That's a problem, especially considering that the latest local data available—the DOH-funded 2000 Transgender Needs Assessment Survey—reveals staggering infection rates among trans women. Here's a rundown of that survey's findings:

The decade-old report surveyed 252 District transgender men and women on a variety of factors, including their HIV status. Of locals surveyed, 32 percent of trans women reported being HIV-positive, compared to 3 percent of trans men. (Twenty-two percent of those surveyed were unaware of their status).

More info on how HIV affects the community: Eighty-one percent of the HIV-positive trans men and women surveyed were black. And two-thirds of HIV-positive trans citizens "believe they became infected through unprotected sex with men." A "history of sexual assault, a history of sex work, and unemployment" also contributed to HIV rates in the community.

Also a contributing factor? The lack of public education and concern on how the epidemic affects the trans community. In 2008, Darby Hickey wrote of the invisibility of transgender people in the HIV conversation: "The communities hit hardest are African-American men and women, Lations, and gay and bisexual men of all races. Within these carefully drawn categories, some based on behavioral risk factor and others on racial, gender and sexual classifications, one community heavily affected by the epidemic remains invisible in the eyes of officialdom a quarter century since the first reports of the disease: transgender people."

The failure of mainstream studies to single out trans men and women in its numbers compounds the problem of getting testing, prevention, and treatment resources to that community. "There are no official reports because most agencies do not recognize trans people's existence at all," says Sadie-Ryanne Baker of the DC Trans Coalition. "They usually fold trans women in the 'men who have sex w/ men' category (even ones like me who sleep with women!) which means we have no independent numbers to analyze for trans folks. It also means that most trans folks don't even get tested or get safe sex supplies because all the forms force them to lie about their identity."

*D.C.'s AIDS rate is higher than that of any U.S. state. Our AIDS rate is approximately 10 times that of the U.S. in general.

* D.C.'s AIDS rate is higher than these major cities: Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Detroit, and Chicago.

* From 2004 to 2008, 3,312 new AIDS cases were diagnosed in D.C. African-Americans accounted for 86 percent of those cases.

* New AIDS cases are decreasing: From 2004 to 2007, newly-diagnosed AIDS cases decreased from 164 to 137 cases. From 2007 to 2008, they decreased from 137 to 107 cases.

* In 2008, 4.7 percent of African-Americans in D.C. were HIV-positive. "The burden of disease among blacks/African Americans in DC is especially high," the CDC reports. "In 2008, blacks/African Americans represented 55% of DC's population, but accounted for 78% of those living with HIV infection and 86% of newly diagnosed AIDS cases."

* The risk to African-American women is extreme: Of new AIDS cases diagnosed in D.C., 94 percent of women diagnosed were African-American, compared to 82 percent of men.

* HIV testing is increasing: From 2005 to 2007, surveys showed that the percentage of D.C. citizens who had been tested for HIV in the past year rose from 15 percent to 19 percent. But the surveying method has a serious flaw: It only includes adults with landlines, not those who only have cell phones.

* More people in D.C. are testing positive for HIV: From 2004 to 2008, the "number of persons testing positive" for HIV in D.C. increased by 353 percent, from 246 in 2004 to 1,115 in 2008.

* Free HIV tests are significantly more available: From 2004 to 2008, "publicly funded HIV tests" increased by 335 percent. Free tests increased by 415 percent for African-Americans.

* How the D.C. Department of Health's anti-HIV initiatives may be working: "Although the causes of the improvement in these indicators are unknown and cannot be linked to any specific intervention, they suggest improvements in the delivery of HIV testing and linkage to care services in DC," the CDC reports. These efforts include "enhanced collaborations, working with D.C. residents as spokespersons for local marketing campaigns and creating toolkits for health-care providers to expand HIV testing and linkage to care."

* Where to go from here: The CDC recommends that "ongoing and increased HIV testing and efforts to ensure linkage to care are warranted." I'd say so.

The Centers for Disease Control is currently weighing whether to recommend the circumcision of boys and men in the United States. If the CDC finds that a circumcision recommendation would reduce the risk of HIV among American men, I think that's swell. Providing people with information to help protect themselves from disease is a wonderful thing. But a CDC recommendation would likely come with one major adverse side-effect. For women who already find uncircumcised penises disgusting, wrong, or unfuckable, the recommendation will also provide more fuel for their ignorance.

Women who shun uncircumcised penises has always struck me as short-sighted. These are the women who will glibly deem their sex partner's genitalia unacceptable if, several decades ago, his parents did not predict her sexual preferences and subject him to newborn penis surgery accordingly. Sound familiar? We're women. We know what it's like to be unfairly judged on impossible physical standards! And yet, even women who are well-informed about sex—women who like it, talk openly about it, and even get paid to write about it—are keeping the genital snubbing alive.

Yesterday, the Frisky's Annika Harris wrote: "Uncircumcised penises repulse and scare me, so my sons are getting cut whether it’s PC or not." And she writes for a sex blog.

On the Simple Life, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie laughed over catching sight of some uncircumcised dick at a nudist beach, with Richie calling uncircumcised penises "fucking disgusting." And they're Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

In circumcision documentary Partly Private, a woman on a Sex and the City bus tour announced that "Ninety-nine percent of women in America would be shocked if they got in bed with someone and they were like: Oh! Huh!" (Watch her genital superiority, above, at the 1:33 mark). And she was standing outside of a sex toy shop while paying homage to a television show almost exclusively devoted to having sex with men. Note that this woman doesn't just express her extreme dislike of uncircumcised penises—she attempts to justify her position by extending the disgust to her entire gender. In the Sex and the City's circumcision episode, incidentally, the girls' penis preferences were split about 50-50.

Whenever I've encountered women like this—women who find uncircumcised penises inherently gross—various medical statistics will doubtlessly be raised in defense of their penis discrimination. Uncircumcised penises, they'll say, have a higher risk of contracting HPV—plus, they look weird. Uncircumcised penises have a higher risk of contracting penile cancer—also, what the fuck do you do with it? Uncircumcised penises have a higher risk of spreading HIV—and none of my girlfriends would ever fuck an uncut guy. These women are interested in sexual health, but they're more interested in protecting their own prejudice against unmodified genitalia. When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter if the guy's clean of STDs—to these women, he will always be unclean.

Again, facts are great. And when the CDC gets around to making a recommendation, we'll all be better informed about just what the risks of circumcision are. But no matter what the HIV link to uncircumcised penises turns out to be, you will never be able to determine a man's status by examining his genitals. (And in some cases, you wouldn't notice the difference anyway). So if you're one of those women who dislikes uncircumcised penises because you consider them to be "unclean," you would be better served to reserve that reaction for penises that don't have condoms on them, or any sexual conduct initiated before you and your partner undergo fresh STD tests. No matter what style of penis you prefer, those two little accessories are a lot more likely to keep you safe than an irrational repulsion to unmodified dick.