From the ever-helpful Kaiser Family Foundation we have a new game: Pos or Not? Players get to see a photo and profile of young men and women, then have to guess whether or not the person is HIV-infected. It’s intended to challenge prejudices and preconceptions, and I have to say it does it pretty well. [...]
If you’re a guy into rough sex with other guys, or just curious about it, check out the fantastic new website at Hard Cell. Everything you ever wanted to know about the ins and outs of different sexual practices, and some stuff you probably didn’t want to know, as well. What a pleasure to find [...]
Last night, I happened to be trawling around some of London’s gay entertainment establishments. I was struck by how much things have changed since John Ashbery was moved to write his classic elegy to AIDS, How to Continue. Here it is, lest we forget. How to Continue” by John Ashbery Oh there once was a [...]
Five men face trial in Egypt on Wednesday for “habitual debauchery”, a term apparently used as shorthand for being gay. Conveniently, debauchery is illegal in Egypt whereas homosexuality is not. The trials are part of an ongoing crackdown on gay behaviour. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have rallied 117 NGOs from around the world [...]
As I zipped through one of London’s less chaotic airports yesterday, my eye was caught by this giant poster behind the cash registers at The Body Shop. In case anyone misses the (very English) pun, lippy is short for lipstick, but also describes someone who is straight-talking, in a rude, counter-culture kind of way. If [...]
I’ve been slow to congratulate Jose Luis Zapatero on his success in Spain’s elections earlier this month. Zapatero has been a fierce defender of gay rights in the face of back-door action by the opposition to roll back gay marriage. For the Spanish speakers among you, this video reveals why. Thanks to Texma for forwarding. [...]
A new study in the UK inidcates that doctors aren’t doing very well at diagnosing HIV. The study looks at diagnosis in primary infection, the few weeks or months when a person first becomes infected with HIV, when the virus replicates like mad and people often feel fluey. It’s an important time to catch infection, [...]
A week ago, the outgoing executive director of the US’s National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Matt Foreman made a great speech in which he called for proper equality for all Americans, regardless of who they sleep with. He also said this: “Today, right now, more than 45 percent of African-American gay and bi men [...]
(Source: Youtube via Towleroad)
Spanish gay-bashing update: Hundreds of Spaniards protested outside the headquarters of the country’s (un)Popular Party today, demanding that the party leader Mariano Rajoy retract his opposition to adoption rights for gay couples. True to form, the Mayor of Madrd Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón stuck two fingers up at the PP, of which he’s a nominal member, and [...]
I’m aware that my ambivalent attitude towards tracing the sex partners of HIV-infected people in order to offer them testing, prevention services and treatment if necessary is unpopular in some quarters. When I look at what the Egyptian government is up to, I can really see why. According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, [...]
As the author of a (hideously technical) guide to coding of sexual behaviour data, I was intrigued by a recent excavation of the coded sex diaries of economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes was married but enthusiastically pursued men for sex at any opportunity. He was also the consummate data nerd, so of course he kept [...]
Spain’s gay community is up in arms. The right-wing Popular Party chief, Mariano Rajoy, told 20 Minutos newspaper that he would try to revoke the rights of gays to marry and adopt kids if his party wins national elections on March 9. The story made the front page of some of the popular Sundays. Gays [...]
In an earlier post, I worried that we were repeating the mistakes of the AIDS epidemic by allowing political correctness to stand in the way of the facts. At issue is a study of MRSA, which indicated that a nasty, drug-resistant form of the bug was spreading among gay men, possibly through sexual contact. You [...]
Last week, Annals of Internal Medicine published an important paper on drug-resistant MRSA, a bug often spread in hospitals but in this case circulating in the population. Binh An Diep and colleagues report that gay men are 13 times more likely to have this strain of MRSA than other people. MRSA can manifest itself in [...]
How does alcohol affect male sexual performance? According to a new study, males consuming alcohol in a pub went through three distinct phases: “they became hyperactive (fast walking), lost motor control (infrequent movements and frequent falls during walking), and then were sedated (lying on their back)”. Other findings: getting all boozed up led to “enhanced [...]
Two recent stories in the New York Times make depressing reading for the New Year. New HIV infections among young gay men in New York City rose by a third between 2001 and 2006, very probably because condom use has been falling. Over roughly the same period, the number of people aged over 50 with [...]
Commenting on Bullshit Bingo, Media Whore wonders what “LGBT” stands for. MW’s opening bid: Less Go Bed Togevver. Any better offers out there? As a hint, let me reproduce this gem from a recent UNAIDS publication on Men Who Have Sex With Men”: (pdf file, 703 kb) “While we use the term ‘men who have [...]
