My Burning Man 2008 HIV experience

So I was a BM virgin this past year. I had a wonderful time. Two volunteer opportunities that called to me were Safe Sex Camp and B.E.D.(Bureau of Erotic Discourse). SSC needed safe sex kit passer outers so I handed out kits to participants at BED's sex positive rape prevention workshops. For the event I ordered a white tshirt online that just had HIV+ written across it in big bold letters. I thought it would be an excellent way to bring up safe sex to people I encountered.

At one of the workshops I was talking with a straight guy and he asked me how straight men contract HIV. He seriously asked that if a man were to get HIV on their "front" does "it" crawl around to the "back" and go "up". I couldn't believe his only concept of how HIV enters the body is up through the anus. I informed him that his penis is a receptacle for HIV. He also thought my HIV + tshirt was a joke. I reminded him that not everyone is going to be as upfront about their status as I am. It was fun educating him and watching the looks on people's faces when they caught sight of my shirt.

Later in the week my neighbor mentioned that he and his campmates had seen me in the shirt. His campmate expressed concern to my neighbor that he was sharing a pipe of tobacco with me. Like it was dangerous to smoke with an HIV infected person. I can't believe there is still so many uneducated people. So glad I wore that shirt and educated when I could.