Do gay guys use condoms

The Condom Conundrum: Do Gay Men Prioritize Protection? In my own HIV prevention research, I distributed flyers to recruit young gay men. What was missing from these and many other discussions of HIV risk are the issues of desire and sexual pleasure.

For sure, stigma, poverty and mental health issues may likely put men at risk for having unsafe sex. Federally funded studies have prioritized consistent condom use as a primary HIV prevention strategy and thus, the most prominent dependent variable in HIV prevention research.

I have sat in on meetings of HIV researchers and prevention specialists who were flummoxed by why the use of condoms of gay men is decreasing. This categorization ignores the basic facts of HIV transmission. If HIV negative men take Truvada prophylactically, studies show that transmission is very much reduced and, as this NY Times article documents, some gay men have chosen to use this as their primary method of HIV prevention.

These men have been called derisively, Truvada whores ; however, a number of gay men have taken the sting out of this term by defiantly self-identifying in this way, embracing and even emblazoning the moniker on t-shirts. Perhaps the alarming reaction to prophylactic use of Truvada is not surprising.

Sometimes men who have sex with long-term partners who are HIV negative are lumped into the same high-risk category as those who engage in casual sex with partners of unknown HIV status. To recruit gay men for HIV prevention, one must have a clear and thorough understanding of sexual attraction and desire.

Pros and cons of : That seems like a huge missed opportunity, both to actually share information condom use and to send the message that condoms are on par with these other sexual health tools

In the realm of sexual health, the conversation surrounding condoms is an essential one, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, it seems if you are negative and taking a specified dose of Truvada, you may also be able to engage in unprotected sex with someone who is positive without being infected.

Further, it must be recognized that gay men have consistently been told their sexuality is wrong—so they are accustomed to finding ways to ignore messages that simply do not take into account their desires, attractions, and pleasures. Thus, the decision to use condoms is also a decision to prioritize safety at the cost of sexual satisfaction.

Posted June 3, It is somewhat difficult to get a read on how widespread or successful this practice is, but the movement of HIV prevention in this direction as well as the hostile reaction by some, is revealing in what is says about gay men and our general attitudes toward sexuality.

Thus, a movement or message that promotes abstinence or limiting sexual pleasure will always be seen as suspect; a way to control a type of sexuality that makes society uncomfortable or afraid. Decades into the HIV epidemic, and despite considerable efforts to educate gays and other men who have sex with men MSMthe HIV transmission rates continue to climb, and a growing number of gay men are engaging in condomless sex.

Abstinence, limiting sexual partners, and above all, consistent condom use have been the primary prevention for methods for MSM and others promulgated by public health officials. The majority of gay men do not use a condom every time they have anal sex.

Further, and even more disturbing, little attention is paid to the decrease in pleasure inherent in condom use. The use of condoms is a vital aspect of safe sex practices, helping to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies.

So, back to the issue of Truvada whores…The promotion of the use of prophylactic HIV medications offers an important option for gay men—a way to protect themselves that does not diminish sexual pleasure and takes into account their desires.

The Real Reason why : " Well put by a reader to my gay dating column, but way off the mark

Condom effectiveness for men who say they “always” use condoms The estimated effectiveness of condom use for gay men with HIV-positive partners is 70%—but only for those who report “always” using condoms. If we fail to understand issues of pleasure and desire, our HIV prevention efforts will continued to be stymied by our own Puritanism.

The reality is that the message "Use A Condom Every Time" has not worked, and is not going to work well enough to stem. Transmission has little to do with numbers and, more often than we recognize, condom use is irrelevant—and this often gets lost in the discussion about HIV prevention.

You can get it after one sexual encounter with someone who is positive—or in a sexually monogamous relationship. HIV is a virus transmitted by blood contact with infected blood or semen. They offered dark interpretations of why gay men and other MSM are not consistently using condoms, such as low self-esteempoverty, stigmasubstance use, and mental illness.

There is some evidence that you can remain HIV negative while having unprotected sex with someone who is positive but who has no detectable viral load as a result of treatment. On these flyers was a picture of a handsome, well-built man with his shirt open to the navel.