SafeBoy

Safe Boy! Alright, guys, from time to time, I have to present you with a gem. The site I’m looking at today is called Safeboy.net, and it’s unlike most gay sites you’ve seen. Well, technically, this place is also made for bi and trans people, but you guys know that I’ve always got your backs. Well, while I might not be into gay dudes, I’m very much into pleasing my gay fans as much as I possibly can. But what is the best way to do that? Oh, I don’t know; how about a site that focuses on your health and sexuality for once? Rather than always being about sex, sex, sex, this site actually cares about you and your sexual health through case studies.

New study every three years in French-speaking countries

I should mention that the main thing Safeboy is known for is the funding of the Net Gay Barometer, which is a study that surveys some of the most important things for gay guys in the French-speaking regions of the world. And yes, they do concentrate on France and all the countries in which French is spoken. In particular, Quebec is a prevalent region where participants are from, but there is also Belgium, Switzerland, and many other similar countries. So basically, if you’re a gay guy and speak French, you should take this assessment. It’s really important for the future of all gay people.

The study is conducted every three years for French-speaking males in countries like France, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium, and it also looks at bi and trans people. However, gay people are the most influential participants, and they are who the study is made to benefit the most. Participating is completely free, and you’ll be helping professionals understand the needs of gay people and all the ways in which they can avoid contracting HIV or AIDS. However, while this was the main focus of the study in previous iterations, they have since moved on to include more and more parameters that would take a good hard look at the entire website and how it operates to understand. Safeboy is just that inclusive.

Isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty with taboo topics

The questioner and the study takes a look at many topics. They include the use of social networks for having sex, the process of coming out, sexual diversity, sexual orientation, life as a married gay couple, casual sex with other gay men, online dating, and risk management when it comes to casual sex. Now, all of these things are usually answered in straight-forward questions, but there are also questions about lifestyle, proximity to other gay men, as well as the distance where gay community relations are alive and well to make an even better assessment of what the gay landscape looks like in a state like France or any other country that has embraced gay men. It’s an inspiring time for gay guys.

Also, you should expect the study to get into some more taboo subjects such as bareback sex (AKA anal sex between gay men without a condom), drug use, and gay escort services. They then take all of that info and use it to make a plan in which some concrete action can be taken to mitigate the risks and allow gay men to have more fun with each other casually while staying away from HIV. Prevention is key for this study, and that’s why they concentrate on this kind of disease. It’s all about gender and sexual minorities here, and if you fall into one of those groups, you can benefit a lot from this study.

Very thorough and mature approach to gay lifestyles

While western countries have done a pretty good job at making gay people accepted, there is still a lot of stigma, discrimination, and other forms of abuse from non-gay people towards gay people. Sure, you could call me a hypocrite for making some funny jokes at the expense of gay people, but you’re missing the bigger picture at that point. We’re talking about real issues here, not some dumb jokes that I’ve made about you. So grow a pair (hah) and try not to give a shit about some harmless jokes. We’re taking care of fundamental problems with studios like the one available on Safeboy, and I am thrilled to see that. It’s always nice to know that we are making progress and that gay people are more accepted these days.

The latest edition of the study, which started in 2020, has tried to broaden the scope of the research so that it covers more than just HIV protection. This time around, Safeboy.net really tried to get into the thick of things by offering users a complete overview into the lifestyle of gay people so that there could be a genuine introspection about what people are looking for, what kinds of adventures they want to find when they go out on a Friday night, and so on. I should also mention that this project has existed for over a decade now, and it’s really starting to be very mature about all of the problems it addresses.

Requires donations from regular people in order to work

Thousands of people complete this survey, which might seem like a lot, but at the same time, I don’t quite think that it’s enough. I would like to see tens of thousands of people, and eventually even hundreds of thousands of them. This will help since there are actually many gay people who are still in the closet and don’t feel secure enough to come out yet. This is especially prevalent in rural areas in all the countries I talked about earlier. But to make all of this work and to keep the research scaling up, there is one thing that you can do. That’s right; you can donate.

How much money should you donate? That’s always a tough one to answer, I think. There are several tiers to consider which have predefined amounts, or you can always choose to enter any amount that you want. For example, the bronze tier is €20, the silver tier is €40, the gold tier is €60, the platinum tier is €100, and the scandium tier is €200. Now, I’m all about that cash, cash, money, so I have no problem with throwing a couple of hundreds down the way of this research. But, if you’re short on cash, maybe a smaller donation will be better for you. The important thing is that you’re contributing to support a study that will transform lives.

Takes a while to finish with unintuitive features

I should probably mention that the last rendition of the study also looks at the effects of COVID-19 on the gay population. It looks at how COVID affected the professional activity of gay men or their income, their living space or life context, their internet use, their encounters with casual partners, their alcohol consumption, and so on. All quite extraordinary and essential stuff, and I’m glad that someone is looking at these things. Safeboy.net is a blessing for all French-speaking gay men around the globe. Now, the one thing that they can do better is the UI of the study and the questioner itself. The buttons don’t look modern; some questions don’t look intuitive to answer, and so on.

However, I will say that the study is thorough. With over 70 pages to complete, that will take you around 30 minutes to finish. If you don’t have this amount of free time on your hands, then I think you should try and answer the questions in segments. Do a quarter of the study first, then save the link given to you at the bottom of it, and then return to Safeboy.net when you want to continue, or enter the URL in the top bar of your browser. Safeboy thought of everything to get you to finish the damn thing. Good data doesn’t come from thin air, and Safeboy.net knows this very well. So there you have it, that’s all you need to know about Safeboy, so get in there and start answering some questions!