Gay media, HIV charities and certain doctors are trying to push PrEP onto HIV negative gay men. A treatment which is based on drugs that are given to HIV+ people to keep them alive.
Some of those doing it regard it as being for men they see as “high risk”. But others are keen to see vast numbers on these pills and it is all to be funded by the NHS.
Many of the gay health charities have lost the plot. They’re reluctant to “stigmatise” the irresponsible and instead pretend that the extreme behaviour is typical and widespread.
This has led to some toxic messages in the media and the impression given that a large number of gay men are mentally ill and unable to control themselves. We believe this is homophobic and that gay mens’ health should be promoted through consistent condom use, not by drugging any significant number with antiretroviral pills which, by the way, produce great profits for manufacturers.
Some major news outlets including the BBC fail to provide a balanced picture, focusing exclusively on the supposed benefits of PrEP while staying almost silent about the concerns.
PrEP studies are potentially flawed and stats are based on reducing “transmission” rates rather than “protecting” the individual. To put it bluntly, if you’re a fervent barebacker it isn’t about you, but protecting society from a disease spreader in the short-term. The long term effects of taking the drug are barely discussed and yet we see those amongst longterm positive men, increasingly.
A cultural change could take place where unprotected sex becomes the norm and peer pressure is thus placed on gay men who would otherwise have used condoms. Other STIs would rocket and drug resistant strains could cause another incurable epidemic devastating the gay community.
A move in this direction has been underway for almost 20 years due to the fetishisation of bareback sex amongst a significant proportion of gay men who are HIV+ and also among porn producers.
People are afraid to speak out because of the bullying which surrounds this topic. Increasingly the LGBT community seems to be a place where discussion and debate isn’t tolerated and only one “official” view is deemed acceptable on a whole range of issues including PrEP.