Dallas BraggFormer crystal methamphetamine user, I help men who have sex with men break free from the addictive patterns associated with Chemsex. Currently expanding my expertise by seeking to become a Certified

Gay men with HIV listen up #hivprevention #hiv

1 Aug 2024 · 1 min

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In this brief spoken piece, Dallas Bragg addresses gay men who are recovering from crystal meth use and living with HIV, describing how they are treated as "damaged goods" and relegated to a "dirty" category within the gay community. He argues that the division between "clean" and "dirty" stems from ignorance, and that education—specifically about the scientific fact that an undetectable viral load means the virus is untransmittable (U=U)—is the key to bridging that gap. Bragg calls out the hypocrisy of celebrating Pride while perpetuating internal stigma, urging listeners to research the science behind undetectable status and to end discrimination within the community.

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Many gay men recovering from crystal meth and living with HIV feel like damaged goods. Just like damaged goods, we've been marked and put on a shelf so that we're separate from the rest, discounted and sorted. The gay community becomes a clean versus dirty, and we get marginalized and placed in the dirty category. The real truth is the only thing separating clean versus dirty is ignorance. Education bridges that gap. If you want to truly celebrate Pride this year, pride yourself in understanding what undetectable means, and that undetectable equals untransmittable. Strange to me that we're celebrating Pride by ending stigma and discrimination, yet we add stigma and discrimination internally. If you're not familiar with the science, stop right now and go do your research.