Growing phenomenon within the gay community, chemsex causes addiction, risk-taking and sometimes deadly accidents. To move beyond the observation, têtu· launches the first edition of Avril Utile, a month of reflection, discussion and solutions. Here is the program.
We don’t detach from chemsex as we suspend alcohol consumption during Dry January, nor as we apply a nicotine patch during No Tobacco Month. But that’s no reason to stay arms folded!
So, we propose to make April a useful month. Not a challenge, not a demand for abstinence, not a sermon. Just a month, short and springlike, to slow down, question one’s consumption habits, revisit neglected pleasures… And, why not, consider solutions.
Why do Avril Utile together?
Because chemsex is not just an individual matter. If it affects the gay community, it’s because it finds there a fertile ground.
Talking about chemsex is talking about our mental health, but also about our modes of sociability, our loneliness, our insecurities…
Thinking together is already loosening the grip.
Avril Utile, what is it?
This month is an invitation, not a challenge. A moment for:
- – Observe your consumption: when, how, with whom, in what contexts.
- – Try to understand its effects on your health, your social, emotional, professional life… and your finances.
- – Think about your sexuality with and without substances: what changes, what stays, what is missing.
- – Take back power over your desire, your cravings: distinguish what you want from what the products impose. What sexuality, what encounters, what stories do you want to live beyond product consumption?
- – Explore other sources of pleasure: sober encounters, masturbation, intimacy, friendship, creativity, sport, rest…
- – Set achievable goals: ease off, take a break or simply change one parameter: the frequency of consumption, the amount of products consumed, the number of partners or sessions…
It is also a collective and community moment to talk to each other, share our experiences, break isolation and help each other. Chemsex users face intra-community discrimination. For fear of stigma, many do not dare seek support or even talk about it. This month should allow us to foster collective information, mutual aid, mutual support, and risk reduction.
Avril Utile is for you if:
- – The call of the product or sex is stronger than you, even when you hadn’t planned to consume.
- – You dread the come-downs.
- – You wonder what your sexuality would be like without substances.
- – You feel that chemsex helps you cope, but also prevents you from breathing.
- – You have already thought “I’ll cut back”, without really knowing how to achieve it.
And also to you if, without practicing chemsex, you know loved ones who do it and you want to understand them, support them, open dialogue.
During this April month, têtu· will publish, on this site and on our networks:
- – Expert insights
- – Testimonials and narratives
- – Practical tools
Goal: a non-judgmental approach, based on sexual health, risk reduction and current knowledge in addiction science, to provide concrete tools without stigmatizing.
Do you want to spread the message?
- – Share this manifesto to spread awareness as widely as possible and use #AvrilUtile
- – If you decide to take a break, slow down or simply talk about it, use the emoji ❤️🩹 and #AvrilUtile on dating apps to signal it to others
- – Send us via DM on Instagram your suggestions, your testimonials, your videos to open the conversation.
Illustration : Laurier The Fox for têtu·
