Bringing safety back: a new website breaks the rules to educate and titillate.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I was to shocked to read the report out of Washington, D.C., suggesting that the number of AIDS cases there among African-American men is 12 times the national average and the rate of HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. infection is higher than in some parts of Western Africa. So you can imagine my pleasure when I first logged on to DCfukit.org, a community-based prevention program and website developed to stop the spread of HIV among D.C. men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) is a term used mostly in the United States to classify men who engage in sex with other men, regardless of whether they self-identify as gay, bisexual, or heterosexual. . What makes this website so special is its provocative approach to prevention. The creators have jettisoned the traditional clinical safe-sex language in favor of sex-positive talk and some steamy NSFW NSFW Not Safe for Work (website links) NSFW Not Suitable for Work NSFW National Schools Film Week (UK) NSFW Now Show Friends and Workmates NSFW Not Suitable For Women (read: not suitable for work) images while also providing some very useful information. DCfukit also provides sound advice on its blogs, links to gay-friendly medical care and HIV testing HIV test Various tests have been used to detect HIV and production of antibodies thereto; some HTs shown below are no longer actively used, but are listed for completeness and context. See HIV, Immunoblot. , and condom and lube kits (complete with how-to photos for proper condom usage) that are distributed to area clubs and the DC Center. This group certainly got my attention, and that's one of the first steps for any successful prevention campaign. DR. FRANK SPINELLI is author of The Advocate Guide to Gay Men's Health Men's Health Definition Men's health is concerned with identifying, preventing, and treating conditions that are most common or specific to men. and Wellness. Send medical questions to health@ advocate.com. |
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