WATCH: Video Exposes How Stigmatizing Grindr Can Be For Poz Men

If you want to know how ridiculous HIV stigma sounds like in person, one organization is making it a lot easier. 

In a new campaign called Real Conversations of Grindr, Australian-based HIV Foundation Queensland pulls real conversations people have with HIV-positive on Grindr and brings it to life with live role-play, and it’s incredibly eye-opening. 

The video shows that HIV stigma is very real within the LGBT community, and that it often seeps into the gay hookup culture. Starting off as a social experiment at a queer festival earlier this year, it wound up becoming something much more substantial — and a lot more real. 

“While often a place of happy endings, Grindr and other online dating apps unfortunately provide a breeding ground for people to use anonymity as a cover to commit discrimination and stigmatize,” organizers state on their website. “For people living with HIV, the stigma can often be more damaging than the virus. Yet so much of it comes from a lack of understanding and knowledge. This is why we all have a role to play in educating ourselves and others about the facts.” 

Check out the NSFW video below: