Monkeypox prompts organizers to cancel LGBT+ parties

Amid the advance of monkeypox cases, LGBTQIA+ party organizers decided to postpone editions that were scheduled for this month in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

Despite this, they regret that the initiative to avoid gatherings is restricted to the gay community, while parties with a majority heterosexual audience continue to take place as normal.

Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus. Transmission occurs mainly through direct contact with the lesions that the disease causes in patients. In the current outbreak, most cases are associated with sexual activity, but anyone is subject to the disease. Cases have already been reported in children and in people with no recent sexual history.

One of the postponed parties was Kevin, held since 2015 in São Paulo. Attended mainly by gay men, the party is filled with nudity and fetishistic sexual props.

Its last edition took place on July 23, the same date on which the WHO (World Health Organization) declared monkeypox a public emergency of global concern.

There are no expectations for new editions. “We decided to wait until we have something more defined about safe procedures or not, given the nature of the party”, says Rafael Maia, producer of the event.

Another event that goes through a similar scenario is Horny. It has been held every month since 2017 in Belo Horizonte. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was suspended, but it resumed in January this year. Now, the organizers have again decided to suspend it – the August edition was supposed to take place on the 20th, but was cancelled.

“We decided to take precautions. We are always aware of what is happening and we decided to take this first step”, says Thales Albuquerque, producer and creator of Horny.

For him, it is important that the parties pass on information about the disease to the public. “I really wanted other parties to take a stand. Not even if it was just to alert and pass on information, because I think, at this moment, the main thing is to inform […] instead of pretending there’s nothing going on.”

Dando is also another event that chose to cancel the most recent edition – it would take place last Saturday (6). In posts published on social media, the organizers said they decided to suspend the party after conversations with public bodies and infectious disease specialists. They also disseminated information about the disease, such as prevention and symptoms.

Senta is an online party that was born during the pandemic and is scheduled to have its first in-person edition in September. For now, the event outside of computer and cellphone screens is maintained, but it could be changed depending on the spread of monkeypox.

The party’s producer, Uno Volto, says that it is important to make a greater effort to provide vaccines to the population. More effective communication, with information about transmission and symptoms of the disease, is also advocated by him.

Regarding parties, Volto argues that precautions should also be taken for other large events. “The care should be mainly for agglomerations that bring together many people from different cities, preventing the disease from leaving the nuclei where it is today.”

This Tuesday (9), Brutus was another event for the gay public that announced the cancellation of the edition planned for this Saturday (13). “We will not passively accept MSM status [homens que fazem sexo com outros homens] as a risk group, and we will continue to demand concrete solutions from Organs responsible bodies”, wrote the party in a post on Instagram.

Currently, most cases are recorded in men who have sexual activities with other men. The scenario, however, generates fear of stigmatization of this population.

Preconception

Cancellations of parties aimed at the LGBT+ population are not followed by events that cater to the heterosexual population, says Maia, Kevin’s producer. For him, this is a reason for indignation.

“What bothers me the most is having sex parties that are gay and LGBT+ being ‘forced’ to stop […] while concerts and ‘straight’ sex houses (such as swing ones), for example, are not even charged for this issue”, he says.

The producer believes that cancellations only at LGBT+ parties can reinforce the idea that monkeypox is a disease exclusive to the community.

Julio Croda, infectious disease physician and president of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine, says that events aimed at the heterosexual population should also take preventive measures. “The disease is not limited to a specific group, such as sexual orientation.”

The infectious disease specialist says that the problem is not the parties themselves, but the risk they represent of contact with the lesions caused by the disease. “The issue is not the party itself, but intimate contact, mainly through sex.”

Studies of the current monkeypox outbreak indicate that most infections occur during sex. Thus, sex parties, regardless of the public, are environments of greater exposure to multiple partners and, therefore, represent a greater risk for the disease.

“We have to reduce transmission. This is an important moment, especially until the vaccine arrives”, completes the infectologist.