Are public health recommendations sex-negative?

published on February 13, 2017 by Mike Miksche, in Daily Xtra

While their guidelines are effective, they sometimes don’t feel realistic for queer people

According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the only way to reduce the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including gonorrhea is to avoid vaginal, anal or oral sex altogether. That’s not an option for most of us, particularly those on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) who want to enjoy their sex, carefree.

So then what?

If one must have sex, the CDC suggests that you can lower your chances of getting gonorrhea by being in a mutually exclusive, long-term relationship with a partner who’s been tested for STIs too, and of course, use a condom every time (which we know does not and will not happen). To me, these suggestions are not always realistic or helpful for some queer people.

While these recommendations are effective for preventing STIs, these guidelines sound an awful lot like all that heteronormative bull that’s been shoved down my throat my whole life. It also sounds sex-negative, and sterile.

We are currently facing an STI epidemic. The combined cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia hit record highs in 2015 in the United States, so it’s not entirely fair to say that the CDC is sex-negative. But is there a way for public health get the message about safer sex out there holistically and in a sex-positive way that’s also inclusive of PrEP and treatment as prevention (TasP), while being realistic and effective too?

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BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Are public health recommendations sex-negative?

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