A new online video series on the virtues of PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), the daily pill that offers protection against HIV infection, has been created. It features Eric Paul Leue, the Free Speech Coalition’s executive director, as narrator.

 

The PrEP Project claims to offer viewers a frank, engaging and revealing talk on the HIV-prevention strategy.

 

“Even among the 68% of gay men who are familiar with PrEP, there’s still a cultural reluctance to fully embrace it, whether that’s from lack of information or shame about sexual practices,” argued series filmmaker Chris Tipton-King. “Until very recently, ‘barebacking’ was not something you openly discussed, especially with your doctor, even if you knew all your friends were doing it.”

 

Proponents of PrEP argue that it has helped reduce HIV-transmission rates in some major metropolitan areas. San Francisco, for example, has seen HIV cases dropping by about 18 percent a year, according to recent statistics; PrEP is believed to be a major factor in the decline.

 

The video was originally shot in 2015 but is only now being completed and released.

 

"At the time, I was engaged in a host of conversations with community partners about sex, sexual health, and the various prevention options for STIs, including PrEP," Leue said. "Part of my strategy was to really be honest about my own relationship with prevention.

 

"HIV and sex remain taboo topics, and this lack of knowledge perpetuates stigma, discrimination and ultimately the epidemic itself. PrEP works."

 

“I don’t have to answer to any committee or government organization, so I can walk a lot closer to the edge than other campaigns have,” Tipton-King said, referring to scenes with bare butts, glitter-filled exploding condoms, Jell-o shots served in urinalysis cups, and lip syncing. The hope is that the series will go viral.

 

The PrEP Project consists of four episodes, running about five minutes each.

 

 

You can check out the full series here.