THE LIMELIGHT Sorting out fact from fiction of polarizing virus

Robert, along with his partner were attacked by a group of teens shouting and citing homophobic expletives, such as “monkeypox f****ts,” LGBTQ Nation (https://bit.ly/3E8KZqr) reported.

That was not the first time he has been preyed on by others since monkeypox made headlines.

“A few months ago, a friend of mine and I were on the Metro … and some guy told us … where he was from, they ‘kill gay people’ or something along those lines,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Boston, others have likened public opinion to the treatment and stigmatization of the gay community seen during the 1980s AIDS epidemic.

Lloyd*, 58, a self-proclaimed “proud

Southie,” said he has faced many comments, overt and subliminal, about monkeypox and gay men from his own family members.

“My own father told me to make sure I wasn’t carrying the disease before going over to visit him at his long-term care facility,” Lloyd said. “It reminded me of the AIDS crisis all over again.”

These two commonly told stories and themes are shaping up around the nation — online and in person — as misinformation and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination runs amuck. Such distortion about the virus has been mishandled and gaslighted especially by those holding powerful positions within the U.S. government such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) who has called on the public to “laugh at” the virus because it only affects “some people,” LGBTQ Nation reported (https://bit.ly/3EaMOmF).

The virus has primarily affected men who have sex with men (MSM) so far, but there seems to be a reason for that, according to the doctors.

Setting the record straight

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), 98 percent of monkeypox infections are amongst MSM. However, local medical experts stressed the importance to not stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community nor buy into misinformation about the virus.

“It is important to not stigmatize people, since there is nothing about being LGBTQ+ that makes one uniquely susceptible to Monkeypox,

See Monkeypox On Page 7