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Serosorting
It's an odd sounding word, but more and more people are using
it now days… not just the word, but also the practice
itself. It comes from the word "serum" which has
to do with fluids of the blood. If you
have HIV then you are sero-positive, and if you don't
then you are sero-negative. You get the idea. A negative/positive
couple would be considered "sero-discordant" because
they have a different HIV status. So, as I'm sure you've figured
out by now, sero-sorting is the process of choosing your sexual/romantic
partners based on whether or not they have HIV.
Some
people find this a bit discriminatory, but a lot of people
do it anyway as a normal part of hooking up or dating people.
Most of the time it is Positive guys who won't date Negative,
and not necessarily the other way around. It has also been
one effective way of curbing new HIV infections, for obvious
reasons.
Now,
just because a guy says he is negative doesn't mean he truly
knows for sure. It takes a few months for HIV
to show up on a test, which means if they've had unsafe
sex recently a negative result doesn't mean a thing. So, we're
not advocating having bareback
sex with somebody who says he's negative as a way of avoiding
HIV infection. But pairing off with someone of your same status,
while still practicing safe sex, definitely reduces your chances
of catching HIV, or something else.
Remember,
there are still a lot of other
critters out there that you can get. And Positive guys
should remember that they are more susceptible to STDs
and other infections, which they can still get from having
unprotected sex with another Positive guy. Also, up to 25%
of Positive guys have a Hepatitis
C co-infection, which can complicate treatment and health.
There is no cure or vaccine for Hep C, but using condoms
can protect you against it.
Just
because you're sero-sorting doesn't mean condoms and lube
should fall out of the picture, but it can be another important
tool for maintaining your sexual health whether you’re
Positive or Negative. Remember guys: fuck smart, fuck safe!
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