About this website

Exasperated by questionable and unrewarding Internet search results, we’re a group of gay men who wanted health, life, and well-being stuff in one place.

So, we got off our arses to build an independent free-access website that joins up the dots of our needs: a hub to further support and information.

MEN R US is an encyclopaedic life manual, and our take on what it is to be gay today. It’s not perfect, it’s sometimes messy, but it’s ours!

We also wanted content that isn’t dumbed-down, drained of humour, or edited to within an inch of its life. And we really didn’t want ads, pop-ups, and banners.

The funding has only gone so far which is why content is more London-centric though we are starting to change this.

Some of us are living with HIV and/ or HCV (Hepatitis C) so, above all, this is our narrative and our story.

Q&A

Q: When did it start?
A: Developing the project proper started in 2011, writing in 2012, while funding was secured in 2014. MENRUS.CO.UK was built in 2015 and launched on 1st November.

Q: What did it cost?
A: £10,000 initially grant for a bespoke website built in WordPress, and a computer (2014) and a second £10,000 grant (2016) is allowing us to develop the website (2016/ 2017).

Q: How big are you?
MEN R US is made up of six chapters: YOU, MEN, BODY, SEX, STIs and DRUGS containing 110,000+ words (1/11/15). At an average reading speed (250-300 words/ minute) it will take you 6½-7½ hours to read MEN R US in one go – without clicking the links or watching any of the films.

Q: Why is the website so London focused?
A: The funding has only gone so far and it’s our home. More funding and we’ll go further afield.

Q: Who funds you?
A: Running costs are met by a core grants from MAC AIDS (2017-2019).

Q: Are you a charity?
A: No. MEN R US is part of the Gay Men’s Health Collective which is a company limited by guarantee and community interest company.

Q: Where are you based?
A: We don’t have a street office as such. However, based in central London we work from each others’ homes when we need to – we’re friendly that way. We also work out of the Release office in Aldgate two days a week.

Q: Who writes, runs and updates the site?
A: Volunteers and we think of ourselves as informed gay men, certainly not experts. If we need help we go get it.

Q: What happens if something is wrong or I’d like to see something added?
A: Let us know and see what we can do. MEN R US is not perfect, it’s part of our charm.

Q: How can I help?
A: Email us. We’re always on the lookout for volunteers to help write, edit, update and proof.

Last updated: 1/12/18

Photographs

Illustrating this website has been challenging on a shoe string budget. The majority of photographs (including diagrams and illustrations) are paid for from 123RF royalty free stock photos.

Many of the photographs of naked men (eg: SEX and STIs) are sourced from Butch Dixon and UK Naked Men who kindly gave us permission to use photographs from film shoots.

Other sources are acknowledged accordingly. Please let us know if we have credited incorrectly. It will be the sin of omission rather than any attempt on the part of MEN R US to defraud or pass off.

No assumptions should be made about the sexuality, HIV status or views of individuals or organisations featured on MEN R US. 

Fancy one of your photos on this website?

• You don’t have to be a pro: a shot taken with a smart phone, DSLR camera, or compact will be fine
• Use our contact form to email your shot – telling us a bit about it, and where you think it should go on MEN R US
• For example: can you take a better photo for kissing (in SEX) or same sex friendships (in YOU)?
• Bear in mind: photos should be tasteful and sexy without being gratuitous smut
• Please confirm in your email that the person(s) in the shot have agreed to be photographed
• By emailing photos to us you permit MEN R US to use and edit in perpetuity
• We are offering absolutely no payment but are happy to credit you – so please include your name
• We won’t use all photos sent to us, so don’t be disappointed… but keep trying

Volunteer led

MEN R US is written and edited by gay men, all volunteers, with additional content (used with permission) from a wide range of organisations and community groups in fields of health, health promotion, sexual health, HIV prevention, substance use, and the LGBT community.

Acknowledgements and thanks

Huge thanks to the volunteers who have contributed thousands of hours researching, writing, editing and proofing content.

Special thanks to Creative Conceptions, Exchange Supplies, Global Drug Survey, Gay Men Fighting AIDS, NAM Aidsmap, National AIDS Trust, Release, Slate, Wikipedia, Work In Process, and Men’s Sexual Health which sadly closed in early 2014.

Donations

If you like what we do, and have a few pounds to spare, please donate using the button below. Your payment receipt will read: GMHC.

• MEN R US (GMHC) Donations

Contact

If a volunteer is online we will often reply to emails within a few hours, or reply within 2 days. This may seem a long time but we are reliant on our spunky volunteers who do not monitor the inbox 24/ 7. We try to make them but they just demand more treats.

On 6/1/19 we noticed that messages were being directed to a folder that was not being monitored. We would like to apologise to those of you who tried to contact us but did not get replies. The glitch has now been fixed and and we are clearing the back log. So, our bad. Blame the gremlins!

Those of you looking for business: we are not interested in article placement, advertisements, SEO optimisation, third party content, and so on.

Intention for the purpose

MEN R US is intended for the purposes of information, education, satire, and amusement, namely gay men’s health, health promotion, well-being, and the prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) transmission. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental, or not. Batteries not included. No other warranty expressed or implied. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. May be too intense for some viewers. For recreational use only. Please remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop. Browsing constitutes acceptance of agreement our terms. Men may be slippery when wet. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform. Parental discretion is advised. Although robust enough for general use, adventures into the esoteric periphery may reveal unexpected quirks. Not available in stores. May cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Not designed or intended for use in online control of aircraft, air traffic, aircraft navigation or aircraft communications; or in the design, construction, operation or maintenance of any nuclear facility. May contain traces of various seeds and nuts.

Serious disclaimer

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by MEN R US, part of the Gay Men’s Health Collective, and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Particularly, no assumptions should be made about the sexuality, HIV and/ or sexual health status or views of individuals, individuals represented in pictures and/ photographs, or organisations featured on this website.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.

Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of MEN R US, part of the Gay Men’s Health Collective. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, MEN R US, part of the Gay Men’s Health Collective takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.

Your privacy

We are committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of anyone using our site and the confidentiality of any information that you provide us with. In general you can visit our website without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself.

Cookies

We collect information directly from you in a number of ways. One way is through our use of ‘cookies’. Most websites use cookies in order to make them work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the website. They help us to understand how our customers and potential customers use our website so we can develop and improve the design, layout, content and function of the site. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer’s hard drive by websites that you visit. They save and retrieve pieces of information about your visit to the website – for example, how you entered the site, how you navigated through the site and what information and documentation was of interest to you. This means that when you go back to a website, it can give you tailored options based on the information it has stored about you on your last visit.

Some of our cookies are used to simply collect information about how visitors use our website and these types of cookies collect the information in an anonymous form.

The rules about cookies on websites have recently changed. If you are uncomfortable with the use of cookies, you can disable cookies on your computer by changing the settings in the preferences or options menu in your browser. You can set your browser to reject or block cookies or to tell you when a website tries to put a cookie on your computer. You can also delete any cookies that are already stored on your computer’s hard drive. However, please be aware that if you do delete and block all cookies from our website, parts of the site will not then work. This is because some of the cookies we use are essential for parts of our website to operate. Likewise, you may not be able to use some products and services on other websites without cookies. To find out more about cookies, including seeing what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org. If you do not wish to accept cookies from our website, please leave this site immediately and then delete and block all cookies from this site.