I came across an article on a report about HIV infections in London. I’m taking things out of order when I quote here, but it gets the point across…

“What we have discovered is that some of the spread [of HIV] occurred in bursts, with groups of people becoming infected within a short period of time.”

“The tightness of clusters that we have found is frightening.”

…many men who became infected with the virus passed it on within a few months, often before they themselves had been diagnosed as HIV positive.

…the study findings indicated that the safe sex message was “not getting through”

“If we can find out how and where these clusters are occurring then we could target the appropriate groups.”

“It is important that information on the virus is available to gay men in the local areas where they are known to meet, to try to arrest the spread of HIV and AIDS.”

…bars and nightclubs could be targeted, as could the Internet.

While these researchers mean well, the flaw in what they’re saying is that if the guys don’t know they’re infected when they’re spreading it, then you can’t catch much of the mini-burst as it’s happening. You can only really spot a mini-burst after the damage is done. And as they pointed out, general safe sex messages are not effective.

It’s hard to say what will work. Perhaps compiling a list of sexual partners when someone is diagnosed and then as confidentially as possible contact those partners. I’ve heard of it being done, and it’s a bit dicey to do without stepping over the line, but it could be worth a shot.

But I can’t see putting up a sign at a bar saying “someone who recently tested poz spent a bunch of time in the backroom at this bar”. That’s going to lead to the department of health wanting to close the place down. Don’t like that option at all… People know the risks when they get fucked in the backroom of a bar or sex club…

I don’t know how large these “mini bursts” are. But I could see signs going up saying “An unusually large number of guys tested poz last month in this neighborhood. Please be extra careful…”

I don’t have a degree in public health, so can’t say what’s best. But I can say the researchers, while they seem to mean well, have some relatively naive recommendations…

Saw this one on LifeLube’s blog…

It’s from sexual commentator Alexyss K Tylor. She was first brought to my attention by a friend who sent me a link to her wonderful video discussion entitled “Dick will make you slap somebody”. Her frank and honest discussion of sexual issues is truly unique…

In this clip she discusses an important issue for gay men – washing up “down there” or as she so eloquently puts it “WASH YO NUTZ!”

I know I try to wash up down there before hooking up… It’s especially important for guys who are a bit on the heavy side since they tend to sweat more… I remember back when I was an escort I went home with a john who was “a big guy” and he was completely rank down there… I tried to avoid the area, but he kept trying to push my head down to give him a blow job. Finally I just had to tell him I couldn’t. He actually got upset with me for not telling him right away. My view was that he was paying for a pleasant experience and I didn’t want to bring it up unless I had to. Needless to say it was one of the worst experiences escorting made worse by the long subway ride home from Brooklyn in a subway car that had a gang of rowdy teenagers…

The CDC released some statistics the other day… There were a couple of trends that stood out to me…

First, take a look at the following graph…

What’s clear is that something changed for gay men in 1999. That was the last year there was a downward trend in HIV infections. The next year infections were up and they’ve gone up steadily ever since…

I think it’s noteworthy to mention that Treasure Island’s “What I Can’t See” came out in 1999. I view that video as being truly ground breaking – it’s a video every barebacker should own – if for no other reason its historical value (BTW if you want the video Tipo Sesso, who I’ve linked to, is having a sale this weekend – use promo code SPD08 and you get an additional 20% off).

Think about what porn was like in 1999. Condoms, condoms everywhere… And then there was “What I Can’t See” with a blindfolded, “take all loads” bottom getting gangbanged – guy after guy just stepped up, fucked him and came in his ass without him ever seeing their face.

It put on screen what a lot of us had been craving and we totally got off on it. That video redefined what was what we wanted – even if we only fantasized about it at first… Tops wanted a bottom like that with a cum-filled hole to take their loads without question. Bottoms started fantasizing about getting gangbanged and taking anonymous loads.

I’m not saying that video or Treasure Island caused the increase in HIV infections… Back in 1997, two years before “What I Can’t See”, I would go to West Side Club, a bathhouse here in New York. I could always find at least two or three bottoms who were taking loads. I even chatted with a fan the other day – he was one of those bottoms and most likely got himself pozzed at West Side Club in 1996. (For all I know he was one of the bottoms I fucked…)

Remember also that protease inhibitors came out in 1996. By 1999 their effects were clear – HIV/AIDS just wasn’t the same as it had been.

It’s hard to prove that bareback porn is responsible for HIV infections. But the tide turned in 1999. It was the year people generally started seeing HIV in a different light and “What I Can’t See” reinforced what they were already thinking, and by the next year HIV infections among gay men were on the rise and Treasure Island was on its way to being the bareback power house it is today.

There’s another trend in the report that stood out really clearly…

That graph is actually pretty amazing… All of the groups are seeing an increase, but it looks like young black guys are the ones losing their inhibitions the fastest, taking loads, and getting pozzed. From what I’ve seen I would have expected it to be Latinos, but they’re nowhere close to their African-American counterparts… I don’t see all that many black bottoms advertising for loads – there must be something going on in other parts of the country… Then again there are a lot of bareback sex parties for “in shape” black and latin guys…

Again, I wish the data went beyond 2005… But I think the take away is that barebacking, bareback porn, and HIV infections are something that’s not going away… Especially with the trends among the young guys… It’s clear these young kids love getting their asses filled with cum. They’ve caught the bareback bug (pun intended) and those desires are not going to go away…

LOGO put together a great PSA inspired by the Larry King tragedy. They’ve even put it in as a splash screen for their site (before you get to their homepage). Ellen DeGeneris did her bit a little while ago, but LOGO put together a really great group of celebrities for this one…

This is a huge issue. With a LGBT person getting killed every 8 days, it just has to get more attention.

As they say in NYC – “If you see something, say something…”

Here’s a sobering statistic… So far this year, an LGBT person has been killed every 8 days in the US. And those are just the ones we know about. That’s just so wrong…

This video was put together by FightOutLoud.org…

Get angry. Get political. Make your friends understand… Yes, most of the people who are getting attacked are people of color, and many of them are drag queens and transvestites, but we’re not safe until all of us are safe…

First the good news (since I don’t want it lost in the middle of the post)… Once again I tested HIV negative. (Any neg, STD-free bottoms want a load from a recently tested top?)

However… The day after my last hookup it became abundantly clear that I had gonorrhea. It’s a pain in the ass (or dick in my case), but it happens. Like a good responsible top I contacted everyone who might have possibly gotten it from me (or who might have possibly given it to me) – five of them in all (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)…

I’ve had clap once (or twice?) in the past, but this time it was really pretty gross… Produced a lot of discharge and was really painful (not just when I was pissing). Unfortunately I had to wait until Monday to get things cleared up.

Then I got a message on Sunday from a hot guy who wanted to hookup. I told him I couldn’t – that I needed to clear up an STD – get back to me in a week… That was in the morning. In the evening he writes me and says…

u just have the clap. its kinda a non issue to me, i can get penicillin too. tonight perhaps?

My jaw dropped… I mean this wasn’t some skanky drugged out cumdump… This was the type of guy I would go out of my way to fuck – he really was pretty hot and totally my type…

Let’s put aside for the moment the medical issues of getting and STD. How does he think it’s worth it to have a quick hookup that requires him to spend hours going to a clinic, waiting, seeing a doctor, and getting a shot? I mean, in the least, it’s a significant inconvenience. It’s one thing when it’s an accident, but to willingly do a hookup knowing you’ll get gonorrhea is something completely different.

Lately I seem to be encountering more and more guys who are just being reckless/careless… Barebacking isn’t inherently reckless – you can be completely sober, and purposeful and still have a great time being a total pig. It’s just sad to see guys spiraling… I’ve always been a bit of a control freak, so it just doesn’t make sense to me…

So I went in Monday night to get things “fixed”. They did a quick HIV test and it came back negative, as I expected. The HIV counselor was great. The doctor doing the other tests was a bit old school. He gave me a lecture on how I should use condoms, and insisted on testing my butt for stuff despite the fact I told him nothing goes in there… And then he gave me prescriptions for STDs I didn’t have assuming if I had one STD, I must have 35 others. Whatever… Got my shot and everything has cleared up…

So guys – please take STDs seriously… Get yourself tested regularly, go to a clinic when you think you might have something, and notify your partners when you find out you do have something. ‘Cause frankly – our time is better spent fucking than waiting at clinics to get rid of STDs.