How An Open Talk About PrEP Transformed a Mother-Son Bond into Advocacy
When Winnie Thompson called her 20-year-old son, Sidney Keys III, to talk about PrEP, his initial reaction was what did an HIV prevention drug have to do with him; a straight, Black college student? Because of his mother’s commitment to harm reduction and open dialogue, that unexpected phone call challenged his widespread assumption that HIV awareness is meant for someone else.
‘The Talk’ I Didn't Expect to Have
When Winnie Thompson dialed her 20-year-old son between classes to ask if he had ever heard of PrEP, she had no script. She only had the conviction that her own discomfort mattered far less than his access to life-saving information. Reflecting on that unprompted phone call, Thompson challenges the demographic blind spots in HIV prevention marketing and reframes sexual healthcare from an awkward taboo into a routine discipline of personal responsibility.