“You tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on and so on…”
Faberge Shampoo Commercial
Some years back, they discovered that in Africa the incidence of HIV infection was higher along trucking routes. Apparently, it was easy for truck drivers to find prostitutes and sex while they were out on their deliveries to various small towns.
In North America, there’s a correlation between levels of HIV and rapid transit lines. My understanding is that the reason for this could be two-fold: as rents are generally cheaper just beside the lines there may be more poor people living with HIV on those routes, but there may also be higher levels of drug dealing and substance use.
Whatever the various factors are, it seems clear that there are routes of HIV transmission that are not only physical to the body, but physical to the landscape as well.
In Canada, we know that the majority of infections are still between men having sex with men – whether they are gay, bi or straight. New infections are increasing in younger gay men and I wonder if the landscape of transmission is shifting from something real to something “cyber”.
Since the invention of apps, men don’t have to go to their local bathhouse or park for sex. It’s as easy now as pressing a button on your smart phone. With any number of hook-up sites and apps like Grindr, Scruff and others not only can you find the hunk of your current whims, you can find out how many millimeters he is from your aching crotch.
And the risk of transmission is only an app away.
I’m no scientist, but the way we’ve shifted from the “work” of having to actually go out and find sex to the ease with which it is available now means that the potential for transmission between men who don’t know their status is increased that much more. And it’s available 24/7.
It’s kind of like the days when we had to get off the couch, cross the living room and physically turn the knob on the TV (anyone under 40 years old will not relate to this). These days, we pick up the remote and can quickly see that with 5000 channels there’s still nothing on.
The online world is like a remote for a virtual bathhouse: men seeking that perfect sex partner for the present moment and then moving on to the next one and the next one, just like changing channels. If you’re inventive and a good time manager, you can probably handle a few partners in a day. Again, the risk of transmission increases.
And this isn’t about “promiscuity”. Promiscuous people are those who have more sex than I do (which is pretty much everyone these days). I’m certain that many, many men out there are taking precautions and avoiding transmission of all sorts of STI, but there are a lot of men who don’t have the vaguest concept about safer sex. Ongoing outbreaks of syphilis in various cities in Canada (including my little town of Victoria BC) are evidence of that. Married guys think that a “DDF” disclaimer is enough information to work with (I tend to think “DDF” means Dumbass Dough-headed Fucks). Those men take chances based on assumptions.
Making stupid choices gets easier every day.
As time goes on and new technologies emerge, men will find a way to apply it for sex: it’s what we do. And men may continue to contract HIV by route of the various gadgets and gizmos that connect us ever more to the nearest play friend: truck routes and train tracks replaced by texting.
In a world where HIV is still prevalent, the opposable thumb is perhaps more dangerous than we ever could have imagined…