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Blaming Gay Men for Monkeypox Will Harm Everyone

In Chicago last month, thousands of gay men gathered for the first time in three years for the annual International Mr. Leather conference, a four-day-long affair where men from all over the world gathered to strut their stuff in leather gear, have lots of sex, and compete to be named International Mr. Leather. IML is like the Miss America pageant, except those working the runway are clad in harnesses. (This year, the honor went to Gael Leung Chong Wo of Belgium.)

I found myself very concerned about the event in part because, even by the low standards of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community spread of SARS-CoV-2 was “high” in Chicago, causing uncontrollable community spread of that virus. Of course, gay men coming and going from around the world for a conference isn’t any more or less worrisome than any large group gathering indoors. Enragingly, the Society for Epidemiologic Research is also meeting in Chicago soon, despite the latest coronavirus surge. Graduations, weddings, concerts and banquets are churning on indoors, as if 10,000 people a month aren’t still dying of COVID.

But more specifically, I was worried about monkeypox (MPX) making an appearance at IML, as I am concerned about it making its way through LGBTQ Pride events and circuit parties this month. Monkeypox has largely been found in Western and Central Africa in the last few decades. And while it is endemic there in rodents, several African countries have

— source scientificamerican.com | Steven Thrasher | Jun 9, 2022

Nullius in verba


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