Bareback

[nickbaer]

I find this article chilling...

http://www.jrlchartsonline.net/news-...n-gay-porn.php

"41% of American gay men will be HIV positive by the age of 40 if current infection rates continue, with the incidence even higher among black men."

GASP!

[Club Jeremy Hall]

Hate to say it but it doesn't surprise me. Young people now (and i speak for my generation too - im 28) are not nearly as worried about HIV compared to the previous generation. We didn't have to see half of our friends die in the 80's.

[procam]

I do some work for a local group that provides support to gay youth - it seems to be the way of thinking now that "Its not a death sentence" any longer and they can just take a couple pills a day if they get it so no problem.
Its really frighting that our educators cannot properly teach issues they desperately need to in school because of the conservative outlook and how we should NOT discuss sex and condoms etc....
What we should ban in school is religion it has no place in school thats for education - church is for the teachings of "God" whichever god it may be .

We see new cases in monthly kids as young as 14 roll thru and some have a list of partners they have had unsafe sex with that would scare even the most fearless person.

I still cringe when I see commercials on TV for valtrex and hiv meds that glamorize having herpes and hiv -- i.e. showing people out at the beach and living a "normal life" it sends the wrong message to some people, but thats really just 1 area where we fail in teachings. I have been saying for years we need to continue to remind people what the face of AIDS looks like its been forgotten by so many - I have not forgotten the friends lost along the way but this last couple generations of kids never saw that they need a good look.
:morning:

[PFLJayden]

Hate to say it but it doesn't surprise me. Young people now (and i speak for my generation too - im 28) are not nearly as worried about HIV compared to the previous generation. We didn't have to see half of our friends die in the 80's.

i had a long talk with a model that interviewed with me. His words were, "HIV doesn't bother me. I am neg. I know its not curable but is treatable. If I caught it, I would not be scared." I was blown away.
We moved from East Pennsylvania out here to Fort lauderdale Florida. Its amazing that 70% or so of the people on hookup sites are HIV positive or don't state, even lie about their status.

[tim460]

This is more than alarming. My guess is that it's not only a bad education but also denial, which is as dangerous as anything. Younger people tend to subconsciously believe in immortality, that death happens only in rare exceptions to younger people and isn't going to happen to them. I think more people of all ages should hear about this projected statistic, which generalized means gay men will have almost a fifty/fifty chance of getting a fatal disease. Let's hope and pray there is a cure for AIDS ASAP.

But you know, the big lesson with AIDS was nobody had any idea it existed at first. Yeah, there were other STDs which are no picnic, but were not deadly if treated. When there is a cure for AIDS, will times go back to being so vulnerable to something new that may not be detectable yet? Or is there something else out there right now in the brewing? Not to panic, but this does raise questions about what is responsible safe sex period, in any era.

[Seth]

The subject line of this thread is misleading and I imagine was used for shock value only... to get more views.

If you're looking for a debate on bareback porn, well that's been done about a thousand times.

Oh and stop using the term "safe sex", it doesn't exist! The proper term is "Safer sex".

[tim460]

That is a good point Seth, with what does "safe" mean anyhow. There's two legit spins on this. Technically there is even a risk in kissing, and how much riskier this is than the chances of being run over by a truck, I don't know. It's hard to imagine not kissing someone I care about.

On the other hand, you don't have to exchange any fluids or kiss to have sex, even really good sex sometimes. Some people play in completely sealed suits with gas masks. Not me and I'm not making fun of that at all, just saying it's ecstasy for some and you can't be safer than that. Others still like mutual JO, which is as common as apple pie.

[Dominic]

I find this article chilling...

http://www.jrlchartsonline.net/news-...n-gay-porn.php

"41% of American gay men will be HIV positive by the age of 40 if current infection rates continue, with the incidence even higher among black men."

GASP!

sadly, I'm not surprised either. I don't know if it is the ignorance of my generation not witnessing the introduction of HIV/AIDS and all the lives it claimed, but people my age certainly don't seem to be concerned about it. It's a shame, but unfortunately not surprising.

Especially when it is so easy to prevent. Wrap it up guys

[Gary-Alan]

sadly, I'm not surprised either. I don't know if it is the ignorance of my generation not witnessing the introduction of HIV/AIDS and all the lives it claimed, but people my age certainly don't seem to be concerned about it. It's a shame, but unfortunately not surprising.

Especially when it is so easy to prevent. Wrap it up guys

I think you're right about witnessing the effects or being there at the beginning has a good deal to do with it. I won't get into the whole scenario, but seeing it happen right in front of my eyes has made an impression on me that will never go away. If only others had the opportunity to see what my generation lived through, I think there would be a much healthier respect for 'safer sex'.

We also live within a social ideology of quick fixes... 'pop some pills and it's all fixed' is a philosophy for so many things today... sleep, blood pressure, headaches, pain and of course STDs.

[jIgG]

just a pill only if you like taking toxic garbage
and can pay for the best of it

Most states are cutting funding for HIV meds
and with health care costs about to hit employers in the teeth with the new law not many of them in at will states will employ high risk people.

I would make a prediction that in addition to a good credit history being pretty much a requisite for getting a job these days, assessed health risk will be too, as employer health costs rise