A White House adviser on monkeypox said his work aims to support "people's joy" in sexual behavior that many would describe as "risky."
"One person's idea of risk is another person's idea of a great festival or Friday night," said Demetre Daskalakis, the White House's national monkeypox response deputy coordinator, in a Sunday appearance on MSNBC. He emphasized "making sure that we get the word out in a way that supports people's joy as opposed to calling them 'risky.'"
Daskalakis has made a point of embracing unorthodox sexual activities and subcultures in his official duties.
In April, taxpayers funded his visit to the Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit in Las Vegas, where he wore a BDSM harness to participate in a panel titled "'Sex is natural, sex is fun.' The politics of sex and pleasure in the age of pandemics."
Daskalakis walked onto the stage in his business suit and bondage gear accompanied by two shirtless men in bright bikini bottoms. Appearing on the panel with Daskalakis was a "sex-positive Leatherman." Along with a transgender "equity consultant," they discussed "kinks, barebacking, fetish, BDSM, Chemex, group sex, bathhouses/sex clubs, porn, consent, and more."