Mpox (formerly named monkeypox) is NOT a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI)

STD: Sexually Transmitted Disease

STI: Sexually Transmitted Infection

You should be using STI more often than not.

What are the best main methods of preventing a STI? Condoms or, for the purpose of clarity, having sex with one person excluding yourself (monogomous is generally considered the term for this). If you do both at the same time, even safer.

You do not get infected with mpox by having sex. You catch it through very close contact, which is needed for sex. But it is not a direct correlation.

To me, and please correct me if I'm wrong on this comparison, but that is like saying a lady will necessarily get pregnant if she has sex. No she won't. Even if no contraception is used and she is not already pregnant, she will not absolutely definitely get pregnant.

STI is gonorrhea, syphillis, for example.

Another problem I have with the information being put out is mpox is mostly spreading among gay men and men who have sex with men. People don't read and/or because of many reasons they come to believe this: I won't get mpox because I'm not gay and/or I won't get mpox because I'm not a man having sex with men.

That is not what the information is. Most cases, the majority of them are gay men or men who have sex with men. This is not all. Yes, it is also legitimate to believe you won't get it because you are not in those 'categories', but it does not absolutely mean you will never get mpox.

That is like being told you have cancer and that immediately means in your head that you will die. Actually, that is not always the case. Same with HIV. It all depends on your specific context. AIDS, yes, you will die, but you can live ten years with HIV. You can be in remission with cancer. You can 'beat' cancer and never have it again.

Maybe before it was a death sentence, but today it is not a given.

In part, this misconception about mpox is partly driven by the media in my opinion. It seems 'gay men' and 'men who have sex with men' are highlighted and whilst this might be/is true, if you do your job, you will know when you release the news article, many people will believe they won't get mpox because they are not one of the sexualities involved in most cases.

Not that mpox is a human, but if it were, do you really think it would ask before infecting a human being: is this person gay? Is this person a man who has sex with men?

No it fucking does not. It's goal is to infect people.

Anyone can get mpox, you get infected by close contact.

Close contact is required to have sex.

-A.M.