InterACTion:

Sex. Drugs.
Love, lust and everything in between.
HIV and STIs.
Bars, baths and beyond.
Tell us what you think as we discuss a wide range of issues relevant to the health of gay men.
Don’t just sit there – InterACT!

OK… IDK… ROTFLMAO, may b its JMO, and IANAL, nor a FISH but possibly an OF, NEway… OMG, IAC does NE1 out there no what I mean?

(Think YOU know what all of these letters stand for? Share your response in ‘Comments’, below.  I dare you!)

Phew… that took a minute for me to figure out!  Being online and reading someone’s cyber lingo can be a difficult task. It seems there is an abbreviation for just about everything. Some of these abbreviations can be confusing. I mean, I think I know what they mean, so I go ahead and use them too. It just seems to be the online culture, and let’s face it: regardless of age and internet savvy, we all want to fit in… to some degree, at least.

So what happens when we don’t really understand a term and we are too embarrassed to ask for clarity? We may end up being embarrassed anyway – or worse – get into some difficult situations.

Doing online outreach and reading chat room posts and bulletins, I realize that I am not alone. Recently, there was an interesting dialogue taking place on one of the sexual networking websites about “PnP” (party and play). That’s when I realized I was making assumptions. I thought PnP was simply using drugs while having sex. Okay, be honest: did you just think, “Well that’s what it is, stupid!” Well, welcome to my world. In fact, PnP is a much more complicated term than just figuring out what the letters stand for. For some, it means ‘poppers and pot’; for others, it means ‘clubbing and fucking.’

For those of us not in the know, partying generally refers to drugs that reduce inhibitions and are often taken in combinations. It could mean doing cocaine, smoking a joint, having a few drinks then doing crystal meth before hooking up with someone for a few hours of ‘wild sex.’

So what’s the big deal? You tell me. There were certainly a lot of views expressed in the bulletin board I read. What if a guy asked you online if you were into PnP and you responded, ‘yeah,’ thinking you’d have a joint? Well, you could be in for quite a surprise! Maybe this has already happened to you. What did you do?  What did you think? Start talking, below!

- Harry