HealthPSA: Monkey pox is disproportionately affecting gay men.

submitted by Q-Continuum-kin from self.LGBDropTheT

So some media outlets and public health organizations are intentionally hiding this fact claiming it's homophobic to bring it up. Basically I am saying to be aware and possibly avoid close contact parties for a few months.

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There are a few reasons. It can be spread through close contact (including sexual contact obviously) and possibly even through the sharing of damp towels. Gay male friend groups tend to be more affectionate with physical touch and have more casual sex than the general population. We just went through pride month and there were a ton of big "sex positive" conventions over the summer which likely acted as super spreader events.

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It is now in our community so even if you personally don't go around having casual sex or cuddling with people or dancing and grinding at clubs... you likely have a friend or a close degree of separation to someone who does. You may need to modify your own behavior because certain government agencies are refusing to alert the public about which communities currently have the most risk. The NY health department is busy trying to rename monkey pox because they think the name is racist and at the same time shutting down epidemiologists who want to warn gay men due to claimed homophobia.

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[–]DrMantisToboggan 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Gay men are going to be stigmatized by the usual homophobic suspects regardless, so I don't understand why government agencies have been so hesitant to warn us about how we're being disproportionately impacted by this. Due to inaction and lack of early intervention by public health agencies in North America and Europe, this will likely become endemic in the gay male community.

[–]Neo_Shadow_LurkerPronouns: I/Don't/Care 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Gay men are going to be stigmatized by the usual homophobic suspects regardless, so I don't understand why government agencies have been so hesitant to warn us about how we're being disproportionately impacted by this.

It's already happening, by the way.

We're seeing a 2.0 version of what happened in the AIDS crisis, with some claiming that monkey pox is only a "gay disease" and they have nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately, like happened then, these idiots will only take this seriouly once straight people start to get infected in bulk.

[–]MarkJeffersonTight defenses and we draw the line 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

The NY health department is busy trying to rename monkey pox because they think the name is racist

Gov addressing the most pertinent things again, I see. /s

This opinion piece is from back in June but I think it's good:

[–]DimDroog 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

From the link

Plus, some liberal allies aren’t helping.

AHAHAHAHHAAAAAAA!!

The same group that worries calling it Monkeypox is racist?

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (10 children)

Definitely something to be concerned about. But I also don’t want any more lockdowns or mandates.

[–]IridescentAnacondastrictly dickly 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

Don't worry, the plan is only to herd gay men into a vaccine box. I.e., they want us to sign up to be the guinea pigs for a relatively untested Vx. This is the preferred strategy for avoiding a disease that can also be avoided by, say, not having impulsive / anonymous / industrial-scale sex.

[–]xanditAGAB (Assigned Gay at Birth) 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I think they use smallpox vaccine for MP, so its should be a traditional vaccine.

[–]IridescentAnacondastrictly dickly 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Jynneos is comparatively new. It's supposed to have fewer side-effects than the older-generation vaccines, but it hasn't been around long enough to know for sure. Note that the older-generation vaccines were not particularly safe, and their adoption was justified only by the risk/benefit tradeoff of preventing a serious and lethal disease. Jynneos may be fine, but I feel like gay men are being used for Phase-4/RWE testing.

[–]Q-Continuum-kin[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

It can be spread by touching in general.

[–]IridescentAnacondastrictly dickly 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

What kind of touching? Not all touch is equal. If causal touch were a common transmission pathway, then MP would have leaked out into the general population much faster than it has. MP is not strictly speaking sexually transmitted, but functionally it behaves as such.

You can probably get MP by massage, but you can get crabs the same way (crab lice infestation functions as a STI even though strictly speaking it is not). I have been able to avoid crabs by not having casual sex, even though I have probably encountered people who have it (in environments with high gay male concentration).

Edit: I'm not really a fan of trying to downplay the sexual component of this. Even if 10% of transmissions end up being nonsexual, it doesn't detract from the fact that most of the time transmission will have occurred through sexual contact. I've about had it with gay men who are so committed to casual sex that they will avoid obvious conclusions about disease transmission in order to continue behavior that is unhealthy both physically and emotionally. I actually do have some experience with infectious disease epidemiology so I'm not a moron about how this operates in a complex system.

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

I’m not taking that vaccine. Besides, the Covid vaccines helped to spread monkey pox.

[–]IridescentAnacondastrictly dickly 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I'm not taking it because I am not at high risk. I've had sex with the same one person for 10+ years.

On the other hand, some people are suggesting that I might be at risk simply because, as a gay man, I may have brushed by another gay man who happens to have MP ("it's not sexually transmitted"). This is not the pro-gay message that some people seem to think it is: it will only make gay men pariahs if casual contact with someone perceived to be high risk is understood as a transmission factor.

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I’m 27 and I’m a virgin. I’ve turned down hookups. Im saving up for when I meet a man I can trust.

My parents think you can get Monkeypox by touching the blisters on someone who has it. But they think it’s a myth that gays are the worst spreaders of it, and condemn it as a homophobic myth. They believe straight people are at just as much risk of spreading it.

Nevertheless, I do think that Monkeypox isn’t as scary as the media and the government are making it out to be. It’s no big deal, and it’s easy to avoid if you’re monogamous or celibate. The media and the government want people scared. People who are scared are easier to control, easier to manipulate. This was clearly demonstrated over the last two years with lockdowns and mask mandates, with scared people yelling and screaming at people for "not obeying the rules" and cutting off ties with friends and family for not being scared of Covid. Fear makes you stupid. That same fear has been used to spread homophobia and manipulate the general public into making life hell for gay men. This can happen again with Monkeypox.

[–]IridescentAnacondastrictly dickly 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I’m 27 and I’m a virgin. I’ve turned down hookups. Im saving up for when I meet a man I can trust.

Good for you: it's better to wait for the right one. Even if your first bf doesn't end up being the one you're with forever, in the long run you are more likely to attract higher-quality relationships with a monogamous mindset.

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It used to bother me, but now it doesn’t anymore. What has held me back was the fact that the gay scene in my country is confined to Dublin (too expensive to live there) and my social awkwardness. Though I have become more sociable lately.

[–]reluctant_commenter 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I was wondering if I might see a post in this group about it. Thanks for sharing the info.