Posted by jo on August 26, 2003 at 13:42:18
In Reply to: Re: on aids transmission: A safe-sex myth posted by Alan on August 25, 2003 at 02:25:01:
Since this is an Academic Board, and not just for hearsay, I wanted to address this issue of AIDS and HIV line of discussion and the erroneous statements made about the gay community's approach to AIDS/HIV and STD prevention. The Gay Community via many of it's accredited health professionals does NOT disseminate any information advocating irresponsible sex. What it does do is acknowledge that adults are beings with natural sexual drives and advocates for measures of "safER sex". They educate people on AIDS and HIV and regarding other STDs and health issues for both prevention and treatment.
Realizing that people will be sexually active, this means advocating for protective measures. They DO say that anal sex is very high risk for infection. They DO say that Condoms makes sexual contact safER but not 100% protection. Not even oral sex is "safe" so they advocate use of dental dams for women and condoms for men. The gay community has some of the most excellent resources on prevention and treatment because of how hard they have been hit by AIDS as a community. The transmission of AIDS that was the most widespread originated on a large scale in Africa between heterosexual couples. Right now, there is a high amount of new infections occuring in the Gay community. The good thing is that the Gay community announces this when it happens and CONSTANTLY educates and advocates for health.
Lesbian women have less of a chance of AIDS transmission than most heterosexual women. But this disease does not discriminate! I would recommend a Gay Information source for the best info. on AIDS and prevention currently available. Also important to note is that there are treatments that extend and give quality of life to people that are infected.
The fastest growing communities to be hit with AIDS in the US now are African American and Elderly and hetero adolescents. Why? Maybe because there is less education, less information available and more unnecessary shame to discuss it. I worked in a small unit with people that had full blown AIDS, were homeless, had chemical dependencies and/or mental illness. I got bitten by mosquitoes while on duty. I never got AIDS. I hugged them, got sneezed on or coughed on and no, I did not get HIV! But the alarming ignorance even in some communities of treatment is startling. As staff, we were not allowed to use the bathroom on the same floor where we worked because it was on a ward used by a different treatment program. People that were medical staff and chemical dependency treatment staff actually had a lock put on that door. I guess they thought we might bring HIV to them via staff working on our unit using their toilets! That is fear and ignorance in action at its worst.
I also lived with a gay man that had full blown aids. I used the same restroom. Tasted food from his plate. Drank after him. NO i did not get AIDS or put myself at risk for it.
My hope with this message is that people that are sexually active, or any other possible routes of infection, would get tested, and get treated as early as possible. Do not consider yourself immune because you are heterosexual or even married. Because unless you are 100% sure of your partners fidelity, you, too, are at risk! (Both before your marriage and now during it)