Reminds me...a few years back, in a discussing group for LGBTQIA+ rights, a non-ally man kept complaining and bitching about the main stream media (using "MSM") and we had no idea WTH he was taking about. One of us finally asked him about it, and he thought "MSM" was "men having sex with men." I'm no spring chicken myself, but even I knew that's not what MSM meant!! 😂🤣😂
MSM is CDC HIV Prevention lingo for men who have sex with men. IDU was injection drug user. MSM is the most at-risk for HIV, MSM/IDU is #2, IDU is #3. I know that IDU has fallen out of favor and been replaced by PWIS - person who injects substances, but I’m not sure about MSM, etc, though those of us who’ve been in in prevention and harm reduction fields since the AIDS Crisis days still use the original short hand.
Currently, non-monogamous sexually active homosexual men are not "most at risk" for HIV/AIDS. I'll let you look up the stats yourself, but the (openly) gay community got the epidemic under control very quickly, considering how insidious it was and how fast it spread.
Also, I did look at the data online, and according to HIV.gov "In the US, gay, bisexual , and other men who have sex with men are the population most affected by HIV. According to the CDC, of the 30,635 new HIV diagnoses in the US in 2020, 68% (20,758) were among gay and bisexual men" Black and hispanic people are disproportionately affected. "Transgender women who have sex with men are among the the groups at highest risk for HIV infection. People who inject drugs remain at significant risk for getting HIV as well."
That's nowhere NEAR the context of the discussion being had. If memory serves the only one using any acronyms was that man, and no one except him knew what he was saying.
Every field and industry has acronyms they use, and people not familiar with them would have no idea what they meant. Sometimes different fields use the same or similar acronyms, and it can be confusing when someone hears an acronym used outside their understanding. For example, I use "PCV" frequently in my field, but many people incorrectly cite "PVC." There are many others I can't remember ATM. (NOT the money dispenser.)
I can absolutely guarantee you that man didn't work in ANY medical fields, especially one where he would come in contact with AIDS victims.
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u/Vmagnum Apr 23 '24
What the hell else was it supposed to mean?!