Welcome to Kentucky Queeries, the must-listen podcast for the LGBTQIA+ community in Kentucky. In this episode, Louisville Drag Queen Sydni Hampton and Louisville Pride Foundation Executive Director Ebony Cross are joined by Takeisha Nunez, Health Education Coordinator Sr at UK Health KIRP. Together, they dive into essential topics surrounding sexual health and well-being.
Welcome to Kentucky Queeries, the must-listen podcast for the LGBTQIA+ community in Kentucky. In this episode, Louisville Drag Queen Sydni Hampton and Louisville Pride Foundation Executive Director Ebony Cross are joined by Takeisha Nunez, Health Education Coordinator Sr at UK Health KIRP. Together, they dive into essential topics surrounding sexual health and well-being.
Takeisha Nunez brings her expertise to the table, discussing harm reduction approaches to safer sex and answering those sexual health questions you might be too embarrassed to ask. Learn how to have open and honest conversations about getting tested without stigma and why it’s crucial not to villainize people with STIs.
Understanding PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is vital, and Takeisha explains why everyone should consider it and highlights the importance of vaccinations for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Whether you're navigating the complexities of sexual health or seeking strategies to advocate for your well-being, this episode of Kentucky Queeries offers invaluable insights and practical advice.
Let's build a more informed, inclusive community together.
Connect with Us
Instagram | @louprideky
Facebook | @louprideky
Website | louprideky.org
Sydni Hamilton: [00:00:00] Hello, Hello,
hello. I'm Sydney Hampton
Ebony Cross: Hampton. I
Sydni Hamilton: and welcome to Kentucky queries. One, appreciate this bop. Every time I hear it.
Ebony Cross: It's a vibe, ain't it?
just can't help it. Yeah.
Sydni Hamilton: So today's my birthday.
Ebony Cross: Happy birthday!
Sydni Hamilton: I turned 23 and I'm very excited. I am a Taurus, obviously. Well, I guess maybe not obviously, I don't know when this is going to be released, but I'm a, I'm a May 9 Taurus. I do accept cash app and Venmo tips and, and love.
But yeah, I had one drink last, not even a drink. I had a shot of tequila at like 1201 at the bar. And I woke up this morning hungover. And that's because I lied about my age. I'm actually 32. I was mad as hell though. Who gets a hangover on a shot of tequila? One shot of tequila. And I was drinking water all day.
And I only drank Coke at the bar. Like Coca Cola. Not the other stuff.
Ebony Cross: Coke at the bar. Like Coca Cola. Not [00:01:00] the other stuff.Sydni Hamilton: [00:00:00] Welcome back, Ebony.
Ebony Cross: I'm here
Sydni Hamilton: So before we get started with everything today do you want to just do like a quick little LPF check in about all the events that are going on?
Ebony Cross: let's do it. ,
Sydni Hamilton: We have the 5K coming up,
Ebony Cross: June 9th.
Sydni Hamilton: June 9th, and then tomorrow is movie night. So we'll be watching the Brady Bunch movie, which I'm very excited about because I picked that one special for my
Ebony Cross: I picked out one
for my birthday.
Sydni Hamilton: It's really, it's a, it's a parody, kind of, of the, of the show that
we
Ebony Cross: it's a parody, kind of, of
Sydni Hamilton: Really? That doesn't make sense, knowing me?
Ebony Cross: Really? That doesn't make sense, knowing me?
Sydni Hamilton: got a lot of camp, it's really stupid. Like, performances are bonkers.
Cassandra Peterson's in one of them.
Ebony Cross: inside jokes were hilarious through the whole
Sydni Hamilton: And I love watching a white bitch get a nose broke. For real.
Ebony Cross: So you're not [00:01:00] a Marsha Marsha Marsha fan.
Sydni Hamilton: She's fine. I only know her because of her name. I saw like a few things on the show. Are you talking about the drag queen?
Ebony Cross: Which, whichever one you talking about.
Sydni Hamilton: I'm not talking about the drag queen.
Ebony Cross: Okay, so which one you talking
Sydni Hamilton: The drag queen I just don't want to get in trouble in case I ever work with her. Hi marsha times three
Ebony Cross: Let's roll it. Who we got coming today?
Sydni Hamilton: Joining us is the incredible Takesha Nunes
A seasoned health care sorry, seasoned health educator with a wealth of experience in LGBTQ health care at UK Health Care. That's a lot of health care.
Ebony Cross: it is.
Sydni Hamilton: So you're in the business of a lot of health care. Is that right?
Takeisha Nunez: Allegedly. Allegedly.
Ebony Cross: She said that in a Wendy Williams way. Allegedly. I like that.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah.
Ebony Cross: So what we, what information do we need to find out from Ms. Isha today?
Sydni Hamilton: Well I think it's really kind of what our audience needs. Like whenever we think about the broad. Wealth of obstacles for gay people [00:02:00] and queer people to run into just constantly, like as a, as a trans woman I run into an issue with, Affirming care all the time.
I have to get grants for every frickin thing. So it's like, there's access to those kinds of needs, there's access to medication, there's access to affirming providers who aren't going to treat you differently because you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans. And then there's also the, the access to like dental care.
That's one that I'm always complaining about. Constantly. It's like, gay people do not have good dental. Because we all work in retail, or we're drag queens, or something. So many, so many gay people don't have dental. And that,
that chaps my ass.
Ebony Cross: gay people don't have dental. Which has my ass. Miss Takesha, I like to, I like to make sure people are comfortable.
Would you prefer Miss Nunez or Takesha?
Takeisha Nunez: Tekesha's fine.
Ebony Cross: Okay, So Takesha, how about [00:03:00] you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you
Takeisha Nunez: I started off in public health with Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness doing HIV prevention with them. And then I moved on to to harm reduction, where I became the supervisor over the harm reduction program and then the HIV prevention program, linkage to care and all of that. And then I transitioned to UK.
So what I do now is I work with people and meet them where they're at. That's what harm reduction is all about. So we do a lot of work in the community. When we're talking about health care, yes, I do a piece of that as far as helping to link people to different services. But a lot of times I'm just in the community, helping people know about safer sex for the community, going to them.
Because a lot of times people don't feel comfortable coming, you know, where we are. And I think I know we're going to get into that a little bit, but I think that's what you were talking about. Like, how do we find the right care or the right providers? And sometimes those providers have to come to us [00:04:00] so that we can be comfortable because I'm a black woman.
I know y'all can't see that on the podcast. But
Ebony Cross: Hair, hair.
Takeisha Nunez: yes, but as a black person, I know. the issues of being disproportionately affected by things. And I think that is something that I have in common with the LGBTQIA
plus
community is that there's also a lot of disproportionate adverse health.
things that happen in that community as well as in my community. So that's why I really go hard for these communities. Cause like, Hey, we need care just because we may not look how you want us to look or present how you want us to present does not mean that any of the things that we need should be limited
Sydni Hamilton: Gay people have teeth. women have every right to a doctor who's going to, take their, take their, , this hurts really bad.
Seriously. I read about that kind of stuff that, ooh, that eats me [00:05:00] up. But before we move on, harm reduction for anybody who doesn't know what harm reduction is. Do you have, like, a cute little What
Takeisha Nunez: yeah.
Well, so. What I like to say is that we all use harm reduction because I think a lot of times when people think about harm reduction, they're like, Oh, needle exchange or drug supply. Yes, that's a piece of it. But harm reduction is anything that you do that reduces harm. So you drive in a car, you put on a seatbelt because driving a car can be harmful.
So when we use it, it's a, Sexy term for something that's basic that we're all doing harm reduction using a condom or using lube So figuring those things out
Sydni Hamilton: I love that. That's a really clever way to put it too, to like explain it to people.
Ebony Cross: You know what I find since you brought that up as part as harm reduction and lube and condoms, you know, the one thing that I haven't seen a lot and that is for women.
Takeisha Nunez: So the internal condoms. Yes. So I have plenty of them. I
mean,
Ebony Cross: Tell me about it. Cause it's almost every, [00:06:00] everywhere you turn, there's just a typical condom everywhere. But I mean, come on now, two lesbians, we already know how that
Sydni Hamilton: a matter of fact, would you please tell me, because as a trans girl with a penis, I don't know how those work.
Ebony Cross: Well, thank you for being honest. I think we should throw that back to Dekeisha for that.
Takeisha Nunez: I wish I had it with me because I like to show I'm a hands person, but the internal condoms, or the female condoms, is what they are marketed as,
Are expensive as hell. And it is another way that Women are disproportionately affected by things when it comes to health care because male condoms are easy to get. They're extremely cheap if you have to buy them. But one good thing about my job is that I can provide them for free in the community.
So there will be some here at the Louisville Pride Center. that people can come in and get just you know, cause it's important. So they are internal condoms. They, they're, they're really big. So I always tell women, or if [00:07:00] I have someone who was having anal sex, if this condom is too big for your partner, run, don't walk
Ebony Cross: walk. Because
Takeisha Nunez: you don't want it.
Ebony Cross: I know, because everybody be trying to shoot for the stars. Let's just keep it real and be honest about what your stature
Takeisha Nunez: Right. And I mean, if I had a, it's about this big. So if you, I'm putting both of my hands together in a circle. So it's, it's a lot, it's a big circle. So you insert it almost like a NuvaRing or a tampon. You would stick it in If you're using it vaginally, you have a stop so it can't go up too far.
If you're using it anally, you're going to want to make sure that whoever is behind you is kind of holding on to it because it can go up in there and we don't want an episode of Sex Sent Me to the ER.
Ebony Cross: I'll watch that show.
Takeisha Nunez: used to love
Ebony Cross: get some good information from that show. It happens that you
Takeisha Nunez: It has a little ring in it.
that you would use vaginally, but if you're going to use it anally, you would want to take that ring out.
Again, another sex, we sent me to the ER mishap. If you don't take it [00:08:00] out some people say you can use it as a cock ring. So, you know, double your pleasure. The thing about those that are great is that if you're turned on, It's going to feel natural. So one of the biggest issues that people have with condoms is they don't feel the same or it's too tight.
So we already talked about too tight. So if you, if it's too tight for you, nobody wants to have sex with you. And it feeling natural. So the, the more work you do upfront, so the warmer it gets, the better. Also for, for women or The really good part about it is you don't have to negotiate putting on a condom.
Cause this can be put in up to eight hours before you have sex. Way too long for me. I feel like it's overkill, but 20, 30 minutes, you know, when you're getting ready, I always say nobody has ever. Talk me out of my underwear. As, as a woman
Before
I got married, I knew [00:09:00] who I was going to put out for.
Absolutely. So what I was getting, when you get ready, you can go ahead and put it in. Then you're not having to have that conversation of negotiating. Are we going to use a condom or not?
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah. I've always wondered how those worked. I've not seen them as often as like the external condoms, but I've definitely seen them in bars and doctor's offices and things. And I've, I've, I've looked at 'em.
They always say like, they're always marketed as like, female condoms. Mm-Hmm. . So. Like, whenever we have them in, , pride bags and stuff, I always want to go through and, like, mark it out. I do that with the, the menstruation products here at the center. whenever I get the box from Kroger and I come back in and I'm, like, putting it everywhere, I try to remember to, , mark it out.
I do that at home too for my partner when I can remember. But That shit chap that, that drives me crazy.
Ebony Cross: Well you heard it here first.
People. We will have female condoms for the lesbians on deck here at the
Takeisha Nunez: so I will say
Ebony Cross: Okay.
Takeisha Nunez: not
necessarily for the lesbians unless they [00:10:00] have a partner who has a penis because it's internal. So it's going to be for internal use, but we do have dental dams.
So the dental dams we will have on deck they can be used vaginally or anally as a barrier method. You can use the female condoms as a lesbian. If you're going to use toys, really, really important to make sure that if you're sharing toys between your partner, that you have some type of barrier method.
So it can be used that way if you don't want to put a condom on the toy.
Ebony Cross: toy. Okay. Can we just take a second and give a couple snaps of the fact that the female condom has like a double tass thing.
You can use it for many different things. I think that's dope. Whether it's anally or vaginally, I think that's pretty cool.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah, it is cool. I think it's that I just also learned what a dental dam was. I've always kind of known, but I wasn't sure. Is it different from the diaphragm?
Like, I dropped
my diaphragm!
Takeisha Nunez: So absolutely a diaphragm is going to be internal. to prevent [00:11:00] pregnancy. A dental dam is, have you ever seen booty call?
Ebony Cross: movie Call? That's how they
Takeisha Nunez: they took the saran wrap and he wrapped the whole self up. But instead of that, it is just like a little piece of, we have latex and non latex that's flavored. And we also have flavored lube that you can use to reflavor it again if you want to.
Sydni Hamilton: I like the strawberry.
Takeisha Nunez: I make my husband Try the product.
So like I think that's a, that's a part of our, keeping the, keeping the love alive at all. So absolutely. And plus I do the work so I can't tell someone to try something that I've never tried. And so when I speak about the female condom, I know it's great. I've tried it. When I talk about these products, it's important
Ebony Cross: you stand by your product. And
Takeisha Nunez: And so you just, You just spread it out over whatever area you want to do what you want to do with your mouth. So if you want to eat the booty like groceries, or if you want to
Ebony Cross: Like, like you at Publix.
Takeisha Nunez: absolutely, [00:12:00] because I always like to let people know where you put it, you can get it. So, even if you're having sex with someone who has a penis, we have flavor condoms for that too.
Cause you don't want gonorrhea or chlamydia in your throat.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah, I'd prefer not
Takeisha Nunez: yeah, you know, most people wouldn't and most people
Sydni Hamilton: I've had both, but
Takeisha Nunez: at the same time.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: If people don't know when they go see their provider to tell them to swap my throat. So, so like, let's talk about if it's a queer male who is not comfortable letting people know that he is gay.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: If he is performing oral sex on people and not using a condom, when he goes to get his STI checked, not going to be likely that he's going to say, you know, swap my throat.
Ebony Cross: is what I was doing. Yeah.
Sydni Hamilton: I would always say I want a full panel. I'd be like, make sure she's, she's kosher, make sure she's good and ready to go.
Because I got a dick appointment at four.
Ebony Cross: But
like,
Sydni Hamilton: I'd [00:13:00] be like, I want to, I want to go ahead and get everything tested. I want to make sure I don't have gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis cause syphilis is a bitch. I want to make sure that I'm up to date on my HIV testing.
I want to make sure that I don't have herpes or I believe the other one was HPV was one that we were getting like running into a lot. Like I want to make sure I'm, I'm clear and free of all STIs so that I can go forth
Ebony Cross: And prosper.
Takeisha Nunez: Right.
Sydni Hamilton: what I want to do.
Ebony Cross: And I'm, I'm glad you, you brought that up because that brings me to one of my next questions. To Keisha, what do you think would be some of the biggest myths that we should be debunking when it comes to LGBTQ health care and safety when it comes to Yes.
Takeisha Nunez: so because I work in HIVI think one of the biggest myths is that HIV is a gay males disease. I think that that is so super important that we, [00:14:00] we talk about that, HIV has nothing to do with gender.
It has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It has to do with, you know, risk factors. It has to do with not really being comfortable talking to your partner sometimes about, , your sexual history or their sexual history. It has to do with not being educated about where can I get tested? Why is it important to get tested?
What do window periods look like where someone could be infected and not know and put me at risk? We see heterosexual, bisexual and gay people with HIV. And I think that is for me, the biggest myth that I always like to, debunk. So when we're talking about who needs to get a test, it's everybody, and it's, it's not that group
and I think when we talk about it and we normalize like, hey, STIs and sexual health is for everyone. It's important. And you know, whether you're gay, straight, bi, [00:15:00] trans, whoever, we have to take care of our, our hot pocket, our hot
Ebony Cross: box. I think we should, I think we should normalize getting tested when you get in a relationship with somebody.
Cause one thing me and my wife did, my wife and I, we've been married for 12 years and while we were dating, one of the things that we did was we both said, we go into the doctor and we get in the full panel. So before we get intimate or anything sexual, we at least know where we stand in terms of our own healthcare when it comes to sexual healthcare.
And I think that's important. I think a lot of us, especially our community and. our generation, we're scared to want to go get tested. And it's almost like either you want to know or you don't want to know. And most of them is like, nah, I don't need to know why not? You know, you want to know what you are risking being with somebody else.
And why would you want to put somebody else at risk when you know that you can find out something and quick because now testing [00:16:00] isn't as long as it used to be
Sydni Hamilton: it's so quick. You can go get it. You can get a full panel done and like. 20 minutes. Yeah. It was just like blood work, you pee in a cup.
Ebony Cross: That's it.
Takeisha Nunez: With that full panel, I know you keep saying that.
Make sure you're telling them every orifice that you're using. Because some things don't show up just on the blood work and the peeing in the cup. You know, you may need an anal swab. You may need an oral swab. And so if you don't have a health care provider that you feel comfortable telling what you're doing, find a different provider.
You are paying them. So if they want to treat you like you're crazy or talk to you silly, find somebody else. Because you are paying them, whether you are on government insurance, you've paid taxes at some point, or whether you work somewhere, you're paying for that provider and they need to give you the care that's needed and you have to be comfortable, because that is where the issues come in is.
You know, well, I didn't know that I needed this especially syphilis. I know you, you mentioned [00:17:00] syphilis earlier.
Sydni Hamilton: it's a bitch.
I
Takeisha Nunez: used to work in the STI clinic. Louisville Metro's STI clinic that's on Broadway.
So
Sydni Hamilton: have ran into me.
Takeisha Nunez: So
Ebony Cross: who
Takeisha Nunez: I may have, cause I would do the HIV testing piece.
And then if someone had something like syphilis or chlamydia argon area, then we would do an interview so we could do partner notification.
Sydni Hamilton: That was so, that was the most uncomfortable experience of my life, was trying to figure out the partner notification because I had gotten, not that there was like
Ebony Cross: you have a lot of partners?
Sydni Hamilton: the partners that I, that I had had were banned from ever talking to me again, so I had blocked their numbers.
I feel like most people have sex with an appointed me to be dead.
So that's a personal problem though. That's a girl pick them better.
Ebony Cross: you, you pick great.
Sydni Hamilton: Well, now I do.
Ebony Cross: now, now, yes, you pick absolutely wonderful.
Sydni Hamilton: wonderful. Yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: But yeah, but syphilis, you don't know it's there.
Sydni Hamilton: No.
Takeisha Nunez: So, you [00:18:00] can, especially if you have it anally or vaginally, because wherever you get that syphilis lesion is where it's at, and it's painless, and so if you're not telling your provider, you're missing that piece, and you could be spreading something unintentionally, and then you have an opening, so if you do have a partner who is HIV positive, you're having sex with them, now you're at higher risk of contracting diseases.
And I know you had talked about. Testing with your wife. Super important. You will not know how many people in the clinic I would see who like the guy would come in and like, Oh, well I'm gonna have my partner get tested. Like you don't want to test. No, if they're good, I'm good. No, we all
Ebony Cross: tested.
Sydni Hamilton: be tested. Period. And there's a, there's a reason for that. Because some of these hoes ain't loyal. And some of these bitches are made for
Ebony Cross: They fight the streets. They fight the
Takeisha Nunez: I had that happen.
Sydni Hamilton: I was gonna, nevermind. I'm gonna just say this. So, let's talk about how we can bring these things up to people.
So we have you know, for our listeners. Maybe [00:19:00] they're concerned about how they can have the conversation with their partner or their spouse. How can they bring up the topic of, hey, I would like to start committing to, regular testing, even if they're monogamous, because if you're monogamous, but like occasionally maybe you go on vacation and the two of you link up with some hottie at the bar,
Ebony Cross: That is
Sydni Hamilton: that's an agreement that you're, that's still within the confines of monogamy, I think.
And then you're, you're. both at risk of contracting something from that person. And you never know if your partner made a mistake at a Christmas party or something. I can't even talk about it, but like,
Ebony Cross: mean, it's real life stuff that happens. So, and we, we, we, we have to talk about realness. On this podcast. Cause sometimes everybody partner ain't honest. So, and, and that's the truth.
Takeisha Nunez: I think, part of [00:20:00] that conversation is what I always tell people is you can talk to someone about how you want them to Dip you flip you over
Sydni Hamilton: Do
all
Takeisha Nunez: of these things to you sexually are that you want to do You got to have that conversation about your health
Ebony Cross: Absolutely.
Takeisha Nunez: You got to have it and make it fun like Condoms can be fun Lube is important, you know, like harm reduction.
Don't want to use condoms? Maybe we need to use some lube. So that way, if there is rougher sex, that ripping and tearing is not happening because your body is your biggest , protection your skin is. So if your skin is intact, less chance of contracting different things.
So, like, let's talk about some other ways to make it fun. Like I said, me and my husband, we've used The stuff that I have at work. Hey, maybe you need a role play. If you and your partner have the idea we're gonna go on vacation and pick up some other people or maybe you like to be on the apps and different things.
I don't yuck anybody's yum. How we do it safer? Come get some free condoms. [00:21:00] Come get some free stuff. Make it fun. Hey I like to do this. Let me put this condom on with my mouth. You know, let's do these things because it's only unspicy when you make it that way. It's only, you only dread it when it's, Oh, I don't want to be.
Safe. It's fun when we're doing things that that are more risky. Right. Let's be honest, like it was, it was always fun sneaking behind the bleachers, Than when you had permission and so
Sydni Hamilton: I see.
Ebony Cross: I kind of feel like if, if you are scared to talk to your partner about getting tested, et cetera, then maybe you need to choose a different partner.
That's kind of where I'm at with it. Like with your partner, you should be able to talk about any and everything, especially when it comes to sex
Sydni Hamilton: sometimes
Takeisha Nunez: not going to be a partner. You know,
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah,
Ebony Cross: be a fling
Takeisha Nunez: or hook up.
Ebony Cross: hookup.
Sydni Hamilton: they're not sure how to have the conversation. Maybe they don't have, maybe they lack the language and experience too. So like I think of someone who, for example might be with someone [00:22:00] who's had a lot more sex than they have.
And maybe they've only had sex with one or two partners. Maybe they're, maybe they've always been monogamous. They're recently out of a relationship with someone. You know, maybe it's a gay man who's recently out of a relationship with his wife, and is now exploring the vast world of gay sex. And he's with someone who's had a lot of gay sex, and he's not really sure how to have that conversation culturally, too.
Like, how do I ask for what I need? How do I say hey, I would like to get tested before we, you know, before we do this, or I'd like to get regularly tested because I know that, , I'm exploring my sexuality even though we're in this relationship, and you're exploring your, you know, sexuality, I just want to make sure we're both keeping each other safe.
That can feel really scary, especially if you're, if this is the first person they're with or something, and maybe they're scared that that person's going to be like, so what, are you [00:23:00] accusing me of something or, or something like that? There's a lot of anxiety that comes around those conversations.
Takeisha Nunez: Absolutely. I absolutely agree. And I think some, some of the issue can also be they're going to think I'm a hoe. So like when I I've tested Gay men, and we've talked about PrEP, so black men who have sex with other men test positive for HIV, they're like two to one. So about a 50 percent chance that you're going to contract HIV.
And so when I'm talking, especially to my young black men, like, okay, why are you not on PrEP? Well. That's for hoes or my partners, you know, think that I must be out here with a lot of different people. No, all it takes is one person. And I think these conversations like we're having helps to normalize and helps to get that language out.
Like, Hey, everybody just needs a test. It's, it's not about who you are, what you do. All the time. Sometimes it is. Some people need to get tested more than [00:24:00] others and that's okay.
Sydni Hamilton: There's
nothing wrong with that.
Takeisha Nunez: It's completely okay, but we just have to be okay with saying, hey, let's get tested. And one of the things that people say is, I just want to see their my chart.
Well, that works.
But how long did you get tested with that
Ebony Cross: MyChart? That's what I was going to say. The MyChart, it had your results on there for a good minute,
Takeisha Nunez: Right. So no,
Ebony Cross: That might not be up to date.
Takeisha Nunez: absolutely. So let's get tested together. So usually when it comes to HIV, I say test, Condoms depending on what type of test you get. So the test we do has like a three month window period. So condoms for three months, test again.
For other STIs usually can take up to seven days for something to pop up, like gonorrhea or chlamydia. So, you know, if you've had other sexual partners, Because, you know, sometimes it can be like, oh, I was tested, but then you've had three or four different people. Let's use condoms. Let's go get that panel done.
We can go to the clinic, get everything done, get everything swabbed. [00:25:00] And then seven days, if we need to repeat this test, then we're going to use condoms during that time.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah. And not getting, I think, another one to it that I find this is a conversation I often have, especially with like younger, younger and newly out or exploring gay people like in bars and stuff is, is not to villainize people who you sleep with who may have something, especially if they are being honest.
And if you know that they've been honest and they got tested and that they were having sexual relationship, like relations with other people. if you happen to get syphilis, which is just a penicillin shot. It's no big deal. I mean, it's not comfortable and it does suck, but like it's over. It's boom, bomb done.
Chlamydia. Also, I think it's just like like seven day worth of pills. Like it's not a, it's not something to villainize someone over. And whenever you have sex with anyone, gay, straight, bi, transgender, whatever, you are putting yourself at
Takeisha Nunez: Harm [00:26:00] reduction. Yeah. And so those pieces are, like you said,
Prep.
Yeah. So if you are out here dating, regardless of who you are, prep is important.
Sydni Hamilton: Mm hmm.
Takeisha Nunez: Because that is protecting you up front. We know that people have HIV. Just because you have HIV doesn't mean you don't deserve a relationship with someone, whether they have HIV or not.
If they're taking their medication, really hard to transmit it to someone else. We, we have the U equals U, undetectable equals untransmittable. But then if you take PrEP on top of that, then I'm not dependent on someone else to protect myself. I think that's my biggest piece is like, I don't want to depend on anyone else to protect me.
And then if you get something else, understand, like you said, that's a part of,
Ebony Cross: Yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: Cause some people do not always know that they have an STI. You don't always have signs and symptoms. Like we talked about with syphilis. If you have an anal sore lesion, you're not going to know it's there.
Sydni Hamilton: Right.
Takeisha Nunez: If [00:27:00] you've had unprotected sex with me and now you have it.
I didn't know. So I didn't intentionally do this.
Sydni Hamilton: That's how I got it. They didn't, they had no idea.
And it's
Takeisha Nunez: best intent, you know? Nope.
Sydni Hamilton: they were regularly tested. Bye we were later, many, many, many, many months later able to talk. And they were like, I had no idea that I had it, and I'm sorry that you got it. And I was like, it's fine. I mean, I knew I had it. Cause like, mine was on a visible part of my body.
Ebony Cross: That
was noble. of your partner at the time. And as you finish, I just want to say thank you for sharing that, especially for our listeners, because they know that we can empathize and sympathize with you, because we've all been through shit.
Let's be
Sydni Hamilton: I hated, I hated his guide to the passion, but not for that.
That was, that was like a pin drop in things that, that, that went on. That wasn't the straw
Ebony Cross: That wasn't a straw that broke the camel's back,
Sydni Hamilton: straw that broke the camel's back was all my furniture being stolen, but that's neither here nor there. Gay people wild, I [00:28:00] tell you. But like, so, so whenever we're, we're talking with, young gay people about HIV transmission, you said undetectable equals untransmittable.
Takeisha Nunez: Correct.
Sydni Hamilton: you expand on that a little bit just in case they're not familiar with the, with that?
Takeisha Nunez: So Now we have seen so many improvements in healthcare when it comes to HIV.
People with HIV are living really like about two years longer than people without because they are going to the doctor, they're taking care of themselves. And if they are taking their medication, which sometimes that can be a pill or that can be a shot and their numbers are under a certain amount, then they cannot transmit HIV because the viral load is undetectable so it's not gonna pass through the normal five body fluids, which is blood semen breast milk, vaginal fluid, and rectal fluid. And so they can have sex with someone and not worry about transmitting [00:29:00] HIV.
Sydni Hamilton: I used to, I used to hook up with this guy who was he was HIV positive. I'm HIV negative. And I was on PrEP and he was constantly like, you know, he had his, his medication. It wasn't even a lot. I was expecting it to be a lot more. It was just like, I think it was maybe two bottles that I saw. But it was like, not even a concern of mine, because I'm on PrEP, so I'm, I'm protected. And I'm still trying to be cautious, but like, I'm protected. He's taking care of himself. So, I never contracted it, and I never really had fear of contracting it, mostly because I talked to people like you, who were like, Undetectable, untransmittable, point blank.
I think because of the, the 80s and the 90s were kind of sensationalized about HIV still. And that, that stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS is still very much present. And it's a scary word, you know? It's a scary, like, acronym. But it doesn't, it doesn't mean what it used to mean. It's not a death sentence.
And it's not going to make your life impossible [00:30:00] to live. And like you said, people end up living longer because they're taking better care of themselves.
Takeisha Nunez: end up living longer because they're taking better care of themselves.
Mine was
Sydni Hamilton: Mine was like a
little horse pill.
I say a little horse pill because it's it's like bigger than my estrogen stuff, but not like massive.
massive.
Takeisha Nunez: I say anybody who's dating, who's not in a monogamous relationship PrEP is, is the option. I have a 19 year old who's in college, , hopefully not doing God knows what, you know, as a parent, you always want to
Ebony Cross: never want to think of your child, yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: going to be a nun one day, but,
Ebony Cross: you
Takeisha Nunez: but we've talked about it.
When you decide to become sexually active, it's not just talking about birth control. It is also talking about PrEP because You have to be responsible for your
Ebony Cross: You can't expect nobody. You can't. I always say, don't expect the other person to tell you the truth.
That's how you gotta look at
Sydni Hamilton: true. And so, [00:31:00] so unfortunate.
Ebony Cross: Before we get out of here, I just got, I have one more thing or just me that I would like to ask to Keisha, what is your view when it comes to Being vaccinated, because I know testing, especially HIV testing and with your harm reduction, et cetera, et cetera.
Where do you feel like being vaccinated plays into that? Because right now our foundation is running immunity in the community initiative, and we're trying to get the community more educated on how important that being vaccinated is.
What are your thoughts on everybody being vaccinated?
Takeisha Nunez: So one, it's very important. And what a couple of years ago when we had the HEPA outbreak. I think one of the biggest reasons why it wasn't what wasn't hit as hard in Louisville is because we were able to really be in the community and get people vaccinated.
We did it at our syringe exchange programs. We did it at testing events because it's important, you know, we want to be healthy. We know we've seen a couple of new [00:32:00] cases in the state of monkeypox. It kind of came out and then it kind of died down, but you know, it's hot and it's getting hotter here.
So if you're going to be on and popping, get vaccinated, like take care of yourself. We're in close contact with people. We want to all be healthy. So I think that I'm excited about the initiative and about helping to spread the word about it because that is how we're going to keep our community healthy.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah. And I believe whenever we have our vaccine clinics that you can get a free 30 gift card
Ebony Cross: From Kroger's? Yep. Yep.
Sydni Hamilton: I just got my, my second round, I think my second and last round. And I mean, aside from like a little bit of heat in my arm, it wasn't really anything to worry about. So if you're afraid of needles the, the crew that we, that we have here is like very gentle and understanding and they take their time or you can just pop in and get it done and really quick.
It's like one and
Ebony Cross: it's a good [00:33:00] time.
Or you can just hop in and get it done and that's fine.
Takeisha Nunez: Right. And to sweeten the pot UK Health, we can do HIV testing and maybe we can talk offline about like coming to one of these vaccine events. And for people who are eligible, you can get a 20 gift card if you get an HIV test.
And so you can leave out with 50
Sydni Hamilton: Hell yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: coming in, getting the vaccine, getting tested. So you know your status and you also have gotten vaccinated.
Ebony Cross: Sweet!
Sydni Hamilton: yeah. I love that. One last thing before we, before we wrap everything up I would love to know so how can we bridge the gap between healthcare providers and the LGBTQ community for any like doctors, nurses, et cetera, that are listening today?
Takeisha Nunez: So what I would say is know your community. Be open-minded. I know a couple of universities have some classes on LGBT [00:34:00] Health and just working with individuals, talk to people, I mean. The easiest way to learn about something is to talk to the people who are affected by it. I am gonna just throw a little pride out there.
I'm sure that they would love to have a conversation about the population that you'll be serving and helping. You know, have those conversations and then again, as community members, if you don't feel comfortable, Leave. Let people know. Because the one thing that affects people is their pockets. So if
Sydni Hamilton: A very effective way of letting your doctor know that they treated you poorly is to file a grievance with your insurance, by the way. As somebody who used to work in the Grievance and Appeals Department, it is effective.
Sometimes it just sounds like you're screaming and bitching at a wall, but it is effective. So that's one route you can go. You can also reach out to your ombudsman, depending on , the situation. facility that you're in. And yeah, if you're, if you're a provider and you're listening to this and you don't want someone to file a grievance because [00:35:00] you misgendered them or treated them poorly whenever they came to you about HIV testing or something, reach out to me or Anthony Munger, any of the staff at LPF, honestly, because I am available to come to your office and tell you about pronouns and sexual health and LGBT population that exists in this city.
Ebony Cross: Yes. and
Takeisha Nunez: I will say this just really quickly. I, I don't think that A lot of people, there are some people who are just assholes and let's just be clear about that. But there are a lot of people who just don't know. And it's okay to say, I don't know, or I don't understand. I wasn't around this population when I was younger.
You know. It's okay. And also as someone who's in the population, be okay to educate and be okay to understand that not everyone
Ebony Cross: You don't know what you don't know.
Takeisha Nunez: on both sides. Absolutely, because it can be hard. I'll just say I've been in this field since 2013,
and I had [00:36:00] never met a trans individual.
It wasn't difficult to relate, but it was very difficult when I was doing HIV testing because we had to ask like, what gender are you? And I always felt uncomfortable that if I ask this, is this person going to feel like that I'm saying that they don't look like who they say that they are?
Or am I going to make them feel some type of way? And so I had to develop ways as a provider in the community to make sure that I asked every single person and that I let people know up front, like, hey, we asked everybody these questions because it was uncomfortable for me and because I was uncomfortable, I'm sure that it came out as, this person is uncomfortable, but it wasn't that I was uncomfortable around trans people.
It was, I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. And I think that we have to continue to have those conversations with providers and with the population to know, like, like you said, grace on both
Ebony Cross: Yes. I'm in complete agreeance. And with that being said, I want to thank Ms. [00:37:00]Takesha Nunez for coming out here and chatting and having a conversation with us.
Again, we are the Louisville pride foundation, we hope that you have learned something new in this conversation. And whenever you want to know something, Please come to our center. We are located at 1244 South 3rd street. We are open as of current, which will change in about the next 20 or so days from two to seven on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Anything you want to know, you can come find out. Like I said, again, you don't know what you don't know. And if you come here, you can find
out.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah.
Takeisha Nunez: And just one little thing to throw in there. And if you are someone who's like, I really needed an HIV test. I haven't had it done. That chick, she seemed cool on the podcast. Call up here. Talk to the staff, they can get in contact with me, we can set up a time that myself or someone else from my team can come and give you that test, and that peace of mind in a safe location with people who care about you and care about your health.
Sydni Hamilton: Yeah, matter of fact, we can put [00:38:00] your contact info in the show notes, in the description, so, if you're listening to this and you want to get in contact, just check the check the info box.