u/Impossible_Talk_8189

This is a link to an article by El País, one of Spain's most reputable newspapers. (Paywall)

This is what one of the paragraphs said about the birthday party in 2018 (translated from Spanish)

"Scientists traced the first instance of person-to-person transmission. It occurred at a birthday party with approximately 100 guests. “It was a formal party, with tables and about 100 guests,” explains Gustavo Palacios, co-lead author of the article and a microbiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Patient 1 attended the party but didn’t stay long—about 90 minutes—because he began to feel unwell and developed a fever.

Five people who had been seated nearby reported symptoms consistent with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome between 17 and 24 days after the party. “In fact, there was a sixth infected person who wasn’t seated nearby, and we didn’t understand why,” recalls Palacios. “But then we learned that they had met in the restroom and greeted each other there.”

One of those infected at the party, Patient 2, was the most likely source of six infections in other people after the party, due to his active social life. Patient 2 died 16 days after the onset of symptoms, and his spouse developed a fever during his wake. Another 10 people who attended the funeral and were in close contact with another infected person, Patient 9, became ill between 14 and 40 days after the funeral. The remaining 12 patients were in contact with at least one patient who had previously developed symptoms."

In our country we can't really get both of our names on the utility bills. Is it enough that we're both paying for them from our joint account?

I understand that Prep helps to prevent HIV infection and that sex feels better without a condom on. However there are so many men who just flat out REFUSE to have sex with anyone if they are asked to use a condom. I would say about 3 out of every 5 men on Grindr and other applications have "BB only" policies.

Realistically, if you're genuinely turned on by the person you have in front of you then the sex is going to feel amazing whether or not you're wearing a condom. And that's just a fact - for both the top and bottom.

And after having been exposed to syphilis recently and receiving a penicillin shot, I'm seriously rethinking the way I have sex with strangers.

I understand that Clamydia isn't very serious, but as someone who works in Healthcare I've seen what late stage neurosyphilis looks like in a patient and it's absolutely terrifying. Not to mention that antibiotic resistance amongst these bacteria is becoming more and more common. Getting infected with gonorrea resistant to penicillin would be an absolute nightmare.

And lastly nobody knew what the heck HIV was before half of the gay men in big cities were infected with it already. At any point in time new STDs can evolve and we as the gay community are the most vulnerable group of people. We will surely be affected by it first before scientists even know what's happening. It's just a part of nature that these diseases develop and spread.

So I'm wondering if at the very least as gay people we can start bringing awareness to how dangerous this "BB only" attitude is on the apps. It really makes people feel obligated to drop all safety measures just to be seen as desirable by someone they find attractive. We should all be open to using condoms if asked, and that should be clear as day on our profiles. Nobody should be nervous that asking for a condom to be used will ruin their chances of meeting someone new and having fun.