Is it all doom and gloom?

[hungry_hole]

Reading some of the posts in this site I sometimes start believing that everyone lies about their status and that if you bareback, you will eventually poz. I think both are wrong assumptions.

Regarding lying: SafestSex.org claims that it's not that people lie about their status but that the dialogue about STI is always ambiguous.  SafestSex.org claims that just having clear facts in your STI Screening Profile will already reduce the risk. A typical dialogue: "Are you clean?" , “I’m clean, tested couple of months ago.” Instead of an ambiguous dialogue SafestSex.org members can exchange their STI test information online and break the ambiguity, list of tests, exact dates, validation information, etc.  When someone has to complete an online form in the process of becoming a member the commitment to truth is higher than just a causal "I'm clean." type dialogue. It's hard to argue against this claim.

Will all barebackers eventually poz? Not if you have sex with others who are not infected and test regularly. Uber connects drivers with passengers so I can't see why can't an application like SafestSex.org can't connect horny guys and reduce the risk?

Where is this sense of gloom and doom coming from? The belief that there is no solution possible to avoid STI other than pharmaceutical solutions (PrEP) which are not really sustainable. This negativity towards STI prevention solutions is probably the result of a huge frustration we all experience that sexual activities have their limits, if health is an issue. It would be great there were no STI at all, and we call all do whatever we want with bodies and fluids, but we can't, if health is an issue.     

We need a more positive attitude that can replace this gloom and doom https://www.youtube.com/embed/ayeaVIOhfes

 

[tallslenderguy]

I don't feel a sense of "doom" or "gloom" re STI's. To me, they are just a fact of life. I think services like safestsexorg are a cool idea for helping to reduce STI's, but realistically has plenty of room for error because how many really get checked for every STI after every sexual encounter?  Still, it would make a huge dent if everyone got tested every 3 months as a matter of course. I also think it's great when local health services provide free STI testing at sex clubs/bath houses. Of course, this site has lots of evidence that there are many who want to have and spread STI's as part of their identity. As a critical care nurse who cares for people who are broken because of disease, I do not subscribe to those ideas because it's not just oneself that is affected by those decisions. I think anyone who wants Prep should have access to it. For instance, if all gays who engage in sex that could result in HIV infection were on Prep, it would eventually have similar results as a vaccine in reducing the amount of the disease, because eventually, all the poz carriers would die off from natural cause and not be part of the population to spread it. Prevention is always cheaper than treating the disease. 

 I'm all for methods to reduce disease. But, I do not want to see our society regress to the place where LGBQT people are considered sick or wrong because of their sexuality. I've lived during that era and I don't want to go backwards, so I wouldn't want just anyone in charge of preventative systems. 

 

[Guest BBBoyfromTN]

Where you stand determines what you see. You see doom and gloom. I see honesty and reality. But then again, I'm already poz. The worst thing that could have happened already has. What you speak of would be wonderful if everyone agreed to do it, but the reality is that's not going to happen. Like you have to protect your heart from being broken you also have to protect your body from being damaged.