HIM is a nonprofit society that aims to strengthen the health and well-being in communities of self-identified GBQ men and gender diverse people in BC.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
| Acute phase | The first stage of an HIV infection which takes place in the first 8-12 weeks after we transmit HIV, and when the virus is at is most infectious. |
| Anal dysplasia | A condition where lesions caused by HPV form in and around the anus and can develop into anal cancer. |
| Anal/ass play | Sexual activities involving the anus, including fingering/digital play, rimming, fisting, and anal sex with penises, prosthetics, and/or sex toys. |
| Antibodies | A protein produced by the immune system in response to viruses. |
| Antigens | An outer part of a virus that causes the immune system to activate, especially by making antibodies. |
| ARV drugs | Stands for ‘antiretrovirals’. PrEP, PEP, and HIV treatment are all examples of ARVs. This is a type of medication that can treat and prevent HIV. |
| Asymptomatic | When we have an infection or illness but no pain or other physical features of it. We can still transmit infections if we are asymptomatic. |
| BDSM | Sexual play or relationships where partners negotiate an exchange power and pain to achieve pleasure. BDSM stands for Bondage and Discipline (BD); Dominance and Submission (DS), Sadism and Masochism (SM). |
| Birth control | Strategies we can use to prevent pregnancy, control monthly bleeding, or otherwise shift our hormones. |
| Bloodstream | Part of the body’s circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. |
| Bloodwork | Giving a blood sample for testing. |
| Cis-centric | Focused on the needs and experiences of cisgender people |
| Cisgender | People whose gender identity matched their assigned sex at birth. |
| Co-infection | Having more than one infection at a time. In More Than Sex, co-infection usually refers to HIV and Hep C. |
| Consent | Permission; a process of agreeing to do something with another person |
| Contagious | Can transmit to another person |
| Disclose/disclosure | Sharing information. In More Than Sex, we talk about disclosure in the context of HIV status, gender, |
| Dungeons | A space designed and used for for BDSM sexual activities. These spaces usually come stocked with BDSM toys and equipment, such as shackles and harnesses. |
| Finger cot | A cover that fits over one finger |
| Fissures | Small tears that can happen in our soft tissues. |
| Flesh cock | Any type of “flesh” penis, cis and trans, that can penetrate. |
| Front hole | A more gender inclusive term for the body parts many people refer to as the vulva and vagina. It is best to ask our partners what language they use for their bodies and state what we use for ours as well. |
| Gaff | A garment that flattens the lower part of your body, concealing the erectile tissue (penis) and the gonads (testes). |
| Gender affirming care | Health care that holistically attends to gender diverse people’s physical, mental, sexual and social health needs and well-being while respectfully affirming their gender identity, expression, and experience. |
| Gender diverse | Gender roles and/or gender expression that do not match social and cultural expectations. |
| Gender dysphoria | Gender dysphoria is experienced differently from person to person, but generally, the term is a medical/psychiatric term to describe the psychological distress that occurs when our sex assigned at birth doesn’t align with how we want to live, express, and identify. |
| Genital fluids | Include anal, frontal/vaginal, and rectal fluids. |
| Harm reduction | An approach that provides tools, strategies, and approaches to limit unwanted impacts of sex and/or drug use. |
| Heterosexist | Assumptions that all people are in cisgender male-female relationships, whether in social relationships, workplace policies, or health care. |
| Immune system | A network of cells, tissues, and organs in our bodies that fight infections and diseases. |
| Immunodeficiency | A state where our immune system cannot fully respond to diseases and infections that enter our bodies. |
| Internal reproductive organs | The organs associated with reproduction some of us have such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, a uterus, a cervix and a vagina. |
| Intersectionality | A framework for understanding how different systems of oppression and discrimination intersect and impact individuals or groups. |
| Meta (metoidioplasty) | A gender affirming, masculinizing, lower surgery to create a penis and scrotum |
| Non-disclosure | Not sharing information |
| PEP | Medications that can prevent acquiring HIV if started within 72 hours after coming into contact with HIV. |
| Phallo (phalloplasty) | A gender-affirming, masculinizing, lower surgery to create a penis, scrotum, and sometimes testicles |
| Post up penis | The penis a person has gotten from surgeries/procedures. |
| PrEP | Medications that can prevent acquiring HIV when taken regularly. |
| Pronouns | Words used to refer to someone without using their name. Common pronouns used in English include include he/him, they/them, and she/her. |
| Prosecute | Start a legal process. In More Than Sex, prosecute is used in the context of HIV non-disclosure |
| Prosthetic cock | An item designed to resemble a flesh cock/penis that can be worn on a person’s body |
| Reportable | A public health process of letting our sexual partners know that someone they had sex with had a positive STI test result. We will be asked to provide information about our sexual partners in this process, and often we are given the option of notifying our partners ourselves. |
| Rimming | Stimulating someone’s anus with our mouth and tongue. |
| Soft packer | Term some people use to describe padding or a non-flesh penis worn in the underwear or lower garment. Some packers are ‘pack and play’ and can be converted into a harder prosthetic penis. |
| Semen | The fluid that contains sperm, and is created in the testes/external gonads. |
| Sperm | Sperm are microscopic human reproductive cells (spermatazoa) that are produced in the testes/external gonads and care carried in semen. |
| Stigma | A social power that excludes people who don’t fit in or are seen as “not normal”. Stigma has major effects on wellbeing. |
| Strap-on | A penis or penis-like item that can be strapped on to a person’s body, such as a silicone cock, soft packer, or dildo. |
| Suppressed viral load | When someone living with HIV has a viral load under 200 copies per ml. Studies have shown that when a viral load is suppressed, HIV cannot be transmitted during sex. |
| Symptoms | Features of an infection or disease that we can feel or experience, such as pain while urinating. |
| Transmitted | Passed from one person to another |
| U=U (Undetectable = Untransmitable) | When someone living with HIV has a viral load so low that HIV cannot be transmitted to another person and that tests cannot detect the HIV. |
| Undetectable | When the someone living with HIV has a viral load 40 or less so isn’t detected by some HIV tests, and cannot be transmitted. |
| Urethra | The tube in the genitals where urine and (for some) semen exits the body. |
| Viral load | The amount of a virus in our bodies, most often measured in the blood. In More Than Sex, when we talk about viral load we mean the amount of HIV in the blood of someone living with HIV. |
| Viral suppression | When the someone living with HIV has a viral load of 200 or less, which studies show that the HIV cannot be transmitted during sex. |
| Virtual sex | Sexual activities done over a technology platform like the phone or internet, and includes sexting, phone sex, and online role play. |
| Vulvodynia | A chronic pain syndrome that has no known cause. The pain usually occurs in the vulva, but can also be in the opening to the front hole/vagina. |
| Window period | The length of time required between when someone acquires HIV and when it can be detected by an HIV test |