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For over 20 years, community-based organizations and other public health educators have developed and employed messages aimed at reducing HIV infection among the groups they target. While the messages—in the form of posters, buttons, and printed material—may be different based on the target group, all of these messages have one thing in common. Providers have historically refrained from using language that may suggest to people that they are being judged or told what to do. HIV pre & post test counselors and others are trained to avoid words or phrases such as: “you should do this” or “don’t do that”. The logic here is that individuals may find this language off-putting, and may be reluctant to seek help in the future. There is truth to this logic – most people do not like being told what to do and will shut down if they feel judged.

As such, community based organizations and other public health officials put great effort into developing messages and campaigns aimed at fighting HIV transmission. Providers conduct research, collect data from their own day to day work and partner with social marketing experts to craft messages that will have the greatest impact with the largest group of people.

HIV Prevention messages have evolved a lot over the past 29 years. In the early 80’s service providers and public health educators focused on condom use. It was a period some called “Condom Education”. It was logical…it made sense…put a condom on and you’ll be safe:

We moved from there to the sex positive 90’s. The notion of talking about sex began to make more sense. It was no longer sufficient to simply hand someone a condom and hope they would know why it was important to use it. Folks who decided they were ready to use condoms lacked the language to negotiate condom use with their partners. Enter community based organizations with a revised message and new sex positive language. Providers began talking about sex in real ways…and so did entertainers:

The evolution continued with the incorporation of “risk reduction” messages. At the time, the logic was to take an honest look at what people were doing…what they were willing to do with respect to using condoms. There was an acknowledgement that some people refused to use condoms so providers sought to educate them on ways they can continue their activities but in a safer way: You don’t like using condoms? Well, you can reduce your risk by not cumming inside of your partner, engaging in mutual masturbation, oral sex instead of anal, or anal sex with one partner with whom you in are in a committed relationship.

The arrival of OraSure and the OraQuick rapid testing technology brought us into the new millennium with a renewed focus on HIV testing and linkage to care. In the face of increasing rates of HIV infection among gay men, particularly young people and men of color, providers sought to advance HIV prevention by switching focus from HIV negative people to identifying, diagnosing, and providing care for HIV positive individuals. As such, the messages were no longer about condoms. Instead, we heard about how, when, and why we should get tested.

For me, Changing Positions represents an effort to incorporate all that we’ve learned about HIV, sex, and human nature to communicate—in an honest and frank manner—the realities of HIV transmission. The position that is being changed is that notion that providers censor themselves for fear that people may not want to hear the truth. The bottom line is that if you fuck lots of people without condoms you are placing yourself at risk for HIV and STD infection. I could put sugar on that…but it’s an undeniable fact. The more you do it, the more your level of risk increases. Obviously, that it’s a fact is not enough to make folks change their behavior, so we also want to talk about the struggles. If you’re not using condoms, why? If you are, how? If you’re a bareback loving cum dumpster, let us know what’s on your mind.

Take a look at the posters that were developed for the Man-Find campaign by visiting Man-Find.com and clicking the "free downloads" link.