Enjoy Sex, Play Safe
Even though HIV is far less visible than it used to be, the number of gay men living with HIV is increasing. It may be easy to forget the problem, but the truth is that with increasing infection rates, HIV must remain at the forefront of our minds, and the safer-sex at the top of mind when we play! It’s especially important for the younger generation of gay men who might not have seen their friends die from HIV and AIDS when it hit our community in the 80s.
MANZONE.com has made a conscious decision to back the safer-sex campaign and prove how sex is unbelievably horny with condoms. This decision has been partly fuelled by the huge demand for bareback porn which, alarmingly, can be bought at virtually all gay DVD shops. And why not, it’s a very lucrative market so why should producers care; after all we’re all responsible adults able to make our own decisions… aren’t we?
Porn may only be a ‘fantasy’ but like any media, its power in influencing its audience is very real. Expose an audience to something enough and it will become normality. And it doesn’t hurt when the models in the movie are these hung, muscled guys fucking a perfectly ‘clean’ bottom guy. Of course this may be a hot scenario but it’s nothing more than a glamorized fantasy. The reality would be closer to a drunken or drug-fuelled messy encounter with an easy stranger, and at best a few weeks of constant worrying and regret.
HIV may not be the death sentence it once was, but it is by no means an easy existence. Apart from the health issues it is now illegal and punishable with a prison sentence in many countries like the UK and certain states in the USA for a positive man to infect a partner if they have not disclosed their HIV status.
Yes, condoms are not ideal, and we would love to be able to fuck without them but the truth is we can’t, not if we value our future. So before you decide to go ‘raw’, please ask yourself, “Do I trust this person with my life?”. Anyone can be HIV positive so lets just assume that everyone is.
Thanks for taking the time to read!
MANZONE.com
Play safe, live long, fuck more!
Getting Tested
Regular HIV and STD testing should be part of your busy social calendar! Not just when you think you have put yourself at risk, but at least every 6 – 12 months. The vast majority of new HIV infections are caused by those who do not know their HIV status, PLUS early diagnosis means you’re more likely to live just as long these days as somebody who is negative thanks to treatment options now available. For some, one pill, twice a day! But for life, with regular visits to your HIV specialist – interrupting that busy social calendar!
A recent report by the National AIDS Trust and Gaydar.co.uk revealed 60% of guys think there are no symptoms of recent HIV infection. In fact, between 70-90% of people experience symptoms soon after HIV infection. The most common symptoms to occur after HIV infection are a combination of sore throat, rash and fever.
You can get an HIV test at your local sexual health clinic; the test is free and confidential. New types of tests mean there is even less reason to wait. The old myth of a ‘three month window period’ is not true. New tests can detect HIV within two weeks of infection. Get tested today!
For more information on HIV, the facts and the figures click here OR to find your nearest Sexual Health Clinic for a FREE HIV test search here.
Below are some links where you will be able to find safer sex and HIV related advice:
AidsMap.com – Global
National AIDS Trust – United Kingdom
Staying Negative – Australia
