AIDS Walk Atlanta

October has been a busy month for us at GO Atlanta! Between our Coffee Talk series, our OUT2EAT events, Atlanta Pride last weekend, and recognizing LGBT History Month, National Coming Out Day, and Spirit Day, we’ve been busy, busy, busy! But the fun isn’t over yet.

This weekend marks the 22nd AIDS Walk Atlanta in Piedmont Park!

It’s the largest AIDS-related fundraising event in the Southeastern United States and helps support many services at AID Atlanta, not to mention our partners AIDGwinnett, AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta, Aniz, Jerusalem House, Living Room, Open Hand, and Positive Impact. These nine agencies provide treatment and medications, prevention education, meals, hospice, mental health services, child care, substance abuse counseling, pastoral care, and clinical research to help thousands of our families, neighbors and friends living with, affected by, and at-risk for HIV/AIDS in Atlanta.

AIDS Walk is THIS SUNDAY, and we would really, truly greatly appreciate your support. It’s not too late to register for the walk or run, donate to a team or specific individual, or make a general donation. You could also volunteer or stop by to cheer on runners and walkers.

Hope to see you there!

Get tested for HIV… on your couch

You may have heard the recent news that the first ever home rapid HIV test, OraQuick, is now available in stores and online. You may even remember our previous post on this very topic. People are able to purchase the test kit for about $40 at stores such as Walgreens and CVS, or on the OraQuick website. This is huge news! Here’s why:

There are approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. that have HIV and 1 out of 5 of them are unaware of their status. People who don’t know they are HIV+ are much more likely to unknowingly transmit the virus to others. They are also at greater risk for serious health problems and early death with HIV.

 

A recent study found that 84% of gay and bi men say they would administer a self-test if one were available. Sometimes it feels hard to make time to take care of ourselves, even if it’s something as important as getting tested for HIV. It can also be scary to get tested. For some, the appeal of taking a quick test in the comfort and privacy of home is a deal breaker.

 

Many people are concerned that without the support of a trained HIV counselor, people who test positive for HIV may be upset, hurt themselves, or ignore the result. Finding out you have any disease is difficult, but an HIV+ diagnosis is crushing to some. Trained professionals can connect folks to resources and explain why being poz isn’t a death sentence today.  

 

While the oral swab test is 98% accurate when conducted by a professional, it’s estimated that the test is only 92% accurate when conducted by an average person. OraQuick recommends that if a person tests positive, they contact a professional for follow up.

This is a controversial issue: will home rapid HIV tests prompt more people to get tested and learn their status? Will people who test positive access the resources they need to stay healthy?

What do you think, readers?

If you’d like to get tested for HIV at AID Atlanta, contact us at (800) 551-2728 or visit this website.

 

History is Gay

Happy October! You’ve probably seen Halloween costumes and pink breast cancer awareness ribbons adorning storefronts and newsfeeds lately. Often forgotten is that October is also LGBT History Month, first officially celebrated in 1994. It coincides with National Coming Out Day and is coordinated by Equality Forum, an international LGBT civil rights organization.

It’s so important that we acknowledge this month because- let’s face it- most of us didn’t learn about history through rainbow-colored glasses. Most history books barely mention queer people throughout history. Some even have the audacity to refer to the gay rights movement in the past tense (Um, hello?! We’re still fighting for equality today!). Others imply that LGBT history just began in the last century. Knowing our history is vital for our future. LGBT History Month also highlights positive LGBT role models, builds community by embracing our past, and brings to light our extraordinary national and international contributions.

We at GO Atlanta have taken some time to put together some highlights of LGBT history represented in pop culture. Check it out:

 

For your viewing pleasure:

• Milk (2008): The story of Harvey Milk, the American gay activist who became California's first openly gay elected official.
• How to Survive a Plague (2012): The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
• Vito (2011): The story of Vito Russo, founding father of the gay liberation movement, author of "The Celluloid Closet," and vociferous AIDS activist in the 1980s.
• Celluloid Closet (1995): A documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of the LGBT community and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
• Paris is Burning (1990): A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
• Raid of the Rainbow Lounge (2012): A full length documentary film recounting the events surrounding the widely publicized and controversial raid of a Fort Worth, Texas gay bar in 2009. Pssst: This film is being screened at Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBT film festival.

For your listening pleasure:

• Born This Way - The Columbus Gay Men's Chorus
• In This Life - Madonna
• Cowboys are Frequently Fond of Each Other - Willie Nelson
• Take Me or Leave Me - Glee
• I Want to Break Free - Queen

For your browsing pleasure:

• http://www.lgbthistorymonth.com
• http://www.lgbthistory.org/
• http://www.glbtq.com

Grindr: Friend or Foe to the Gay Community?

By now, most people have heard of Grindr, and many of us have profiles. Our contact at Grindr reports that there are 4 million users worldwide, 1.3 million of whom are in the U.S. The average user logs on to Grindr 8-10 times per day and spends about 90 minutes using the app throughout the day. So if you find yourself Grindr-addicted, you’re not alone!

News headlines about the app are pretty extreme:

• EXPOSED: The seedy underbelly of hook-up apps (News.com.au, September 2012)
• A deadly dating game (China Daily, September 2012)
• Grindr: Welcome to the World’s Biggest, Scariest Gay Bar (Vanity Fair, May 2011)
• Popular gay dating app Grindr blamed for syphilis outbreak (Examiner.com, August 2012)

Not to mention Paris Hilton’s recent comments that “most” gay men on Grindr “probably have AIDS.” Paris isn’t the only one to blame Grindr for increased rates of HIV and STD infections among gay and bi men. So what’s the deal? Are folks just looking for someone to blame, or does the app somehow promote or condone risky business, like barebacking or anonymous sex? We at GO Atlanta took a closer look.

In Grindr’s policies, there’s nothing to be found promoting or discouraging unprotected sex. The app does prohibit “sexually explicit, revealing, or overly suggestive photos,” as well as “nudity or physically revealing clothing of any kind.” And, to Grindr’s credit, there is a Grindr Health page, which links to resources for HIV and STD testing, as well as substance abuse resources. Throughout the site, Grindr advocates user safety and responsibility.

Grindr has a reputation for being a booty call app. But is it? In a recent study [1] of Grindr users in West Hollywood and Long Beach, CA, researchers found that the most popular reasons for using Grindr were to kill time (84.3%)and make new friends (78.7%), followed by connecting with the gay community (64.5%) and meeting hook-ups (64.5%). Participants in the study were more likely to use condoms with partners they met on Grindr (59.8%) compared to partners they met elsewhere (41.9%).

So, that brings us back to our original question: is it really Grindr that’s fueling HIV and STD epidemics? The app touts itself as a platform for guys to meet other guys, and it’s being used heavily around the world... but not necessarily to look for sex.

 

It’s easy to blame an app that makes it so darn easy to get laid. There are 9 guys within a mile of me right now! But really, it’s my job to get tested so that I know my status and use condoms to stay healthy. And to talk to my partners about their status, too. Here in ATL, AID Atlanta offers HIV and STD testing and free condoms. If you want to learn more about staying safe, watch our series of webisodes, “A Gay in the Life.” They’re quick, funny, informative, and just for registering and watching, you’ll get a Starbucks giftcard. 

Many health agencies are starting to use Grindr and other hookup apps to talk to guys about getting testing. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see GO Atlanta on Grindr soon.

 

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[1] Rice et al. Sex Risk among Young Men who have Sex with Men who use Grindr, a Smartphone Geosocial Networking Application. J AIDS Clinic Res 2012, S4.

Safer Sex For Your Smartphone?

Know your HIV status? Know your partner’s? There’s an app for that. Technology is creeping further and further into our personal lives, and the question has become, does it make our lives easier or more complicated?

The recently developed app called Chec-Mate allows individuals to search for testing locations, receive results after the test, and share the results with a partner. The app complies with all HIPAA regulations, the laws by which all healthcare professionals are bound. Privacy is maintained by using a unique username and password. A key advantage of sharing a person’s status using the app is that it reduces the amount of personal information disclosed with the test results. The question of ease versus complication remains unanswered. The app requires registration, and then an individual must have the professional complete a special verification form at the testing site. The app also requires a yearly subscription. Since the application is currently only available for iPhone, it is certainly not usable by everyone who could potentially benefit from it.

Some people have no qualms about sharing all of the information displayed on the paper results. Others choose not to discuss status at all because of fear or unease about how to approach the subject. At GO Atlanta we are addressing this unease with our online video series that stresses everyone’s responsibility for talking about sexual health. If this app encourages dialogue around sexual health while maintaining privacy I am willing to add it to my list of prevention tools.

What do you think? Why are some apprehensive about discussing sexual health? Is this app beneficial to anyone, some, or potentially everyone?

Lucas.Gosdin@aidatlanta.org

FDA reviews first rapid, take-home test for HIV

WOULD YOU USE AN OVER-THE-COUNTER HIV TEST KIT?

The Food and Drug Administration is considering approval of the first over-the-counter HIV test that would allow consumers to quickly test themselves for the virus at home, without medical supervision.

FDA reviewers said Friday the OraQuick In-Home HIV test could play a significant role in slowing the spread of HIV, according to briefing documents posted online. But they also raised concerns about the accuracy of the test, a mouth swab that returns results in about 20 minutes.

The review comes one day after an FDA advisory panel endorsed the HIV pill Truvada for preventive use. If FDA follows the group's advice, the daily medication would become the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
Public health experts estimate one-fifth, or about 240,000 people, of the 1.2 million HIV carriers in the U.S. are not aware they are infected. Testing is one of the chief means of slowing new infections, which have held steady at about 50,000 per year for two decades.

In a trial conducted by the company OraSure Technologies Inc., the test correctly detected HIV in those carrying the virus 93 percent of the time. That rate is below the FDA-recommended 95 percent threshold for accuracy.

The FDA estimates the test would miss about 3,800 HIV-positive people per year, if approved for U.S. consumers.

The test was more accurate at correctly clearing patients who do not have the disease. In company studies, OraQuick correctly identified HIV-negative users 99 percent of the time.
In their briefing documents, FDA scientists noted both the benefits and risks of expanding HIV testing with the take-home diagnostic kit.

"There is considerable personal and public health value in informing infected, but otherwise untested, persons of their true positive HIV status," the reviewers state. "However, this benefit is offset in some measure by HIV-positive individuals who receive an incorrect message that they are not infected."

The lukewarm endorsement apparently spooked investors. OraSure's stock tumbled $1.32, or 11.8 percent, to close at $9.85 in trading Friday.

On Tuesday, the FDA will ask a panel of outside experts whether the test should be approved for over-the-counter sales in U.S. The agency is not required to follow the group's advice, though it usually does.

Based in Bethlehem, Pa., OraSure has marketed a version of OraQuick to doctors, nurses and other health care practitioners since 2004. The test sells for $17.50, though OraSure declined to discuss how it would price the consumer version. When used by professionals, the test is shown to accurately identify both carriers and non-carriers 99 percent of the time.

While it's not clear why the test was less accurate in consumer trials, CEO Doug Michels said company researchers anticipated that its "performance in the hands of a consumer would be different from that observed in hands of a professional."

OraSure tried the new version of the test in a study of 5,800 people of various sexual orientation, race and income levels. The trial identified about 100 HIV carriers who were previously undiagnosed.
The FDA has already approved HIV test kits that people take home. However, those kits, which require a blood sample, must be sent to a laboratory for development. But OraSure argues that a test that can be done at home will appeal to a much broader group of people.
According to the company's study, 41 percent of people who discovered they were HIV-positive using OraQuick had never been tested previously. In its own briefing documents, the company estimates that 9,000 new HIV carriers would be identified for every 1 million people who use the test.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/14/fda-reviews-first-rapid-take-home-test-for-hiv/#ixzz1urP5xsWG

BOXERS OR BRIEFS

Boxers, briefs, thongs or jocks - a gay man knows that there is something for everyone when it comes to underwear.  Whether you're strictly traditional with your whitey tighties, or you're bold and bare with your sexy and barely there bikinis, our undergarments can tell the world a lot about who we are.

Underwear speaks to our level of comfort - how comfortable we are with our own body being on display, and also our level of physical comfort.  Some guys like the support of a tight pair of briefs.  Other guys like the easy comfort of a loose pair of boxers.  Whatever your personal preference, you need only take a trip to a department store or flip through a catalog (International Male, anyone?) to know that there is a wide variety of ways to cover your most intimate parts.

One local designer is taking underwear a step further, and making it a true statement piece.  Bernard Buie has designed the "condom boxer."  This design is an effort to make underwear both sexy and functional.  No more fumbling to find a condom in that dark nightstand drawer - it's right there on you, in your convenient condom pocket!

Getting dressed for a date night?  Think you might get lucky?  Slip into your "condom boxers" and drop a condom (or two) into the convenient pocket on the leg of the boxers.  You'll be set for the night when the mood strikes you and your partner.  Interested to know more?  Check out their FB page here.