In the week since monkeypox started spreading through Europe, North America, and Australia, experts have been gathering more information about the outbreak’s origins. Unfortunately for the LGBTQ+ community, it’s not looking hot for us: Apparently, this outbreak can likely be traced to two gay raves in Spain and Belgium, per the AP. Grindr has even teamed up with health officials in the UK and started sending warnings to its users across Europe: “(Monkeypox) is transmitted through close contact, like during sexual intercourse or through contaminated bedding, sex toys,” the pop-up message reads.
I just know that some people are going to start using monkeypox as an excuse to sex-shame the queer community, like they did with HIV back in the day — but unlike the latter, monkeypox is not even a sexually transmitted disease. The virus spreads mostly by way of very close contact through “broken skin (even if not visible), respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth),” according to the CDC. Because monkeypox isn’t nearly as easily spread as COVID, prolonged intimate contact is necessary for it to go from one person to the next, which means it is more likely — but not exclusively — spread during sex.
