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Ideally, gay people would stick together, but even within the community, PrEP shaming is a serious problem. Since 2019, people in Germany have been able to obtain PrEP on prescription. There is actually no understandable reason why people should be shamed and bullied for using it. Nevertheless, it happens. With its introduction, a kind of slut-shaming has also emerged that is neither understandable nor acceptable. We take a look at why PrEP shaming is an issue and what users are accused of.
What is PrEP anyway?
PrEP is the abbreviation for pre-exposure prophylaxis, which, according to aidshilfe.de, means “prevention before possible HIV contact.” The method is used by people with negative HIV status. Before contact, an antiviral agent is taken to prevent HIV transmission.
PrEP is considered to be just as effective as using condoms and avoiding infection through therapy. The prerequisite is that it is used correctly. PrEP protects against HIV, but not against other potential diseases.
Medical functioning of PrEP
To use PrEP as a safer sex method, you take a medication that comes from HIV therapy. The active ingredients entricitabine and tenofovir prevent HIV viruses from establishing themselves and multiplying in your body. Although they can penetrate your cells, they are not viable there. This is provided that the dosage is sufficient and that you take the medication regularly.
How to obtain PrEP
If you would like to use PrEP, it has been available on prescription since September 1, 2019. You must first consult a doctor who is trained in HIV and therapy. It is also important that you are considered to be at increased risk of HIV. If you are a man who has sex with men, this is automatically the case.
PrEP dosage schedule
You will receive prescriptions for three months of PrEP. During this time, you must take it according to the recommended dosage schedule. There is daily PrEP and event-driven PrEP. For anal sex, it should be sufficient to take two tablets a maximum of two hours before intercourse to achieve the effective level. It is better to allow more time to pass, up to 24 hours before planned intercourse. After sex, you continue to take PrEP for two more days.
And why PrEP shaming now?
It all sounds pretty good, especially if you like to have sex without a condom. STIs can also be managed in other ways with regular testing. For many gay men, the stigma associated with PrEP is reason enough to avoid it.
As reported in a qualitative study from 2018 (PrEP was already available as a safer sex method in the UK), stigma and experiences of shame remain high.
Forty-three men with no proven HIV infection were interviewed. They took PrEP to prevent transmission of the virus. Those interviewed reported various forms of stigma, including:
- Rejection by partners
- Prejudice regarding perceived promiscuity
- Labeling of users as “serial fuckers”
PrEP works remarkably well and gives gay men the opportunity to have sex without a condom. However, stigmatization increases the inhibition threshold. It even goes so far that PrEP users are assumed to be HIV-positive or simply reject condoms. Such sex-negative messages are unsettling and cause gay men to withdraw or even avoid preventing infection with PrEP.
As the study reports, major media outlets such as the Huffington Post contributed to the stigmatization of these individuals. They were called “Truvada whores,” and activists later used the term as a hashtag to spread slut-shaming.
Slut shaming of PrEP users is antisocial
“Shaming” someone always has a background of devaluation. Slut shaming describes the social exclusion and stigmatization of people who violate “traditions” in the area of sexuality. Gay men are the perpetrators of slut shaming against PrEP users. They accuse “Preppers” of “whoring around” and moving from one bed to the next. This may be true, but it doesn’t have to be. Regardless of the truth of what “shamers” say, the choice of partner is up to each man himself.
If you go to bed with a different person every night, you are just as okay as someone who has a steady partner. Sexuality is something you live and enjoy according to your own tastes, as long as your partner has the same interests.
Slut shamers assume that PrEP encourages so-called “promiscuity,” so they strictly exclude users of this contraceptive method as potential partners.
Shame about a drug through systematic bullying
For decades, the gay scene had a bad reputation. It was said that diseases such as HIV were spread by gay men. Even now, with the spread of monkeypox, gays have once again been targeted because the infection was primarily observed among gay men.
Instead of participating in prejudice and bullying, it would be in the interest of the gay community to promote medical advances such as PrEP. It is neither a “slut or bareback pill” nor a gay drug.
Those who take PrEP to prevent HIV transmission are acting responsibly. It is a matter of self-protection, but also of protecting others. Those who do not become infected through their own (sensible) behavior will not pass the infection on to third parties. Thus, PrEP is not only a protective measure for one’s own body, but also for future partners.
Not every PrEP user has unprotected sex
People who take the “pill” have sex without a condom. This is a typical cliché surrounding PrEP. However, users are well aware that PrEP protects against HIV, but not against hepatitis C, chlamydia, and other viruses. There are certainly PrEP users who use condoms and the pill for double protection. A condom can break, and then post-exposure prophylaxis would be necessary anyway. This is not necessary if the person concerned uses PrEP.
Most sexually transmitted diseases are acute and treatable. Once active, an HIV infection can remain stable or even undetectable for decades, but it remains. And PrEP users prevent this, either by taking the pill alone or by taking the pill and using a condom.
Conclusion: PrEP is not a whore pill
If you take PrEP and have already been judged for it, that says more about the other person than it does about you. Fun fact: That statement is not positive!
The term “whore pill” once again shows the carelessness with which people use words. Even if this pill were used by male sex workers, it would be a sign of responsibility and not something to be condemned. “Whore” is not a worthy insult in any context, because sex workers have a tough job that many clients are damn glad to have.
Protecting yourself can never be wrong, whether you prefer to use condoms alone or use PrEP. It is to be hoped that the topic of PrEP will be discussed more widely and that positive campaigns will encourage men to take it. And if, on your next visit to Grindr, you come across another male who wants to shame you for taking PrEP, be grateful. Character flaws that reveal themselves early on protect you from unnecessary dates.