Sexual Health Blog

When sex is defined solely by penetration, any inability to perform that specific act feels like a total failure of intimacy. Body and Pleasure

Age does not grant immunity to viruses or bacteria, but it does change how the body interacts with them. The physiological changes that accompany aging create unique vulnerabilities in the bedroom.

Fresh from AIDS 2026 in Rio, I stepped onto the Pride Boat, representing EATG aboard the EMA (European Medicines Agency) float. With pride and urgency, I carried my message of HIV prevention and stigma reduction, delivered with the fervour our community deserves.

Stigma still shapes who tests, who discloses, who gets treated, and for queer people navigating gender nonconformity alongside HIV, it often comes layered. When Eric the Dragking takes the stage, though, it isn't just a performance. It's resistance. Survival. A rewriting of what it means to live with HIV.

It is a beautiful fiction, but it is a fiction nonetheless. Viruses and bacteria do not recognize vows, they do not read marriage certificates, and they do not respect the boundaries of a shared home.

Hello lovely people, earlier this week I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at AIDS 2026 for less than a week but honestly it felt much longer. From the pre-conference to my final moments, I showed up as HIV Stigmafighter and Eric the Dragking. Rio embraced both sides of my activism.

To bridge this critical information gap, a comprehensive digital database has emerged. Accessible via https://www.theshape.net/who-europe-hiv-medication-landscape, the WHO Europe HIV Medication Landscape & Access Map provides an interactive, single-screen overview of medication availability and reimbursement policies across 53 European countries.

Mandela taught us that dignity is a collective responsibility. Jyoti embodies that responsibility. She advocates for women, for people ageing with HIV, for U equals U, and for inclusion of people with disabilities in the HIV response. Every day she acts as a global embassador for those who feel unseen.

Navigating sexual health under the heavy shadow of "purity culture" is one of the most agonizing, isolating experiences a human being can endure. It forces an individual into a devastating psychological war, where they must constantly choose between trusting modern medicine or trusting the doctrines they were raised to revere.

Disabled individuals are frequently forced into one of two false categories: they are either infantilized and presumed to be completely asexual, or they are hyper-sexualized and fetishized. The radical, ordinary truth—that disabled people have vibrant sex lives, complex desires, and the exact same biological vulnerabilities to infectious diseases as anyone else—is systematically erased.

It is impossible to discuss queer sexual health without acknowledging the deep, lingering scars of the early HIV/AIDS epidemic. For the older generation of the LGBTQ+ community, the hard-fought sexual liberation of the 1970s was violently interrupted by a virus that decimated an entire demographic while global governments and medical institutions largely looked the other way.

The intersection of substance use and sexuality—often referred to as "chemsex" or "party and play" (PnP)—is a complex reality. It involves the intentional use of substances (such as methamphetamine, GHB/GBL, or mephedrone) immediately before or during sex to facilitate, prolong, or enhance the sexual experience.

Yet, sex workers navigate a world that violently refuses to grant them this pragmatic view. They are subjected to a suffocating "double stigma"—judged relentlessly for the labor they perform to survive, and immediately blamed if they encounter a biological hazard while performing it.

This June, I am fortunate to be in South Korea. Two years ago, I connected with local communities here, and returning now feels like being welcomed home. The celebrations are known as the “Seoul Queer Culture Festival”, but the spirit is the same: Pride.

When a bacterial infection involves the genitals, the throat, or the rectum through sexual contact, biology is suddenly overshadowed by theology, morality, and centuries of ingrained shame. Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia are the "Big Three" of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

To combat this rising tide, the medical community has repurposed an old tool for a new strategy: Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, universally referred to as DoxyPEP. While it is rapidly becoming a focal point for health professionals and advocates, navigating the science, the policy, and the practical application requires a nuanced understanding.

These are the silent rivers of the viral world: Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV). In conversations about sexual health and intimacy, Hepatitis is frequently overshadowed by HIV or visibly stigmatized conditions like Herpes. Yet, millions of individuals globally navigate the complex intersection of liver health, infectious disease, and romantic connection.

The human body is not a sterile environment, and expecting it to be one is a recipe for lifelong misery. By stripping away the moral panic and looking at the science, people managing HPV and HSV can reclaim their bodies, recognizing that a common microscopic companion does not diminish their infinite capacity for pleasure, connection, and profound love.

I founded the Albanian Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (AUPLHA). The mission was exceptionally clear: to demand access to life-saving medications, to protect the fundamental rights of patients, and to drag the reality of HIV out of the shadows.

Science has fundamentally transformed HIV from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition. A person diagnosed with HIV today, who has access to modern medication, is expected to live a lifespan equal to someone without the virus.