If U equals U what does the second U mean?’
Sexual minority men’s accounts of HIV undetectability and untransmittable scepticism
Bibliographic Data
The everyday meaning and use of HIV 'undetectability' raises significant questions about the social and sexual significance of this state of viral suppression. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 25 sexual minority men living in Vancouver, Canada, including men living with HIV. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using grounded theory. Most participants understood being undetectable to signify that someone living with HIV is at a 'low,' 'lower,' or 'slim to no' risk of sexually transmitting HIV, as opposed to meaning 'uninfectious' or 'untransmittable'. Men discussed how undetectability was communicated in-person and online, including via sexual networking apps, and revealed how it is sometimes confused or conflated with another biomedical advance in HIV-prevention, namely pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). HIV-negative men expressed significant scientific scepticism, a reluctance to incorporate a partner's low viral load or undetectable HIV status into their sexual decision-making, and an enduring fear associated with knowingly having sex with someone who is HIV-positive. We describe this as a form of untransmittable scepticism . While international campaigns have worked to communicate the scientific message that 'undetectable equals untransmittable' (U = U), the sexual stigma attached to HIV remains durable among some gay, bisexual, queer and other men who have sex with men
Homosexuality · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Meaning (existential · Men who have sex with men · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Queer · Skepticism · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Virology
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Sexual justice and HIV prevention by proxy
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Ambivalence and the biopolitics of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation
Experiences of undetectable = untransmittable among couples with different HIV serostatus
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Attitudes, Knowledge, and Worry About HIV in the U=U Era
The Potential Role of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U = U) in Reducing HIV Stigma among Sexual Minority Men in the US
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Public health morality, sex, and Covid-19
Using social media as a platform to publicly disclose HIV status among people living with HIV
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Exploring young Black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men’s PrEP knowledge in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The relevance of communal altruism for sexual minority men in contemporary contexts
The Implications of HIV Biomedical Prevention for Perceived HIV Risk and Psychosexual Health among Sexual Minority Men in the United States
Growing up in the shadow of HIV
Can HIV-positive gay men become parents? How men living with HIV and HIV clinicians talk about the possibility of having children
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Sexual Activity Without Condoms and Risk of HIV Transmission in Serodifferent Couples When the HIV-Positive Partner Is Using Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy
The Spectrum of Engagement in HIV Care and its Relevance to Test-and-Treat Strategies for Prevention of HIV Infection
HIV Viral Load and Transmissibility of HIV Infection
HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
Viral suppression and HIV transmission in serodiscordant male couples
Risk of HIV transmission through condomless sex in serodifferent gay couples with the HIV-positive partner taking suppressive antiretroviral therapy (PARTNER)
Antiretroviral Therapy for the Prevention of HIV-1 Transmission
The Discovery of Grounded Theory
The “Swiss Statement”
‘Party and Play’
“Condoms are … like public transit. It’s something you want everyone else to take”
Comfort Relying on HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Treatment as Prevention for Condomless Sex
Increasing Belief in the Effectiveness of HIV Treatment as Prevention
News of Biomedical Advances in HIV
Sexual Behavior, Risk Compensation, and HIV Prevention Strategies Among Participants in the San Francisco PrEP Demonstration Project
The non-positive antiretroviral gay body
Sexual health literacy among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
HIV-negative gay men's accounts of using context-dependent sero-adaptive strategies
Gay Men and HIV/Aids Risk Management
The Undetectable Crisis
| Unique citing works | 24 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,8 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 22 |