How Ozempic infiltrated the queer community – and why off-brand diet drugs are replacing it
The weight loss drug comes with multiple, under-researched concerns for LGBTQIA+ users: from our sex lives, to how we party.
Journalist and researcher Beth Ashley breaks down what you need to know. WORDS BY BETH ASHLEY IMAGES BY YOSEF PHELAN “I don’t know a single gay guy who isn’t either on Ozempic, wishing they could be on Ozempic, or taking some weird shit and wishing it was Ozempic,” 33-year-old Malachi, an events manager from London, tells GAY TIMES. “I’ve been on it myself for a few months now after a friend recommended it.
I’m not looking back.” It seems no weight loss drug in history has garnered quite so much attention as Ozempic has. Working by suppressing the user’s appetite and expelling a significant amount of fat from the food you eat as waste, Ozempic has become a part of the cultural zeitgeist.
Between celebrities’ chiselled cheekbones being dubbed as “Ozempic face” and accusations flying at stars for “cheating” weight loss with the drug, Ozempic is absolutely everywhere.
