for the darker realities.
It's very bold ♥️
Thank you, m’dear! How are you?
Congrats on an awesome piece!
As an older gay, I can attest that this is an important topic. I feel so bad for people when their logic slips to a point that acquiring such a disease sounds like a good idea. I've lost so many friends to HIV/AIDS that my heart aches for people who dismiss the realities simply because it isn't as lethal as it used to be.
People gloss over the realities because the idea of not having to worry about catching it sounds so appealing. It's incorrect.
While it's amazing that meds like PrEP can help reduce transmission, people seem to forget that there are other diseases that can't be cured. People who routinely engage in unsafe sex are just as likely to have those diseases as they are HIV.
Medications can be great, but lifelong medications are bad for the body. Sure, contracting HIV can get you out of having to worry about catching HIV, but now you get to worry about:
~Relationships;
~Having children;
~Immediate side effects such as: Gastrointestinal and Neurological Distress, Sleep Disturbances, and Skin Reactions; and
~Long-Term effects such as: Kidney Disease, Bone Density Loss, Metabolic Changes, and Lipodystrophy (a change in how the body distributes fat).
--> And that's just from the medications, not the disease.
The bonus diseases unsafe sex can bring your way include:
~Genital Herpes - which medications require kidney function monitoring;
~Hep B - which medications cause flu-like symptoms and can lead to bone thinning and kidney damage; and
~Human Papillomavirus (HPV) - which treatments can cause skin redness or scarring, while the disease can lead to a variety of cancers despite treatments.
QAF should be required LGBT+ viewing. I even made my straight kids watch it as they got older, if for no other reason than for them to see just what life was like for us just a couple of decades ago. It floored my kids when they found out that Bug Chasing was a thing. But, making them watch Golden Girls helped prepare them for the darker realities.
Exactly. Most ppl are vaccinated against Hep B, or have partial immunity if they haven’t had a booster as an adult.
Syphillis and Monkeypox are pretty scary STI’s, and Gonno is becoming more resistant to standard antibiotics.
Scary times for us bedfellows 😙🖤
It seems like it's always been scary times, given how many friends I've lost.
This is amazing piece! I read it start to end....in a flash
Ha, you are so punny, m’dear 😝🥹🥹🥹
Well, I have a short attention span, so if I read a short story/memoir/essay, it's got to be amazing!
Thanks ..😆
The bright spot of 2026 has arrived.
Only you can take a subject like this and make reading it feel good, because what a fantastic fucking piece of writing.
No wonder you won.
Can you get any kinder?! You are the bright spot of 26 (and all preceding years), sweet Debdutta.