2019-09-01 Cosmopolitan South Africa

youareor havedated.

Hatersgonnahate,and

allof us bi folksare

goingto justkeep

onflourishing.’

I’veheardabout

PrEP,anda fewof

myfriendsaretaking

it.ShouldI betoo?

A So happy you

have brought this up,

because PrEP, aka pre-

exposure prophylaxis,

can be lifesaving.

a tough time feeling
seen because they’re
often labelled by the
sexual orientation of
their current relationship.
‘Neither straight nor
queer communities do
a very good job of
recognising bi folks
as real and valid, and
very few communities
have any bi-specific
resources,’ says Powell.
‘But your sexuality is
valid no matter who

It’s a prescription pill

that when taken daily

can reduce your risk

of getting HIV by

a whopping 92 to

99%. ‘This is huge,’

says Jamila Headley,

managing director

of the HIV advocacy

group Health GAP. ‘It

has the potential to

help us stop the HIV

epidemic around the

world.’ Unfortunately,

there are a ton of

misconceptions about

the drug (no, it’s

notjustforgay

or bisexualmen),

anda prescription

withoutmedicalaid

is expensive.Still,you

canaskyourdoctorto

writeyoua prescription

foranyof thefollowing

reasons:you’rein

a sexualrelationship

withsomeonewho’s

HIV-positive;youdon’t

regularlyusecondoms

withnewpartners;or

you’reconsideredto be

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COSMOPOLITAN.CO.ZA | SEPTEMBER 2019

SEX

at highriskof getting

HIVfromsexor injected

druguse.

Mygynaesaysthat

sinceI havesexwith

women,I’mnotat

riskforSTIs.True?

A Absolutelynot.Your

doctorcouldn’tbe

furtherfromthetruth,

andwhatshetoldyou

is wildlyinaccurate.

I suggestgettinga

newgynaeandmaking

suretheyknowthat

anytimethere’san

unprotectedexchange

of bodilyfluids,there’s

a riskof infection.Then,

saysPowell,make

sureyou’regetting

testedregularlyforthe

following:gonorrhoea,

chlamydia,syphilis,

HIV,HSV-1and2, HPV

andhepatitisC (you

canaskformycoplasma

or trichomoniasis

scans,too,if you’re

havingsymptoms).

I’mnotouttoany

ofmyfriendsorfam

yet,butI stillwant

tosupportPride.

Anyideas?

A Ofcourse!I walked

in the 2018 NYCPride

Paradeto supportmy

friendsandit was

suchanamazing

experience.The

crowdswerepulsing

withlove,acceptance

andcamaraderie– it

honestlybroughtme

to tears.Butyoudon’t

needto goto a parade

or partyto joinin,

especially when people

celebrate all over

the planet for World

Pride. ‘Pride is in loving

yourself, accepting

yourself, and showing

that same support for

others,’ says Shane.

Simple as that. You

can also donate to

LGBTQ+ charities,

shop at supporting

stores, and vote for

politicians who are

fighting to protect

your rights.

If I’m partnered

with a guy but

I hook up with

a girl, does that

countas cheating?

A It’s crazy how many

people have been

asking this lately (it’s

defs a thing). I can’t

give you a straight-up

answer, because

what monogamy and

cheating mean to two

people who are dating

each other can only

be worked out within

that relationship. If you

or your partner think it

counts as cheating, then

there you go. If you’re

like, eh, I don’t know,

then it’s time to have

a serious chat about

specific boundaries.

Write them down

if you have to, like:

‘making out with

another girl isn’t

cheating’ or ‘going

down on anyone

else is’. Then be

sure to follow your

own rules. ■

Ad

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