Oppressive Social Systems, Unprotected Sex, And Pleasure

Risky sexual behavior is often framed as a personal failure, but this view collapses under closer scrutiny of how pleasure, marginalization, and systemic oppression shape people’s choices. High HIV rates among Black, queer, and transgender communities cannot be explained by “irresponsibility” alone; they reflect structural racism, homophobia, medical mistrust, and the need for intimacy and pleasure in environments where both are scarce. Research shows that condomless sex can serve as a connection, resistance, or an assertion of power for those whose bodies are constantly surveilled and stigmatized. Because motivations for sex are complex, moralizing, risk-only approaches to prevention fall flat, while pleasure-centered strategies—eroticized condom use, sex-positive education, and tools like PrEP—prove far more effective. Reframing safer sex through pleasure not only aligns better with human desire but also acknowledges that “risky” behavior is shaped less by individual shortcomings and more by the systems that restrict people’s choices.