The LGBT community and its allies worry that emphasizing the predominance of monkeypox among men who have sex with men will trigger the same kind of stigma and homophobia we’ve seen with HIV. Meanwhile, people on social media are claiming the outbreak has no link whatsoever to gay sex, left and right alike are mocking harm reduction advice and straight women are panicking about their risk. Many gay and bi men still don’t know about monkeypox. Many well-known voices on gay sexual health and HIV prevention have been publicly silent, failing to push back against misinformation. Yet in the media, we’ve seen more articles addressing the delicate balancing act of raising awareness without triggering stigma than we have about how to actually tackle the outbreak. Most are gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men. Worldwide, there are now more than 3,000 cases. As of June 22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 156 confirmed cases in the United States.
The monkeypox outbreak outside endemic countries was first reported in the United Kingdom in early May. “Monkeypox is not a gay disease.” “Anyone can get monkeypox.” We’ve heard this ad infinitum-and it’s accurate-but as we attempt to avoid stoking stigma and homophobia, I fear the LGBT community and the government aren’t doing enough to raise awareness and curb transmission.
