December 2018 Issue #24 December 2018 Issue #24 CHRISTMAS | Page 119

REASONS TO WORRY
“HIV remains distinct from most other STIs because there is no cure. If left untreated
it will kill you, and it is one of the most stigmatised of all medical conditions,” says GM-
FA’s Matthew Hodson.
“I often hear people condemning others for their sexual choices. It’s easy to judge but
it usually isn’t helpful. Somehow because it involves sex (and, what’s more, it involves
gay sex) people feel free to get moralistic in a way that they wouldn’t about smoking or
drinking alcohol to excess.
“I would want to say to anyone who believes that HIV is inevitable for them, that it’s
not,” Matthew adds.
OPEN RELATIONSHIP AND BB
It’s not only single guys, or guys in monogamous relationships, who are having bare-
back sex. Some guys in open relationships told us they have bareback sex with casual
partners outside their relationship
Kevin is 34 from Ireland. He’s versatile, in an open relationship, and much of the sex
he’s had in the last year was unprotected. He asks casual partners their HIV status
before having sex: “So I could make an informed decision on the risks.” Kevin worries
about becoming HIV-positive. “I’d prefer not to have to take a pill for the rest of my life,
but it happens sometimes.”
Bruce is 42 from Leeds. He’s in an open relationship, he’s passive, and nearly all of
the sex he has is unprotected. He doesn’t ask partners their status. “Although I am
HIV-negative I don’t serosort,” he says. “This is partly because I’m on PrEP, partly be-
cause most HIV-positive guys are likely to be undetectable (and negative guys who
don’t get tested are probably higher risk), and partly because I think sorting guys by
HIV status is kinda dehumanising. If a guy tells me he’s positive it doesn’t deter me
from letting him fuck me bareback. Most positive guys are undetectable these days.”
Bruce adds that he doesn’t worry about becoming HIV-positive: “I’m on PrEP but also I
have several HIV-positive friends who live full healthy lives. I don’t expect to get it, but if
I do I don’t think I’ll be too worried about it.” He does however worry about some other
STIs. “Many other STIs are treatable, but super gonorrhoea and hep C do worry me.”
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