2023-08-15 22:00:00
“U = U”, in French “I = I” (Indétectable = Intransmissible) is a scientific consensus and even since last July, a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) intended for healthcare professionals. health care for people living with HIV. But what is the concrete impact of U = U in the life and sexuality of the people concerned? The American magazine Poz devotes a dossier on this subject. Rob Arnegard is a gay activist, HIV positive, porn actor and escort. He fell into a deep depression following his HIV diagnosis in 2005, gaining over 20 pounds. “I think I was convinced, maybe subconsciously, that the more weight I gained, the harder it would be [pour le VIH] to kill me. I have become a big bear. Now I don’t want to criticize. I love bears! I want to make it clear, but for me and my body, it was not healthy”. A few months following being diagnosed, Rob Arnegard started his first antiretroviral treatment for HIV. “Since then, I have never had a detectable viral load.” At the time, the concept U = U was not yet known, but the understanding of virology during his high school years led him to his own theory: “I always thought, if you haven’t of detectable viral load, what can you transmit? “. In the late 2000s, a friend emailed him an article an article that talked regarding U=U. It was an article that explained U=U, the studies that backed up the science behind it, and the freedom that people people living with HIV on effective treatment might experience. Rob Arnegard takes the item to his doctor. “And he was like, ‘Oh, I’m glad you brought it up. We will now place you in a new category called U=U”. “And I asked: Does that mean someone might give me oral sex? “. The doctor not only gave him the good news that yes, it was now safe, but he also gave him back much of his life that he thought was lost forever. “He told me that I might have intimate sex once more without a condom,” says the activist. A few years later, Rob Arnegard reconnected with Mark, who is HIV negative and later became her husband. “For the first five years of our relationship, we continued to use condoms.” Then, once the science and the U=U message became better known, the couple ended up giving up on condoms. “U = U had a huge impact on my sexuality, but it took me a while,” says the activist. By rediscovering a fulfilling sexuality without fear of transmitting HIV, Rob Arnegard resumed, with the support of her husband, his escort activity. He is also a sex educator specializing in alternative sexualities such as BDSM and he hosts The Rocket Review, a podcast on sexual health. A sexual freedom which he says he enjoys thanks to the liberating effect of U = U.
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