Serving PrEP realness: How Priss Cryption is using drag to power HIV prevention

As a pharmacist, pharmacy professor and researcher who also happens to be a drag queen, I’ve learned something vital from both the clinic and the club: people listen – and learn – when they feel seen. Through my drag persona Priss Cryption, I’m building programs that meet communities where they already gather, bringing HIV pre‑exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and emerging STI prevention tools like doxycycline post‑exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) to stages, bars, classrooms and social feeds. It’s glitter with a purpose. 

The need is urgent. Canada reported 2,434 new HIV diagnoses in 2023, a 35% increase from 2022, reminding us that progress isn’t guaranteed and that prevention must be visible, accessible and culturally resonant.

In Canada, HIV PrEP is available as oral pills that can be taken daily or on-demand, and as a long‑acting injectable administered by a healthcare provider. Despite a growing toolbox for HIV prevention, awareness and use of HIV PrEP among Two-Spirit, transgender, nonbinary and other gender-diverse people in Canada remains low, underscoring the need for targeted, affirming outreach and healthcare navigation support.

Why drag? Because trust opens doors

Drag has long been a conduit for health advocacy, raising funds and awareness during the AIDS epidemic and continuing to support innovative outreach today. Contemporary examples show that drag‑infused strategies can boost engagement, reduce stigma and deliver messages that stick: from a drag queen sexual health chatbot that patients prefer for its non‑judgmental tone, to frontline harm reduction programs bringing STI testing and supplies right into performance spaces, to mainstream platforms like RuPaul’s Drag Race helping normalize PrEP for broad audiences.

This matters in Canada, where stigma and structural barriers still limit who hears about and who accesses HIV PrEP. Tailoring messages through drag allows us to centre joy, humour and cultural pride while delivering precise, evidence‑based health information.

Priss Cryption’s plan: From the stage to the pharmacy and back

Here is how I will bring pharmacy, research and performance together to accelerate HIV PrEP uptake:

1. Pop‑up “PrEP & Play” nights 

Partner with clinics, community groups and queer spaces, including nightclubs, to host drag shows that double as sexual health info sessions, including on‑site booking for HIV/STI testing, HIV PrEP initiation and STI prevention counseling.

2. Peer navigation in affirming spaces 

Train drag artists as HIV PrEP champions who can demystify PrEP regimen options and, where appropriate, discuss eligibility and follow‑up.

3. Knowledge translation that sparkles 

Translate complex information and guidance into educational performances and multimedia — such as short videos, social media infographics, as well as live online and in person Q&As — covering HIV PrEP and all things sexual health. Priss Cryption will also soon be offering fun informative videos about HIV and STI prevention medications to supplement the information sheets that come with each new prescription.

4. Community‑based research and evaluation

Priss Cryption will engage with community members and community-based organizations through various forms of research that integrate the art, power and healing properties of drag with HIV and STI prevention awareness, knowledge, policies and practices.

Let’s work together for community-led HIV prevention

If you’re a community organization, clinic or venue, let’s collaborate! Together we can host events that are scientifically rigorous and culturally joyful, where someone can laugh during a lip‑sync and leave with an HIV PrEP plan or prescription in hand.

HIV prevention is most powerful when it’s community‑led. Drag doesn’t just entertain – it engages, educates and empowers. With equal parts evidence and eyelashes, Priss Cryption is here to help Canada serve HIV PrEP realness and move us closer to ending the HIV epidemic.

Priss Cryption (AKA Jaris Swidrovich) is an assistant professor and the Indigenous engagement lead at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. They are also the founder and chair of the Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada and serve as co-scientific director of nātawihowin, which is a First Nations Research Network within the CIHR-funded Saskatchewan Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research (SK-NEIHR).