2016. március 4., péntek

Are you HIV+? Are you single? Please share your thoughts of HIV- male behaviour in the dating game for peer education

Hi folks. I'm a 22 year old gay guy in Australia. I use dating apps like Grindr and Scruff. Occasionally I come across people who put their status on the profile title, or tuck it away in the folds of their profile for curious readers. I have wondered for a long time what it would be like to live with HIV managed well on HAART. I'm a biomedical science student and well aware of the medicines people take to reduce viral load; but what I'm really curious in is the social stigma, particularly within the LGBTI community, for people living with HIV.I understand that there is a certain degree of stigma even within the gay community, and that due to such stigma, HIV+ people may find it harder to find willing sexual partners upon disclosing their status. Not knowing any HIV+ people myself, I have no-one to ask about this. I am seeking candid experiences from genuine people living with HIV.I believe earnest perspectives with real candour are invaluable for someone like myself to get a better idea of how such talks and disclosure of a positive status have gone down for other people, what sort of reactions positive guys get from prospective partners, and what sort of reactions positive guys would appreciate from their prospective partners.In doing so I'm hoping to get a first hand perspective to better my own understanding and conduct when someone slips to me that they're HIV+, say, after fraternizing at a gay bar.As a bit of background, I have slept with around 20 guys and not had any worries with any kind of STI and have virtually always used protection. Furthermore, I always make a point of bringing up the topics of STIs and in particular HIV every time before I have sex, sometimes to the temporary dismay of my partner who becomes suspicious when I bring the topic up. I personally wouldn't have any troubles having sex with a guy who was HIV+ but I would feel inclined to scope out their health, to verify that they are taking medicines to reduce viral load correctly, and to have protected sex. Building such trust would require some, but not necessarily a lot of; time. I wonder how HIV+ people feel about this sentiment. NB: I am unable to afford PrEP in Australia as a student as it is not subsidised by the PBS yet, so I would need to rely on my partner to keep me negative.Just to emphasise, I'm mostly interested in the social stigma and how to combat it.

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