Matt Baume is just a YouTuber whom produces content that is gay-themed.
Final thirty days Midwest FurFest attracted over 10,000 people, inside and outside of fursuits, for example of this world’s largest furry conventions. They arrived for a variety of destinations both familiar (gaming sessions, composing workshops, party parties) and surprising (appearances by Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J and their furry-famous child Ruby).
But one feature for the con received some consternation: Chicago-based general public wellness nonprofit Sinai wellness offered free private HIV tests to any or all attendees. Even though use of medical care and associated info is an asset that is definite any gathering, the evaluating additionally received a little bit of a backlash, exposing extensive lack of knowledge and stigma around HIV.
Giving an answer to tweets from con organizers and attendees, various individuals claimed on Twitter that HIV tests are an indicator of reckless behavior, that HIV screening is simply too depressing a subject for the con, and that people various other fandoms don’t must know their status. One individual stated that HIV transmission ended up being brought on by dirty fursuits.
With their credit, wellness providers, con organizers, and attendees did their utmost to dispel the fables around HIV, switching the week-end into an— that is impromptu demonstrably much-needed — concept in safe sex for many.
With origins in mid-’90s sci-fi conventions, Midwest FurFest attracts thousands up to a meeting center simply outside Chicago every year. Charitable offering and community solution have been a factor regarding the occasion, which raised $94,000 for a literacy system in 2018. And also for the third 12 months in a line, counselors and testers with Sinai wellness had been readily available for anyone thinking about checking their HIV status.
The timing had been apt, coming just a couple of days after World AIDS Day and also the launch of a roadmap for closing the epidemic, finalized by a huge selection of HIV/AIDS companies. Continue reading “Matt Baume”