Ita€™s probably one of the most prolific acronyms on gay dating apps. a€?DDF,a€? sometimes with a€?u b 2.a€? they is short for a€?drug and ailments freea€? and ita€™s both typical and odious. If followed closely by a€?you getting as well,a€? it can be overtly stigmatizing towards HIV-positive guys. But also by yourself, ita€™s extremely problematic so leta€™s break [a€¦]
Wellness Sexual Fitness Kevin Moroso
This information was released on November eighteenth, 2015
Ita€™s probably one of the most respected acronyms on gay relationship programs. a€?DDF,a€? sometimes accompanied by a€?u b 2.a€? It represents a€?drug and condition freea€? and ita€™s both typical and odious. If with a€?you feel also,a€? it is quite overtly stigmatizing towards HIV-positive dudes. However, even alone, ita€™s really problematic so leta€™s break-down why which.
First of all, ita€™s unclear. What conditions could be the person dealing with? Does he just suggest HIV? Does the guy suggest all STIs? Or is the guy actually writing on non-communicable illnesses?
Now presuming they relates to STIs, ita€™s a somewhat useless piece of records. For the majority of with the minor infection, like gonorrhea, they’re very conveniently sent that nobody is able to actually ensure they dona€™t have one. Whenever ended up being their final examination for anyone bacterial infections? What number of couples did you posses prior to that make sure the amount of have you ever got since? Are you DDF on Monday but not on Tuesday when you see the discharge coming out of your penis?
Because these lesser attacks are often carried through both oral and anal intercourse and some, like syphilis, can still be effortlessly transmitted when working with condoms, your entire latest sex matters. For most of different bacterial infections, eg HPV or herpes, community wellness government try not to indicates testing of these. Therefore ita€™s unlikely this guy understands whether he has got herpes or HPV. Simply put, hardly any dudes is generally particular theya€™re without an STI any kind of time time.
When the guy is certainly caused by focused on HIV, what counts is transmissibility, not whether you’re HIV-positive or perhaps not. Guys exactly who see they have been HIV-positive and generally are on procedures aren’t the people that sending HIV. In fact, the people exactly who think they’re HIV-negative but I have recently seroconverted account for most transmissions. And so the irony is ita€™s the guys whom say theya€™re a€?DDFa€? which happen to be spreading HIV, maybe not the guys whom see they’ve this a€?disease.a€? Thus unless the guy with the DDF visibility are for example hea€™s unsafe for your health, ita€™s not a smart method of intimate wellness. In reality, they demonstrates the guya€™s ignorance when it comes to sexual health and so how unsafe this person might. Extra problematic is the fact that DDF perpetuates the idea that HIV-positive men exactly who discover their unique condition become transferring HIV a€“ this is exactly an idea this is certainly false, stigmatizing, contrary to research, and is helping to spreading the crisis.
Another issue is that this acronym places along medicine usage with what 
is a long-term health. A lot of people believe that drug habits is terrible and this expression tends to make a link between HIV-positive men and drug dependency. It combines what’s a behavioral concern with a health disease. It creates a breeding ground during the gay matchmaking globe not creating HIV is right while the standard.
That leads to how it reinforces HIV stigma. They focuses primarily on their particular virus, maybe not them all together person, and helps to draw all of them completely as unwanted. This has a deeply unfavorable effect on the mental health of poz dudes, specifically people who have been recently diagnosed or tend to be young. This option are often in a fragile mental state, believe a disease has had over their health as well as their physical lives, and this also hammers place the idea they are not welcome when you look at the typical homosexual relationships industry anymore. These bad mental burdens can often continue for a life opportunity. The acronym helps reinforce the sections in our neighborhood between poz and neg, a division whose times it.
So shed they guys. Say youra€™re maybe not into carrying out medication with sex. Give your own latest examination time and this testa€™s success. But quit by using the acronym DDF: it demonstrates their ignorance around intimate health insurance and will act as a strike on some of the most prone members of our community.