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Didn't read it, but it is a fact that it is easier to contract HIV from anal sex than vaginal or oral sex, so that might serve as an explanation. Obviously, there is a higher occurence of anal sex in the gay male community going on than between hetero couples.
yeah the article is biased, you can tell by the word choice of the writer.
However the CDC stats are not. Even though I don't agree with the writer I think he does more good that the people that get jumpy and defensive.
Gay men are dropping like flies due to this absurd political correctness. Yes straight people get infected but the rate among the gay community is beyond ridiculous and more awareness is needed. The media needs to stop glorifying promiscuous lifestyles, drugs and also explain how this condition is still life threatening especially when people don't get treated. THey also need to explain how therapies work and how people become drug resistant and end up taking 10 or 20 pills a day.
Also more campaign is needed for black women. The numbers are also ridiculous, especially in cities like DC. Nobody knows why the high rate among them. Incarceration, cultural(down low), genetics? Nobody knows.
Gay men are dropping like flies due to this absurd political correctness...the rate among the gay community is beyond ridiculous and more awareness is needed.
How has political correctness lead to Gay men getting HIV?
Also, I think dropping like flies is a bit extreme. Yeah, in the US gays have HIV at much higher rates than anyone else, but it's not like a majority of gay men are infected. There are somewhere in the ballpark of 10-15 million gay men in the US, of which about 275,000 have HIV or AIDS.
Worldwide, over 90% of all people with HIV contracted it through heterosexual sex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥
The media needs to stop glorifying promiscuous lifestyles, drugs and also explain how this condition is still life threatening especially when people don't get treated. They also need to explain how therapies work and how people become drug resistant and end up taking 10 or 20 pills a day.
I agree with this. I once had a friend who told me he wasn't afraid of getting HIV because "It's like getting a cold. They have medicine for it now."
Like you said, some HIV strains are now drug resistant. Also, the drugs are horrible. Many people can barely tolerate them. Nearly everyone who takes HIV drugs long term can expect to have a heart attack or some other organ failure as a result.
However, the best way to combat the HIV problem in the gay community is to address the core reasons why gay men and women turn to self-destructive behaviors (drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sex abuse) at higher rates than the rest of society. This means combating the internalized shame and self-hatred every young gay man and woman (10-25 years old) inevitably develops in a society that places such stigmatization on homosexuality. The only real way I see to combat that is to increase societal acceptance of homosexuality.
Last edited by denverkid; 03-26-2010 at 01:02 AM..
What is the political correctness that you're referring to, and how do you think the problem should be handled differently?
I love how so many people think that they're experts on HIV prevention.
Who is claiming to be an expert? Anyone that doesn't agree with your point of view perhaps? Did I say I was a prevention expert? You are welcome to quote me if that is the case. Otherwise please discuss without resorting to personal attacks and passive aggressive comments
What pc? How about the fact that this is a real issue that needs to be addressed and needs more media coverage? Real media coverage in network TV, not in some obscure cable channel. How about leaving the paranoia and victim mentality and protecting the gay community without worrying about what some closed minded idiot out there thinks about the gay community?
The stats speak for themselves. The answer to this problem is not "OH it happens to straight people too" "oh it's different in Africa" Two wrongs don't make a right.
How has political correctness lead to Gay men getting HIV?
Also, I think dropping like flies is a bit extreme. Yeah, in the US gays have HIV at much higher rates than anyone else, but it's not like a majority of gay men are infected. There are somewhere in the ballpark of 10-15 million gay men in the US, of which about 275,000 have HIV or AIDS.
However, the best way to combat the HIV problem in the gay community is to address the core reasons why gay men and women turn to self-destructive behaviors (drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sex abuse) at higher rates than the rest of society. This means combating the internalized shame and self-hatred every young gay man and woman (10-25 years old) inevitably develops in a society that places such stigmatization on homosexuality. The only real way I see to combat that is to increase societal acceptance of homosexuality.
Because when you stop talking about it, people forget about it. In the early 90's the infection rate for MSM was actually dropping but once the media attention stopped, people forgot and went to their old habits. Now I'm not saying it's not affecting straight people, because obviously it is affecting the black community more.
And I know you are not like to hear this from a non gay man but it is no secret a large percentage of gay men are promiscuous and that the type of sex practiced has a lot to do with the spread of the virus. I think it's an epidemic, and yes I still think the majority are getting infected especially in big cities like Miami DC and NYC. It's much more than what the stats say but if you say anything then you are labeled as ignorant or as homophobic, so whatever.
In my opinion the solution is not social acceptance or psychological solutions. The clock is ticking and changing a society takes many years and that's IF it changes. The solution is prevention campaigns like they had in the 90's and to show the effects it can have on people. Fear is a good motivator.
Last edited by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥; 03-26-2010 at 11:31 AM..
And I know you are not like to hear this from a non gay man but it is no secret a large percentage of gay men are promiscuous. It's part of the culture.
I don't mind hearing from you that gay men are more promiscuous, on average, than non-gay men. I know that.
What I will take exception to is your saying that it's "a large percentage". As a gay man, I know lots of other gay men. About half of my gay friends are in monogamous relationships. I know plenty of single gay men who have an active sex life, but for the most part they're safe about it - and I'd argue they're not having many more (if any more) sexual partners than the single straight men I know. I even know a gay virgin or two.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥
I think it's an epidemic, and yes I still think the majority are getting infected especially in big cities like Miami DC and NYC. It's much more than what the stats say but if you say anything then you are labeled as ignorant or as homophobic, so whatever.
Well, your belief is just that. Can you back up your belief?
The CDC estimates that about 600,000 American currently have either HIV or AIDS (and that at least 25% don't know it). They estimate that 47% of those 600,000 got it from male-male sex (not necessarily homosexuals - a very large percentage of heterosexual males admit to a least one sexual experience with another man). Lets just round up to and say 300,000 gay men in the US have HIV or AIDS (probably an overestimate). 300,000 is not a majority of gay men - not even close. Surveys show that New York City alone is home to more than half a million gay men.
In 2007, about 40,000 Americans got HIV - of which about 19,000 are gay men. 19,000 per year in a population of 10 million or so is hardly, and will never lead to, a majority. I mean, more gay people are born each year than are infected with HIV.
You are right about cities. HIV infection rates are much higher in cities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥
In my opinion the solution is not social acceptance or psychological solutions. The clock is ticking and changing a society takes many years and that's IF it changes. The solution is prevention campaigns like they had in the 90's and to show the effects it can have on people. Fear is a good motivator.
The problem is that there is a segment of gay men - a small one, but one that creates a huge problem for all of us - that is ridiculously promiscuous and have mind boggling amounts of sex.
I'm not sure how many people realize that in the gay community of today, the HIV epidemic goes hand-in-hand with the crystal methamphetamine epidemic. It's the gay men who are addicted to crystal meth who are out there having unprotected sex with hordes of other men (mostly other crystal meth addicts). I personally know 11 or 12 people with HIV - all but one was addicted to crystal meth when he got HIV.
I watched a documentary once about HIV, meth, and the AIDS community. One of the people they followed was a gay guy in his mid 20's. He was Mormon - raised in Utah. Valedictorian of his HS. He couldn't cope with being homosexual, and while in his freshman year at Stanford started having sex on the "down low", and ended up abusing crystal meth. He dropped out, and was an addict for the next 5 years. He'd just gotten sober, and the film crew was following him to get his first HIV test - ever. At the clinic, he estimated he'd had sex with at least 1000 men while he was addicted to meth, and that he never once used a condom. He tested positive.
Of course you're right, education (with a good dose of fear) can help in reducing HIV - in the gay community and elsewhere. However, it's not gonna do a lick of good for the crowd in the gay community that's really responsible for keeping the fires of HIV going. Telling a 15 year old gay kid who's doing meth (or 35 year old gay man doing meth) that drugs and high-risk sex will lead to HIV and death isn't gonna do a damn thing - meth addicts don't respond to education, fear, reason, or anything really.
The only good long term way to combat the HIV epidemic is to address the core issues of why gay men (especially young gay men (14-25)) turn to self-destructive behaviors such as drug abuse and high-risk sex, at much higher rates than non-homosexuals. To me, it's clear why they do.
Some people say that they're against homosexuality - yet they can't stop talking about it. I wonder why that is.
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