Gay and bisexual men are being diagnosed more because they're going to the doctor when they get this shit. The stigma of gay sexuality being more disease-prone and trauma stemming from the AIDS epidemic has resulted in gay/bi men having a much more involved relationship with their doctors when something looks or feels off.
The reason monkeypox is spreading the way it is is because people don't understand the symptoms, and when they get the blisters and shit, they put off going to the doctor. They also don't understand how it spreads, meaning they don't take the proper precautions. You can get it from working in a close proximity to a coworker, you can get it from direct contact with an infection site, and you can get it from touching an object that's been contaminated like an article of clothing or from an office chair that's touched an infection site. You can get monkeypox through your skin.
There are two aspects of this coverage that makes the monkeypox outbreak even harder to contain.
First of all, scapegoating queer men. Topics like this paint it as a disease that's more likely to befall gay men than any other demographic. That's not true - gay men are more likely to get tested for it which is leading to higher rates of diagnosis, and one reason this is becoming an outbreak is because other demographics aren't getting tested for it and are spreading it without being diagnosed. When you hear "the majority of monkeypox cases are found in men who have sex with men", you probably don't feel as vulnerable to it - but all it takes is Susan from accounting getting a rash from her husband who got it from his coworker who got it from their daughter, which is a series of events that's more likely to happen when all of those people think it's a "gay disease" that they're not at risk of getting.
The second thing is saying that monkeypox is an STD.
Without insulting the intelligence of anyone flocking to this bullshit, monkeypox is not an STD.
As mentioned - monkeypox can be transmitted through airborne pathogens and both direct and indirect touch. You can get it from coworkers. You can get it after bumping into a stranger. You can pick something up that's been in contact with monkeypox pathogens previously, and the disease will infect your skin. None of those causes are inherently sexual despite the right-wing hysteria about this disease being a gay STD. You might as well call COVID or leprosy an STD, because you're more likely to get those diseases from fucking an infected person than from going to Whole Foods.
This is a Mackorov topic so the intent is obvious, but rather than get bogged down in the dumb CE discourse horseshit, let's be productive. You're just as susceptible to monkeypox as any gay man of any level of sexual activity, even if you're the straightest virgin who ever walked the earth. So instead of scapegoating promiscuous queer men as the bringer of this plague, consider making an appointment with your doctor the next time you get a particularly nasty rash or other significant ailment or discomfort. Consider getting a blood test for HPV or any other blood-borne diseases you haven't gotten tested for in a while. And maybe try to be more open with other people about getting doctor's appointments, and urge them to get checked out themselves. Like I know that's gonna sound like pussy shit to anyone reading this, but it's a reasonable and thoughtful course of action to protect yourself and others against yet another contagion.
Facts and thank you for this post. It's amazing how quick we go back to narratives from 1981 when people perceive a chance to dunk on gay people.
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I gotta be righteous, I gotta be me, I gotta be conscious, I gotta be free, I gotta be able, I gotta attack, I gotta be stable, I gotta be black.