Home HIV testing gets the green light in SA
Pharmacists can sell take-home HIV testing kits, according to Pharmacy Council of South Africa Registrar and CEO Amos Masango. According to Masango, a May 2015 decision by the council effectively quietly removed the ban on pharmacist sales of HIV self-testing kits. The decision comes almost one year after the council gazetted a draft plan to […]
New York protects LGBT youth from conversion therapy
New York has joined a handful of other American states in barring the provision of so-called conversion therapy to young LGBT people. On Saturday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a series of regulations to prevent the discredited and dangerous practice. Conversion or reparative therapy, which falsely claims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender […]
Almost half of gay UK men have been in open relationships
A survey of 1,006 gay men in the UK has uncovered common beliefs and experiences when it comes to opening relationships up to other partners. Conducted by the gay men’s health charity GMFA through its publication FS, the survey discovered that 41% of those polled have been or currently are in an open relationship. In […]
Study highlights extent of fat-shaming among gays
New research has revealed that a large proportion of gay men have faced so-called “fat-shaming” because of their weight – even when they are not actually overweight. The issue of body image and pressure to conform to an ideal look has long been a subject of debate in the gay community and has often been […]
Anger as poppers set to be banned in the UK
The UK Parliament has moved to approve a bill banning poppers, a mild recreational drug favoured by some in the gay community who argue that it presents little risk. Poppers – technically called alkyl nitrates – are used by gay men around the world to make sex more pleasurable by heightening the senses, reducing inhibitions and […]
Number of people identifying as bisexual grows in the US
According to a new report, more Americans than ever are acknowledging that they are sexually attracted to more than one sex. The study, Sexual Behaviour, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Orientation Among Adults Aged 18–44 in the United States, was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. It found that, especially among […]
12 myths and facts about PrEP for gay & bi men
Although organisations such as Health4Men have been educating gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) about various HIV prevention strategies for several years, one such option has recently made headlines: pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP. The fuss was all about PrEP finally being approved for use in South Africa. So, […]
PrEP approved in SA: What does it mean for you?
South Africa’s Medicines Control Council (MCC) has finally approved the use of HIV prevention medication. But what does that mean for you as a gay or bi man? Best known under the brand name of Truvada (there are generics also), the medicine is a combination of two antiretroviral drugs, usually used in combination with other […]
Hated HIV drug increase boss challenged by new rival drug
While the “world’s most hated man” defiantly continues to sell a lifesaving drug at an outrageous price, despite promising to make it affordable, a rival company has stepped in with a far cheaper medicine. in September, Turing Pharmaceuticals head Martin Shkreli, shocked the world when he increased the price of the drug Daraprim overnight by […]
It’s time to refocus the HIV stigma
HIV-related stigma within the gay community has been around since the emergence of the pandemic. Early media reports referred to HIV as being a gay disease and fear of the virus was rampant, especially when a lack of treatment options caused many gay men to present with the devastating physical features of AIDS. Indeed, HIV […]