HEINZESIGHT: INTERNATIONAL SEXUAL HEALTH DIFFERENCES

I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO have the opportunity to take three weeks off from my responsibilities back home and travel to Germany with my partner. It was exciting to see some buddies I’d met through previous travels, and equally exciting making new friends. I was expecting some cultural differences and learned the best ways to interact with staff on trains, servers in restaurants, and furry German muscle bears in bars. For once, I got to have the cool foreign accent. I also learned that retail shopping does not happen often on Sundays, winking is used more frequently to flirt with someone, and they are much more direct in letting you know they aren’t interested in chatting or meeting.

What I was not expecting to experience was a huge difference in gay health and sexuality, especially relating to the ways they communicate about HIV. Most Americans are aware that Europe is known for having a more open stance about nudity and sex. It isn’t uncommon to see people sunning themselves naked on some beaches, boobs or willies bouncing around on television, or to have bars with back rooms where you can meet up with somebody, have a beer, mess around, get off, and return to socializing with friends. Their progressive attitudes appear to be somewhat stifled when seeing how their communities are dealing with HIV status, stigma, and sexual risk-reduction methods such as PrEP. It surprised me, but reinforced feelings of pride about how far we in the US have come.

In the past six years, I’ve seen a huge increase in the discussion of HIV status online and in person. It’s as simple as a plus symbol in a profile name or a typed narrative about their HIV status, if they are undetectable, or if they’re HIV-negative and taking a medication like Truvada to prevent HIV infection. In my travels, most profiles did not speak a lot about HIV or personal risk factors.

If asked, they seemed honest about offering the information, but it appears they were leaving it up to the person on the other end of the screen to begin that conversation. In speaking with many locals, HIV remains highly stigmatized and is something many choose not to discuss openly. Unfortunately, HIV stigma and the associated lack of comfort in discussing this virus continues to negatively impact many people around the world.

Presently, there are people around the world who aren’t familiar with PrEP, unable to access it, and/or have very strong feelings against it. I’m aware that it’s a relatively new treatment option to help decrease new HIV infections and reduce the associated stigma since people don’t need to be as concerned with transmitting it. Apparently, even with all of the scientific reports, Facebook postings, and a perceived global interest in doing what’s necessary and effective to continue working on ending the HIV epidemic, there continues to be much more work that can be done to help support other communities that may not have the same access to medications or information as we do in the United States. The high cost of treatment and lack of knowledge continue to be barriers.

As some HIV-positive people continue to be concerned about stigma directed at them (and HIV-negative people still fear the virus or hurtful attitudes with taking medication like PrEP), I think it’s important to recognize that we can still make even more progress locally, nationally, and globally. We need to take the time and opportunities to talk about our sexual health in a variety of ways, including our interests, concerns, and methods to keep ourselves and our partners safe and excited. It’s important to ensure that we feel confident in discussing these things and not be ashamed of ourselves or scared of rejection or judgment from others. I’m returning from my international adventure with a true sense of pride about our national successes in addressing HIV and a renewed motivation to continue effective work in my community.