HIV is a gay disease

[verte76]

It's not true, though. AIDS is not a gay disease. Anyone can get it, and everyone has to practice safe sex to be safe from it. I don't think they should be saying this.

 

[Irvine511]

from bisexual men.

the new term that is used is "MSM" -- which means "men who have sex with men." due to virulent homophobia in many communities, particularly african-american and latino, there are many men who do not understand themselves as gay, or cannot accept themselves as gay, or cannot place themselves into the (usually highly derogatory) definition of what they think a gay man looks, acts, and thinks like. the phrase "down-low" has been used, though that tends to be specifically african-american.

these men get married and have children, but also have men on the side, often paying for sex, often having high risk sex due to the spontenaity of it -- if you're closeted, and a sexual opportunity presents itself, you're more likely to pounce, safety be damned, than an openly gay man who goes out on dates and keeps a ready supply of condoms by the bed -- and often wind up making bad decisions. also, sometimes the willingness to act upon one's same-sex attraction requires the presence of substances, alcohol or otherwise, and this, too, leads to poor decision making.

finally, there's a higher percentage of african-american men and latino men who have been to prison relative to their percentage of the population. HIV infection rates in prison are very, very high. often, men will go to prison, become situationally homosexual, or get raped, get infected, and then they're released back into society, don't know they're infected, and wind up infecting their female partners.

so there's a wide variety of reasons, and i think it's wrong to blame bisexual men -- if a man is openly bisexual, he's probably much more likely to engage in safe sex than someone on the down-low. bisexual men were blamed for "passing" HIV into the straight community, and quite unfairly.

but, the big lesson here is, as always: Homophobia Kills.

literally. it kills.

and, yes, the church has much to do with this.

 

[martha]

Wasn't the point of the campaign to get gay men to resume practicing safer sex?

 

[BVS]

i'm a little confused.

but, based on anecdotal evidence, most gay men i know are far, far more judicious about using condoms than the straight men i know.

I'll try and find the article. But it basically stated that as AIDS figures declined condom purchase declined in homosexual communities. It all stated that the African American community was still one of the lowest. Of course how they measure these purchases was never really stated, so who knows.

 

[dazzlingamy]

Whats the big deal with wearing a condom? I will NEVER understand the ease that some men (gay and straight) have with having sex with a myriad of people and not wearing a condom! Its frankly fucking idiotic like drink driving!

Isn't it hard for hetro men to get HIV from their feamle partners? Thats why gay men who have anal sex, and women who have sex without condoms are the higher percentage because it is much risker that way??

And side note on the whole MSM factor, not bisexual open people but hidden secret sex meetups while having the whole wife and kids thing openly angers me so much. I don't give a fuck if he got married because of homophobia, there is no law saying you need to get married, there are plenty of straight bachelors who NEVER got married, so its not a complete stigma if you don't get married. But to practice unsafe sex and then come home and sleep with your wife...its disgusting (same goes with affairs) I just feel there is enough help today for men NOT to go into these kinds of relationships. I mean its just wrong.

 

[Irvine511]

Isn't it hard for hetro men to get HIV from their feamle partners? Thats why gay men who have anal sex, and women who have sex without condoms are the higher percentage because it is much risker that way??

it is harder for the "top" -- whether gay or straight -- to get HIV from the receptive partner, but it is certainly very possible (as we see in Africa) and there's some evidence that circumcision helps prevent transmission from female-to-male or bottom-to-top.

And side note on the whole MSM factor, not bisexual open people but hidden secret sex meetups while having the whole wife and kids thing openly angers me so much. I don't give a fuck if he got married because of homophobia, there is no law saying you need to get married, there are plenty of straight bachelors who NEVER got married, so its not a complete stigma if you don't get married. But to practice unsafe sex and then come home and sleep with your wife...its disgusting (same goes with affairs) I just feel there is enough help today for men NOT to go into these kinds of relationships. I mean its just wrong. [/B]

i fully agree.

homophobia kills. and the church has blood on its hands.

 

[CTU2fan]

I don't like it, I think it sends a dangerous message. Though I suppose the bigots who insist that HIV is "that gay disease" would feel that way regardless...

 

[Dreadsox]

I don't like it, I think it sends a dangerous message. Though I suppose the bigots who insist that HIV is "that gay disease" would feel that way regardless...

I think you summed up my feelings. Having worked hard within my church to educate people that it is not a GAY issue, it is a human issue, this feels like a step back.

 

[Irvine511]

I think you summed up my feelings. Having worked hard within my church to educate people that it is not a GAY issue, it is a human issue, this feels like a step back.

i generally agree with this, though what i think is important to remember about the advertisements is that they only said "HIV is a gay disease" in gay publications themselves. the billboards in WeHo simply said "HIV: Own It. End It."

so this is targeted advertising. does that make any difference?

i see billboards up in buses and in parts of WDC that are specifically targeted at African-Americans -- often having to do with, say, strokes, or in some areas retalliatory gun violence.

is this any different?

 

[CTU2fan]

I definitely see a distinction, and I think that's a valid point. But here we are in FYM talking about it, so even though the "gay disease" part was targeted others will see it, and no doubt twist it to their own end.