A drag performer has won praise for an answer she gave at a drag pageant last week. 

NYC sensation Sabel Scities took part in the annual Miss Hell’s Kitchen pageant at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center on October 6. The charity event raises money to fight HIV/AIDS. Some of the proceeds from this year’s event went to The Center in NYC. 

At one part of the event, Scities was asked about the number of people out there who have HIV but remain undiagnosed. What advice would she give about this? 

“As someone who has worked in HIV prevention, harm reduction and testing for the last five years professionally, I would tell people that: You lock your door every night and you also put the bolt on it sometimes.

“A condom is not always enough. PrEP is always not enough. And you never really know what’s lying dormant in your body.”

Scities encouraged people to go with friends if they didn’t want to go alone. 

“Get your girls together the same way you do with happy hour. Go get tested together. It’s free, rapid and confidential. And you can take care of it today.

“If you’re going to f*ck around, find out.”

Many applauded the ‘If you’re going to f*ck around, find out’ message. 

“Put it on a tshirt,” said Drag Race finalist Rosé. 

“That was better than any pageant answer I have heard,” said someone else. 

Undiagnosed HIV in the US

Around 1.2million people in the US are living with HIV. The CDC estimates around 13% of them (around 160,000) are unaware of their status. 

Finding out your HIV status soon after infection is much better than finding out later when it’s begun to cause damage to your body. You can quickly take advantage of medication to become undetectable and expect to live a normal or near-normal lifespan. 

Condoms, when used correctly, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection. PrEP is also highly effective. However, condoms don’t always protect you from acquiring other infections, so it’s always good to have a full STI checkup. 

Some men still remain shy of going to an STI clinic if they don’t have any symptoms. Others believe they don’t need to do so as they’re in a monogamous relationship. If you’re sexually active, experts suggest at least an annual STI checkup, or every three months if you have multiple partners. 

Sable Scities’ win and background

After wowing the audience with her looks, talent and intelligence, we’re happy to report Sable Scities won this year’s Miss Hell’s Kitchen pageant. You can watch the moment it was announced below. 

“Winning felt like a sign that it’s time for me to get back to work,” Scities told Queerty. “I’ve taken the year off to work on mental health and sort my priorities. I told myself if I won, I’d get back on the horse and back in the game full time.”

Scities was surprised her comment about getting tested struck a chord online.

“I had no idea the answer would catch as much as it has. ‘F*ck Around, Find Out’ is something I have said every week at my shows when our local clinic showed up to distribute Narcan/Naloxone and schedule people for testing.

“The stigma around sexual health can still be so outdated and for some reason slut shaming is still real in our community. I figured if I started convincing groups of friends who drink and go out to these parties together, they wouldn’t have to be afraid to go alone. Almost everything is curable or treatable at this point…with PrEP, Doxy, HIV treatments (like Cabenuva) and testing so available, I want to encourage everyone who is active to take care of themselves and each other.”

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