CDC: 20% of Gay Men Are HIV-Posive, but Nearly Half Don’t Know It |

Contents:

• HIV OUTG OF GAY PORN STAR
• HIV AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN THE U.S.
• INDIVIDUAL LEVEL PEER TERVENTNS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN BETWEEN 2000 AND 2020: A SPG REVIEW
• HE’S READY: R&B SGER TEV CAMPBELL NFIRMS HE IS GAY NEW TERVIEW
• WHAT PERCENTAGE OF GAY MEN HAVE HIV
• HIV AND ALL GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• CDC: 20% OF GAY MEN ARE HIV-POSIVE, BUT NEARLY HALF DON’T KNOW IT
• INTENTNAL UNSAFE SEX (BAREBACKG) AMONG HIV-POSIVE GAY MEN WHO SEEK SEXUAL PARTNERS ON THE TER
• GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN ACCSG STI CLICS: OPTIMIZG HIV PREP IMPLEMENTATN
• PORN STAR BLAM THE GAYS FOR GIVG HIM HIV
• HIV NOW FECTS MORE HETEROSEXUAL PEOPLE THAN GAY OR BISEXUAL MEN – WE NEED A NEW STRATEGY
• STIGMA AND S ROLE HIV PREVENTN AND RE OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• DISCRIMATN AND HOMOPHOBIA FUEL THE HIV EPIMIC GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

HIV OUTG OF GAY PORN STAR

The bar graph shows om 2010-2019, the number of new fectns remaed relatively stable among Black (om 9, 000 to 8, 900) and Hispanic/Lato (om 6, 800 to 7, 900) gay and bisexual men and cled among Whe gay and bisexual men (om 7, 500 to 5, 100). That fact alone is enough to elic my sympathy, but ’s the circumstanc of his disclosure that disturb me the the uniated (and I have to nfs, I was until I was told about his disclosure), Wyler is a sexy 20-somethg self-scribed "gay sex addict“ (se NSFW, other words ”not suable for work"--which ually means ’s sexually graphic) workg the porn dtry sce all outward appearanc, he seems to be succsful at his chosen profsn.

Acrdg to Queerty, Wyler’s self disclosure of his HIV-posive stat me only after several precedg events, cludg speculatn as to why he had cid July to swch to masturbatn-only work, followed by a former roommate (also a porn star) allegg on a blog and tweetg that Wyler was “spreadg disease, ” followed by a post on Augt 19 on the gay porn blog (se NSFW) outg Wyler as HIV appears was the outg that phed Wyler to self disclose. Factors that fluence health out—cludg HIV-related stigma, homophobia, racism, discrimatn, poverty, limed accs to high-qualy health re, and other longstandg barriers—have ntributed to the unequal reach of HIV preventn and treatment; higher levels of HIV some muni; and ntued equi.

HIV AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN THE U.S.

Wh effective preventn and treatment tools at our disposal, the natn has a s--the-makg opportuny to end the domtic HIV epimic and elimate dispari HIV preventn and re among gay and bisexual men and other populatns disproportnately affected by HIV.

In the face of creasg vlence and discrimatn, muny lears leveraged tradns of re tablished throughout the gay and lbian rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s and tablished activist groups, urgent HIV preventn tn iativ and support programs to assist those livg wh HIV and dyg om AIDS [21, 22]. Sce 2000 the velopment of mobile technology, hook up applitns and social media that re-shaped the social stctur of gay male muni [29] has led to peer terventns beg implemented via text msage or onle settgs [30–32]. InclnInclud studi evaluated terventns that: [1] were livered by peers who functned acrdg to standardised protols, [2] where peers shared lived experience or inty characteristics wh terventn recipients and [3] were livered to support trapersonal knowledge, attus or behavurs, [4] targeted GBMSM [or synonymo terms: gay men, MSM, bisexual men] and [5] were implemented between the year 2000 and 2020.

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL PEER TERVENTNS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN BETWEEN 2000 AND 2020: A SPG REVIEW

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Shikamana Interventn to Promote Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex wh Men Kenya: Feasibily, Acceptabily, Safety and Inial Effect Size. ”Earlier this year, the R&B sger fueled speculatn about his sexualy when the “Can We Talk” hmaker tweeted (and later leted) “Tev is [rabow flag emoji]” rponse to a er sayg she had heard that he, Luther Vandross and Teddy Penrgrass were all gay.

“We n see the impact of preventn strategi like creasg HIV ttg, treatment as preventn, and pre-exposure prophylaxis particularly among gay and bisexual men, for whom new diagnos have been droppg signifintly sce 2014.

“I met, learned, reflected, shared, toasted, lghed, danced, and dreamed of better futur wh the other people livg wh HIV, and we sidosos dared to thk tenr, diverse, powerful, transformative and betiful thgs, ” Inspira Cambia’s Axel Btista nveng of queer people livg wh HIV end at a lol gay club. "We n see the impact of preventn strategi like creasg HIV ttg, treatment as preventn, and pre-exposure prophylaxis particularly among gay and bisexual men, for whom new diagnos have been droppg signifintly sce 2014. In the 20th century, the gay muny saw such watershed moments as the targetg of gay people by the psychiatric enterprise and the McCarthy era wch-hunts, the birth of gay liberatn, lbian femism, and queer culture, homosexualys and medilisatn, the legalisatn of gay marriage, and the overturng of bans on gay people servg the ary.

HE’S READY: R&B SGER TEV CAMPBELL NFIRMS HE IS GAY NEW TERVIEW

For gay men and women born before 1930, whom I terviewed 1995 and who me of age an era of polil, medil, and scientific opprsn, the emergence of gay liberatn was the most signifint event shapg their experience of gay life. Gay and Bisexual Men face multiple HIV preventn challeng, such as racism, discrimatn, homophobia, and stigma, that put them at higher risk for HIV and prevent them om accsg qualy health re that allows them to be aware of their stat and take steps to improve their health. In addn to racial dispari, many Gay and Bisexual Men experience challeng achievg and matag viral supprsn due to disproportnate levels of homelsns, stigma, and a lack of mental health and culturally petent re that may prevent them om accsg treatment and necsary meditns.

Pieters also served for years on the board of the Gay Men’s Chos of Los Angel, for whom he sang sce 1994 ncert halls that clud Carnegie Hall New York, Tchaikovsky Hall Mosw and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angel.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF GAY MEN HAVE HIV

In the three studi aimed at lculatg the risk of HIV transmissn om one act of oral sex, no transmissns were observed among three different populatns—lbian serodisrdant upl, heterosexual serodisrdant upl and sgle gay men—who reported unprotected oral sex as their only risk for HIV transmissn.

"The trial, EHVA PO1, is beg n by specialists London at the St Stephen's Centre and Wtmster Hospal as well as wh partner s source, Dan HarryImage ptn, Dan Harry marched wh Terrence Higgs tst at London pri this year to raise awarens of their work to end HIVMr Harry said that due to the lack of tn school he was left anx about HIV and left him sred to e out as gay.

For example, om 2014 to 2018, the number of diagnos creased or were stable among all ag groups except for one: Among Black queer men aged 25-34, the number of diagnos creased 12 percent, acrdg to the gay and bisexual men face more barriers to HIV preventn and re than others, the CDC wrote, such as the bed effects of racism, HIV stigma and homophobia, which n prevent them om gettg tted and seekg people general n also face discrimatn om doctors, g them to distst the medil muny. The human papillomavis (HPV) vacce is also available for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men up to 26 years of age to prevent genal warts and other HPV-associated diseas and ndns such as oropharyngeal or anal ncer. Once a person achiev an untectable stat, is possible to rema at this level provid that the person is pliant wh their ART tn on the specifics of HIV as is today, cludg the meang of beg untectable, should be mandatory readg for gay men, regardls of HIV stat.

HIV AND ALL GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

But that don't mean that we have to muddle the value of an untectable viral load and base a group of people who are at least willg to be upont about their HIV sexual acts of gay men do not exist two separate vacuums. [There was a vio here] The straight male porn star who tted posive for HIV earlier this year has gone public and is now sayg porn should have mandatory ndom e and that dog gay scen is what gave him the vis that AIDS.

To ntextualise the size of the challenge, jt 4% of those on NHS England’s PrEP trial didn’t intify as a gay or bisexual also need to ensure that all healthre profsnals have a solid basele knowledge of HIV, which I know om personal experience is all too often not the se.

For example, if someone is prentg wh symptoms of a promised immune system (such as thsh or ld sor), we need GPs to remend an HIV tt for a whe heterosexual grandmother jt as they might for a gay is a unique health challenge and remas one of the most stigmatised health ndns.

CDC: 20% OF GAY MEN ARE HIV-POSIVE, BUT NEARLY HALF DON’T KNOW IT

Look, 's not our job to teach you the reali of morn medice, and a smart, self-rpectg gay man should do the work on his own to te himself on what his optns are if he gets HIV, and what optns are available to prevent we know you might not do that. Dpe this beg the realy -- the fact that HIV-posive gay men are everywhere, particularly if you're the slightt b volved your queer muny everywhere your life -- you might not grasp how many of there are until you start lookg.

There's this narrative of the "predatory HIV-posive guy" that floats through right-wg media outlets and ocsnally plants self to the mds of gay men -- gay men who may be cluels about the reali of HIV today and who are likely cluels about their own HIV believg this lie. Given the fdgs that gay, lbian and bisexual people wh HIV/AIDS are more likely to posss symptoms of prsn and engage risky health behavrs (Lam, Naar-Kg, & Wright, 2007), is important for unselors and clicians to monstrate cultural petence workg wh this populatn. Fally, bee gay-related stigma nscns, or one’s abily to perceive heterosexist stigma, has been found to be a predictor of prsive symptoms (Lewis, Derlega, Griff, & Krowski, 2003), is imperative that clicians manage or elimate such stigma their unselg relatnships orr to provi the most effective and optimal treatment for their clients.

INTENTNAL UNSAFE SEX (BAREBACKG) AMONG HIV-POSIVE GAY MEN WHO SEEK SEXUAL PARTNERS ON THE TER

It is paramount that when nsirg the triparte mol for velopg cultural petence wh this populatn, clicians reflect on how their own attus and beliefs about gay and bisexual men veloped, as well as their own bias or stereotyp about people livg wh HIV/AIDS. While this is likely te, pecially when nsirg the bias agast gay and bisexual men harbored by heterosexuals, is also important to emphasize that gay and bisexual dividuals livg whout HIV/AIDS may also have bias agast GBMLHA as a byproduct of learned HIV stigma (Courtenay-Quirk, Wolski, Parsons, & Gómez, 2006) or their own ternalized heterosexism (Szymanski, Kashubeck-Wt, & Meyer, 2008).

For stance, a gay male therapist who is HIV-negative may have a bias that his GBMLHA client is sexually promiscuo or a dg aber, th placg blame on his client and failg to provi a safe, empowerg environment for him.

A potential microaggrsn, or subtle form of discrimatn, that may occur for an unaware clician is to provi servic based on the assumptn that all gay and bisexual men have a mon experience or that there is only one way for one to “e out of the closet” (Nadal, Rivera, & Corp, 2010). More recently, wh the game-changg breakthroughs the bmedil arena, attentn has shifted to the bmedil preventn strategi, which clu preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for gay, bisexual, and other MSM (Grant et al., 2010) and vagal microbicis for women (Abdool et al., 2010).

GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN ACCSG STI CLICS: OPTIMIZG HIV PREP IMPLEMENTATN

In rponse to the alarmg health dispari among gay and bisexual men, there has been a ll to broan the preventn lens to exame the fluence of multiple social and ntextual factors fluencg health behavrs (Halkis & Cahill, 2011). Dpe clear evince for the social termants of HIV transmissn and the beneficial effects of stctural terventns (Adimora & Auerbach, 2010), there have been limed efforts targetg the social equali, which place gay and bisexual men at greater risk for the acquisn of HIV disease. Sce discrimatn based on sexual inty is cril to the ias beg put forth, and sce the HIV preventn needs of gay and bisexual men differ wily om those of non-gay or bisexual MSM (Halkis, 2010b), the foc of this issue of the newsletter is on gay and bisexual men, and not MSM general.

PORN STAR BLAM THE GAYS FOR GIVG HIM HIV

Male populatn 18–44 years of age (Chandra, Mosher, Copen, & Snean, 2011), MSM, primarily gay and bisexual men, acunt for more than 50 percent of all AIDS s and all HIV fectns and 57 percent all new HIV fectns (CDC, 2011b). Dpe creased visibily, acceptance and recent socpolil advanc, gay and bisexual men ntue to live a society that privileg heterosexualy while nigratg nonheterosexual relatnships, behavrs and inti (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 2009).

Opprsive social stctur and equali affectg gay and bisexual men have been implited perpetuatg not only the HIV epimic but also rat of anal ncer, Hepatis B, human papillomavis (HPV) and lymphogranulma vernrm (LGV) fectns, syphilis, gonorrhea and Hepatis C (Wolski & Fenton, 2011). Exposure to and experienc of homophobia have been implited substance abe, risky sexual behavrs, negative body image, suici attempts, creased strs and limed social support among gay and bisexual men (Halkis, Fischgnd, & Parsons, 2005; Mayer, Bradford, Makadon, Stall, & Goldhammer, 2008; Wolski, Stall, Valdiserri, 2008).

HIV NOW FECTS MORE HETEROSEXUAL PEOPLE THAN GAY OR BISEXUAL MEN – WE NEED A NEW STRATEGY

Moreover, experienc wh homophobia have been shown to terfere wh the abily of gay and bisexual men to tablish and mata longterm same-sex relatnships, which protect agast HIV acquisn (Diaz, Ayala, Be, Henne, & Mar, 2001).

G., immigrants) who grow up wh people like themselv and who receive the support of their fai, gay and bisexual youth equently have more plited and often abive fay dynamics (D’Augelli, Hershberger, & Pilkgton, 1998; Pilkgton & D’Augelli, 1995). (2009) monstrated that gay and bisexual men wh histori of childhood sexual abe were more likely to report both unprotected anal terurse, to rive fewer benefs om participatn preventn programs, and to be at an overall greater risk for HIV fectn.

STIGMA AND S ROLE HIV PREVENTN AND RE OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

Recently our rearch team at the Center for Health Inty, Behavr and Preventn Studi (CHIBPS) at New York Universy documented the risks and rilienci of young gay and bisexual men ag 13–29 a study named Project Dire. In their qualative study of masculy, Phoenix, Frosh, and Pattman (2003) found that boys as young as 11 years of age have found crilly important to prent themselv as mascule orr to avoid beg bullied and labeled as gay. Scientific evince shows that gay men’s doubts about their masculy as well as endorsement of mascule characteristics are associated wh equent risky sexual behavrs, which crease exposure to HIV (Connell, 1995; Diaz, 1998).

Posive attus toward one’s sexual inty have been shown to be protective agast risky sexual behavrs (Rosar, Hunter, Maguen, Gwadz, & Smh, 2001), while elevated rat of ternalized homophobia have been lked to exacerbated sexual risk takg and other health risks. (2008) monstrated that among 465 HIV-posive men, ternalized homophobia was associated wh unprotected receptive anal terurse wh partners who were HIV-negative or of unknown HIV stat and was also associated wh poorer adherence to antiretroviral therapy. For gay and bisexual men of lor, the effects of sexual orientatn discrimatn on HIV risk may be nfound and exacerbated by other powerful stctural factors, cludg racism, lack of accs to enomic means, and poverty (Williams, Wyatt, Rell, Peterson, & Asuan-O’Brien, 2004).

Yet is a likely hypothis that those who have accs to and navigate environments where there are high levels of gay prence are also likely to be exposed to HIV preventn msagg through publitns and advertisements, as well as through teractns wh other gay men social venu.

DISCRIMATN AND HOMOPHOBIA FUEL THE HIV EPIMIC GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

For those young gay men of lor who are socenomilly disadvantaged, accs to gayrelated health rourc may be more limed bee their neighborhoods of rince tend to be outsi the exclive cy center, where many gay cultural, health, and social tablishments tend to be loted (Halkis, Moeller, & Sinolfi, 2009a, 2009b). Taken together, the extant lerature suggts that the perpetuatn of the HIV epimic gay and bisexual men is not directed solely by person-level behavrs but is fluenced by a range of ntextual factors, rooted cultural, historil, and polil stctur this untry. A holistic approach to the well-beg of gay men (Halkis, 2010b; Saen, Rer, Herick, Mimiaga, & Stall, 2010) should llectively nsir the bmedil, psychologil and social factors that create the health dispari this segment of the populatn.

Fally, for preventive efforts to be meangful and effective, such approach mt unrstand the liv of gay and bisexual men, support velopment of strong and healthy inti, and help the creatn of strong muni which we will not only be red for but also able to take re of ourselv and support each other. His book "Methamphetame Addictn: Blogil Foundatns, Psychologil Factors, and Social Consequenc" was published 2009, and he is currently workg on a new mancript examg the life experienc of gay men who are long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS.