hiv

Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)

WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) is short-term anti-retro viral treatment to reduce the likelihood of HIV infection after potential exposure. GREAT NEWS! Though how available is this new breakthrough treatment? Recently I encountered a hellish fight to get my hands on these health saving drugs and it made me ask why it was so difficult to actually get my hands on these essential drugs? Locked in the middle of the age old battle between the insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies I found myself very frustrated and nervous as my 4 day emergency supply was running out and I STILL had not been able to get my prescription filled. Each pharmacy told me my insurance wont allow them to fill, and I had to get from a specialist pharmacy, i.e the pharmacy they had a contract with (nothing special about that). If I were a passive individual I wonder if I would have been able to get the drugs in time, as it happens I put up a fight and got an emergency override authorized by a doctor at St. Luke’s Hospital. As someone who grew up in the United Kingdom I was horrified by the battle for health I was forced into, there may be waves of improvement in access to medicare but the access to the medications are still somewhat turbulent. Given how important these drugs are in the fight to reduce the numbers of men being infected with HIV I would have thought they would be available in many places without struggle fight or song and dance to obtain. Then my pharmacist told me how much they cost, $2ooo average for the medication, which even though I have insurance (which I pay a tonne for) I was still kicked in the teeth one last time with a charge of $40, I guess for the paper bag from Duane Reade.

The fact is young men are at risk of HIV as surveys show they take more risks, do not understand the long term complications of living life ‘positive’. One friend of mine remarked, “I believe young gay men take risks as they did not see how destructive HIV is and was to people”. Is this the case that as a result of better medications and quality of health and life for HIV men now, younger gay men do not see visual signs of difficulty so unwittingly risk themselves. Another friend of mine who lives life positive said on the subject, “Life is much simpler negative” so even with modern drugs we should still be vigilant in reducing the numbers of negative to positive transmissions, starting with advocating for PEP, and getting it in the heads of young gay men that if they felt at risk to go and get the PEP medications asap (within 72hrs).

HIV Equal- Amazing Cause & Event in Norwalk

by Ryan Shea

I had the pleasure of running into a personal hero of mine, former Project Runway and Volttage co-founder Jack Mackenroth, at the gym we both go to. We got to talking and above being an amazing guy and inspiration he further introduced me to the work that he was doing in HIV awareness both locally and nationally. I was delighted when he invited me to his event called “HIV Equal”. This was part of the LGBT Health and Wellness event that took place specifically at the World Health Clinicians headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. This event was designed to bring awareness to HIV and HIV testing, specifically in younger generations. During this event, we saw the “HIV Equal” photo campaign be launched, where several celebrities and gay icons had their photos on display in support of this amazing cause. Some of the celebrities in the photos included AIDS activist Peter Staley, legendary drag queen Bianca Del Rio and Tony Award winner Billy Porter from “Kinky Boots”.

You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to have an event like this. I was fortunate enough to meet a ton of men and women from all sorts of backgrounds be it gay, bisexual, straight, transgender and so on and so forth who came together to help this fantastic cause. We were all photographed by legendary photographer Thomas Evans, holding up signs that give us a unique spin on what our status is. My status. Writer. You can be anything you want in this situation, but as long as it is something that describes your support for this cause, it makes it a great thing.

“Our goal is to photograph people from all walks of life who support ending HIV stigma, regardless of their personal HIV status. We launched the campaign with celebrities, politicians, artists and many recognizable faces in order to draw attention to our mission, but we plan to include everyone since HIV affects us all,” Mackenroth explains. “HIV Equal goes a step further to include testing so that everyone photographed knows their status. We need to take care of ourselves and each other, as well as to reignite the global conversation about HIV to stop the spread of misinformation, fear and judgment.”

I can’t forget about the amazing host for the day, drag superstar Titania and DJ T-Boy who kept playing some of my personal favorites on top of the great food that was provided. The whole mission of the day wasn’t about campy fun, food and drink and dancing though, it was about a cause for a disease that more people need to educate themselves about. We are living in a world today where this disease is treatable, and I hope that at the young age of 27 that we are able to conquer this disease and find a cure for this in my lifetime. For more information on this cause, hit up HIV Equal.

PORN STAR – a journey [SPECIAL REPORT, HIV AND STI’S]

by Charlie Harding

MY THOUGHTS ON THE RECENT HIV OUTBREAK IN THE PORN INDUSTRY

I know many of you were looking for part 3 in my Porn Star series, but given the recent issues in the industry, I think this week it makes more sense for me to address it and weigh in on it all.

To recap, there have been four performers in the industry who recently tested positive for HIV. Rod Daily, his girlfriend Cameron Bay and Patrick Stone have all come forward publicly with their diagnoses. A fourth has chosen to remain anonymous, but recently participated in a news conference last Wednesday, via phone. According to Stone, his test may be a false positive, and he is waiting to confirm his status. The fourth performer stated during the conference that he had tested negative and was cleared to perform in scenes just two weeks prior to his now positive diagnosis.

So here’s the deal. HIV is obviously a risk when working in the porn industry. The question becomes what to do about it, and how to protect the performers. I’m going to talk specifically about the gay porn world, as it has a different “set of rules” than the straight world, with the majority of the gay studios requiring condom use. I’m also eliminating bareback studios from my discussion, as they as well have established their own requirements as to what performers they use and the risks involved.

TRUTH #1 ONLY A HANDFUL OF STUDIOS ACTUALLY REQUIRE PERFORMERS TO TEST FOR STI’S OR HIV.

With all the focus on these four performers and their recent infections, most folks don’t realize that the MAJORITY of performers work for studios that use condoms, and because they film safer sex, don’t require testing. The only reason we have heard about the recent performer infections is because they all worked with studios that required testing. I have worked with 4 studios total during my year and a half career, and one of the four required me to test and submit results for approval before filming. Now don’t get me wrong, the other three studios have very specific policies set forth stating that if a performer would like their scene partner to be tested prior to filming all you have to do is request it. This allows the performer to set the level of risk he is willing to accept, and act accordingly. During my 20+ scenes and estimated 30 scene partners, the majority have been with a testing studio, but I never have requested tests from my other scene partners. I did my research, decided what would work best for me, and did what I was comfortable with. I own my level of responsibility and the risks I am willing to take.

TRUTH #2 THERE ARE MANY PERFORMERS IN THE GAY PORN INDUSTRY THAT ARE HIV POSITIVE.

If you read the recent interview on manhattandigest.com with me and my poz/undetectable partner, Scotty Rage, you know that I am a very HIV neutral person in my daily life. That being said, I was never concerned about working with HIV positive performers. I always walk into every scene ASSUMING everyone is HIV positive, and only do what I’m comfortable with. Given that I have a high risk of infection with my career, I have also gotten on TRUVADA as a PrEP program. Don’t know what that is? You should! Google it and learn about another level of protection you can offer yourself if you are HIV negative. I’m not here to out performers are positive, as to me it’s a non-issue, but I will say that I know for a fact that at least 4 of the guys I’ve had sex with were all HIV positive. I know because they all disclosed it to me during conversation (not through second hand knowledge) and I wouldn’t be shocked if there are more as well. Let’s be realistic and blunt here for a second… in “real life” there are HIV positive people in every social situation or friend group in which you participate, the adult industry is no different. Unfortunately, within the industry and today’s society, someone’s public disclosure of their HIV status can be a career killer, as the general public doesn’t want to know about the performers “dirty little secret.”

TRUTH #3 IF YOU WORK IN PORN, YOU WILL PROBABLY BE EXPOSED TO STI’S AND HIV NO MATTER HOW OFTEN PERFORMERS TEST.

It is a well-known fact that HIV antibody tests have a “window” of about 2 months prior to the test date in which someone can seroconvert to positive, but still show up with a negative test. It all depends on how quickly your body produces the antibodies that react to the viral protein. Therefore, someone can claim to be negative, and actually have the active virus in their system. This is how you can have a performer test negative one time and then a couple weeks later test positive. The infection could have occurred during the two week window, or it could have occurred earlier, but no antibodies had been produced in the body before the first test. I have always said when I disclose me status that I “tested negative as of [insert date],” rather than claiming HIV negative status. You really can’t guarantee that you are negative if you are sexually active within a few months prior or after your test. Again, this is why all performers should decide what they are willing to do and what level of risk they are willing to assume, and stick to it! Another reality: porn performers have sex with other people outside of filming. Thus we can all be exposed to things that we bring back to set. Given that a multitude of performers also escort, their level of exposure grows with every additional time they have sex. Something else to think about: Just because a performer uses condoms on set, doesn’t mean they do in their personal life… Just like the fact that “regular folks” who claim to only perform “safer sex” don’t always do it.

TRUTH #4 THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND CONSUMERS DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT HIV AND THEIR FAVORITE PERFORMERS.

Porn is a fantasy. Scenes are put together and edited to provide a seamless experience for the consumer and the hottest visuals possible. Ever noticed the “magic pants” (when a performer pulls his pants down for oral or rimming and then magically they disappear… there’s just no sexy way to take off pants over boots or sneakers!)? Consumers don’t want to think about STI’s and HIV and dirty bottoms and the non-sexy things that can be associated with sex. Buyers pay for a FANTASY, not a reality. So performers being too open about their real lives lose a bit of their Idol or Star status and more often than not end up disappearing. Just like no one wants to know about their famous mainstream movie stars using the bathroom or popping pimples, no one wants to hear the day-to-day drama that porn stars also face, sometimes as a result of their involvement in the industry.

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WHO NEEDS TO BE RESPONSIBLE?

The answer? I have no exact idea. All I can do is speak to how I handle it and how I set myself up to be comfortable with what I do. I DO NOT TRUST ANYONE ELSE TO PROTECT ME. Performers that count on scene partner testing to protect them are living in the same fantasy world as every day folks that believe it when someone claims to be negative in a bar or online.

I test regularly no matter if I’m working with a studio that requires it or not. I got on meds to limit my risk. I educated myself as to what HIV positive means, what undetectable means, how STI’s and HIV can be passed on and how they are treated. I determined the specific risks I am comfortable with on set, and a specific level of risk I am comfortable with in my personal life, and I stick to that. BASICALLY, I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT MYSELF.

Charlie & Scotty- How an HIV Positive & Negative guy can find love

by Ryan Shea

Love comes in all kinds of shapes, sizes, ways and conditions. Yet if you are open, mature and strong enough you can look past what some others can’t and get to know your significant other as the one you love rather than the one that you see with so many red flags. This is the case with my two good friends Scotty Rage and Charlie Harding. I met Charlie a couple of months back at the Black Party Expo here in New York City. It was a quick exchange, but we started talking on Facebook and texting and I truly got to know him and what a fantastic guy he was and is.

Then I got to know Scotty, his partner, who just happens to be open about his HIV status. He is positive, Charlie is negative. This is something that quite frankly is taboo in the gay culture in that many men who are negative fear dating a man who is HIV positive for the obvious reasons (infection, health problems) and going beyond that (social stigma, embarrassment). What Scotty and Charlie want is for people to understand this disease and the risks of it, but at the core of it if you love someone you can be there for them and help them along the way without judgement. I sat down with them last week to discuss how they met, when Scottie was open about his status and ultimately what they are hopeful for with each other and the rest of their lives. Take a look.

How did you two meet?

Charlie- Actually an ex of mine that I had lost touch with for years said hi to me on Facebook. After chatting with him and becoming friends again, he suggested that I be-friend Scotty on Facebook. I did, Scotty and I started chatting and direct messaging and then that led to texting, and then a few phone calls and things progressed to where we became long-distance best friends. I was actually still in a past relationship that ended up to be very toxic and tragic, and Scotty was my confidant and shoulder to cry on when that one went bad. We were actually friends that had never met in person for the first almost 2 1/2 years that we knew each other.

Scotty- And once Charlie’s relationship had been over for about six months, I went out to visit him in Nashville. It was the first time we met in person, there were strong feelings for each other, and affection that led to sex and it just kept growing. A couple weeks later he came down to visit me in Atlanta and spent a few days. The visit went amazingly well, and we realized that we really, really, really liked each other. He went back to Nashville and a couple weeks later said he wanted to move out of Nashville maybe to Atlanta.

Charlie- Yep! So I packed everything up that I had in Nashville, and after working a bartending shift one night took off and drove to Atlanta, I moved in with Scotty. Literally the third time we met in person we shacked up together!

Scotty- Well actually, I suckered him into moving down to Atlanta and in with me under the pretense that he would be able to go find his own apartment. But once he moved in I wouldn’t let him leave!

Charlie- I didn’t want to…

What made you fall for each other?

Scotty- Charlie’s a hottie obviously, but he has an amazing aura about him. He is super intelligent, dynamic, extremely openhearted and genuine, and once he lets his guard down, he’s also very vulnerable and sensitive.

Charlie- Awe… Now he’s making me blush. For me Scotty was a breath of fresh air. He is one of the most energetic, positive thinking, happy to please and open minded people I’ve ever met in my life. Our personalities just meshed very easily, and the communication channels were so open that we felt like we could talk about anything.

How soon in the relationship did you tell Charlie about your HIV Status?

Scotty- To be honest I don’t remember exactly, but I know it was something that we discussed very early in the friendship stages. As we were introducing ourselves to each other via Facebook and texting.

Charlie- Yeah, I think it was within the first few weeks when we were kind of running through personal histories, and what we’ve done in our lives, challenges we faced and dreams of the future I think it came up in conversation. It wasn’t one of those big dramatic moments of disclosure that so many people it needs to be.

Charlie- Had you dated a guy who was poz before hand? If so, what was the experience like? If not, were you apprehensive?

Charlie- Not that I’m aware of. I mean, I’ve had lots of friends who are HIV-positive and I’m sure some sexual partners in there that were as well, whether they disclosed it correctly or not. But I didn’t really think of it as a concern when we realized we were going to start dating. It was just something else to educate myself on so that we could do what was appropriate. We discussed his medications, how long he had been undetectable, and I did tons of research as to what the risk factors of being with someone both sexually and just in your daily lives were. As an HIV negative person, I wanted to try to gain the best understanding I could of his situation, so that fear or ignorance wouldn’t be an issue in our relationship.

Scotty- We talked about it I remember, but like everything else that we talked about it was just open communication and discussion. It was never brought up as an ending factor for the potential relationship, or something big and dramatic. It was just another thing that added to the facets of our relationship and dynamic.

For both- What has been the challenges in the relationship that one is poz and one is negative?

Scotty- Well being the one who is HIV-positive, my concern is obviously to keep myself healthy, and protect the health of my partner. There’s always that chance even though I’ve been undetectable for 14 years, that I could infect him. So we discussed it, take the risks that were comfortable with, and go in with an understanding that it is extremely unlikely, but possible.

Charlie- The key thing for me was to be educated on what HIV-positive, undetectable means. That eliminates the big scary fear and reduces it to just a medical condition that needs to be dealt with.

Scotty- Have you dealt with any judgment from the gay community regarding your status and if so how do you deal with that?

Scotty- The gay community just like all of society is a big mix of people. Some are open-minded and willing to educate themselves on issues before forming opinions and others not so much. So of course certain people have judged or negatively responded when they find out that I’m HIV-positive, but the majority of folks out there it’s a non- issue. Let’s put it this way: if someone being HIV-positive would be a factor in your decision to be friends with that person, chances are we wouldn’t get along. From a sexual side, there are definitely folks who are not comfortable “hooking up” with somebody who is HIV-positive. And that’s ok. While it hurts to know that folks still feel that way, I would never ask someone to do something they were uncomfortable with. So you learn to work around it.

Charlie- Same question as Scotty.

Charlie- Well given my adult film work, one of the most surprising things that I found out was that a lot of folks assumed that I was HIV-positive. I had actually heard jokes saying “aren’t all porn guys Poz?” So I felt some negativity in that respect. Further being an HIV negative person who is coupled with an HIV-positive person opens up other questions in certain peoples minds. Some of the more close minded folks, for example those typically less educated on the subject of HIV and what undetectable means, asked me if I was a bug chaser. Evidently some folks can’t believe that you can love somebody for being themselves and not let an illness get in the way? But right now I will officially go on the record and say, “I am an HIV negative man who is in love with an HIV-positive man, I’m not with him because he’s positive, I’m with him because he’s the most amazing and loving person I have ever met. His poz-undetectable status is just one small part of the whole human being.”

Scottie, Being Poz yourself, what is your opinion with the prevalence of barebacking in the porn industry and outside of it?

Scotty- That seems to be a big discussion in the adult film industry right now: the use of condoms or the lack there of. I think the thing to remember when watching porn is that this is a fantasy. Porn scenes, television shows, movies and even fiction writing all portray fantasies. These are all ways to escape the reality situation that we live in. So what you see, hear and read are not set up to be realistic in your real life. Anyone who would watch porn, and then use those scenes as a comparable for real-life sexual situations is being unrealistic.

Charlie- Bareback sex versus condom sex is a very personal decision. From a professional standpoint performers have to decide what they want to portray on film, and what they’re comfortable with doing publicly. In your personal life it’s the same scenario. You weigh out your risk factors and act in a manner that is acceptable to you. My place is to decide what works for me, Scotty and I should decide what works for us. What everyone else does, is none of our damn business.

For both- What is the biggest misconception with men who are poz?

Charlie- I want to answer this two ways. I think the biggest misconception that I see that HIV-positive men have of themselves is that they’re somehow tarnished or broken. The other big misconception that I see in the general population is that HIV-positive men are all irresponsible. I know plenty of people who contracted HIV who were not drug users, who were not wild party people and who were not overly sexually promiscuous. HIV can affect everyone.

Scotty- I agree with what Charlie said on both fronts. When you poz your reality changes, and you question yourself worth. It takes a while to adjust and adapt to the fact that you have something that a lot of the world sees as an extremely negative illness. I also agree that a big misconception is that only the slutty, party guys are at risk.

For both- What does the future hold for the both of you?

Scotty- What were planning on getting married in the next six months, we have plans to retire to Florida at some point in the future and there’s been talk about possibly having a baby…

Charlie- Yeah I would like to actually have a child that’s my genetics. So it’s surrogate an artificial insemination maybe in our future! The main thing would be just looking forward to experiencing everything we can, live your lives to the fullest together, and hopefully celebrating the day when some one HIV status won’t be an issue because HIV will be no more.

For both- What advice would you give to some of the younger men out there who have an active sex life?

Scotty- Be smart about your decisions, be smart about your partners But don’t be scared to enjoy yourself.

Charlie- Educate, educate, educate! If there’s something you don’t understand about HIV or what undetectable means, research it. Give yourself every bit of information that you can before you start making decisions as to what you are comfortable with doing. Talk to your doctor, talk to your friends and talk to your local Community centers and HIV outreach groups. You’ll find that you’ll get a lot of differing opinions, and different information. So what you have to do is wade through it all and decide what you think fits your situation the best. For example your read studies that were done in the US that say Truvada as a preventative for HIV HAS a 40 to 70% effectiveness rate, then you’ll read about a study that was done in Europe which claims a 99% effectiveness rate. Just like with anything else review it all and form your own opinions. Don’t do things you’re not comfortable with. Don’t be afraid of HIV simply because you don’t understand.

Love these two for how open and truly amazing they are. Want to know more about these guys? Check out Charlie’s FB page as well as Scotty’s which also details everything they have in the works for their booming business life. Everyone that reads this- learn from it, don’t judge it. Be mature and get to understand your surroundings.

Also check out:

Charlie’s Twitter

Scotty’s Twitter

Charles World Apparel!!! AWESOME STUFF!

Charlie Harding Presents

Pedro Zamora- Why his legacy remains important

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Bunny's Victory — Credit to: Bunny’s Victory

Out of frustration that I was stuck home last night due to circumstances (babysitting my nephew. Cute yes, on a Saturday night not so much), I was flipping through my channels when I saw that MTV was doing a Real World marathon of their three biggest seasons (New York Season 1, San Fransisco Season 3 and Las Vegas Season 12). They hashtagged it with #retroMTV, and where as I don’t see Vegas being so retro the other two were and so much more. Vegas was on last night, and it was a great reminder of how great the show used to be yet somehow I see Vegas as the one that made that show “jump the shark” because they spent every season afterwards sexualizing the program as opposed to making it about 7 strangers who were trying to co-exist in one place. There is a difference there.

Today they are doing what is still considered by so many people as the best season of Real World- San Fransisco. The third season of this iconic show portrayed two of its most polarizing characters in Pedro Zamora, and David “Puck” Rainey. Two completely different men in so many ways yet made the show fascinating with their unique viewpoints and how they got to the life they had at that time in 1994. Puck was considered to be the zany outcast of the group, getting arrested on his way to going to the house and doing a number of unpredictable acts such as putting his fingers in the peanut butter as one. Something by that standards could be on Nick Junior today and no one would blink an eye, but twenty years ago this was considered ground breaking in a variety of ways.

Pedro Zamora on the other hand, couldn’t have been more of a stark opposite.

An avid educator on AIDS, he was shown throughout the show doing his lectures about his condition and how others can prevent it. Him and Sean Sasser also made headlines as one of the first gay couples to be seen on a national spotlight and in such a frank and open manner. They would up getting engaged and had a commitment ceremony in the loft that Zamora and his castmates were living in for the show.

Sadly, Zamora wound up passing away only a couple of months after filming ended on November 11th, 1994. Since his passing, he was acknowledged for his tireless efforts as an AIDS crusader by former President Bill Clinton and had several organizations named in his honor as well.

So why does he remain relevant today? It’s simple. To put it in terms only I can, Pedro stood up and spoke loud and clear about a disease that was killing millions when others cowarded and avoided the topic due to their own personal feelings about homosexuals and AIDS itself. He knew the uphill battle that he had to face and took it head on and instead of retreating and living out the rest of his life in silence he broke the mold and spoke his piece in a time where this disease was a major death sentence and viewed as globally in a terrible manner. He made people wake up and educate themselves, something that a lot of people are still having a hard time doing today.

Quite frankly, he should’ve been nominated and awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize that year. He brought a nation together and gave them an understanding of what he was going through so that each person themselves could get a better judgement on what the disease was and that beyond the disease there is a human being attached to that person. There is more to a person than HIV. He is and forever will be in people’s minds seen as a hero and he is one of mine as well for so many different reasons.

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