Many Shades of Gay

June is Pride month across our country. It's a time to celebrate the rich diversity of the LGBT community and the remarkable progress we've made in the gay rights movement. It's also an important time to acknowledge the tremendous advances we've made in the fight against HIV/AIDS over the past 30 years. Now more than ever, we have hope that we can see an end to the disease in our lifetime.

But we still have a lot of work to do, both in the march toward full equality and in our efforts to stop HIV/AIDS. With HIV infection rates still on the rise among gay and bisexual men -- the only risk group for which this is the case -- we know we can do better. That's why we are proud to launch an innovative new public health campaign to encourage gay and bisexual men to test regularly for HIV and make frequent HIV testing the social norm.

The campaign is called "Many Shades of Gay." It honors the diversity of the gay community while focusing on one simple message: No matter what you're into, get an HIV test every six months.

At the heart of the effort is an interactive and educational website that invites users to create a personalized avatar -- a tiny, digital version of themselves. Described as "the most robust avatar generator ever built," it contains literally billions of customization options, including wardrobe, accessories, tattoos and piercings -- allowing gay and bisexual men to create an avatar as conservative or campy as they desire.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-g-giuliano/san-francisco-hiv-aids-many-shades-of-gay_b_1594602.html#s=more232384

http://www.manyshadesofgay.org/