Seroconversion Parties. What the fuh???

[+ Lucky]

Well, thanks for the comments Zach DC. This last post is written very nicely, but I think the first post has a National Enquirer air about it that I obviously didn't like. The subject of people with HIV having sex has come up before on this board in a manner that suggested to me that there is an element of people not comfortable with that idea.

It is no secret that some people are irresponsible. Just as all gays don't want to be tarnished by the actions of a pedophile, neither do people with HIV want to painted as irresponsible.

I think we could all agree that more education is needed on protection and prevention, especially among those who have only recently become sexually active and did not see all the pain and grief that the earlier days of AIDS brought to us.

[Guest jizzdepapi]

What Next?

 

Taking part in several "heavy duty" threads recently regarding HIV/AIDS and risky behavior, I purposely sat this one out. I guess most posters agree that there is risky sexual behavior out there in which gay men choose or choose not to participate. We may also be witness to a phenoomenon in which a few guilty(?) gay men who have witnessed many of their friends die of AIDS may experience suicidal ideations, secondary to their negative status. Certainly, many of us have experienced a state of depression as the AIDS crisis unwound in our midst.

 

Serious stuff, to be sure...

 

I have a question for readers: Bearing all of this in mind, what do we tell the next generation about HIV/AIDS and risky behavior?

 

A few years ago, many AIDS service providers started to question their DON'T TAKE ANY RISK message, realizing that it was ineffective. Certainly, this is not a single factor which has led to the recently-reported increase of AIDS among young people but it is surely a contributing factor. As several recent threads indicated, there are those who will analyze sexual behavior and determine what level of risk is personally acceptable. This could range from no risk at all to engaging in the riskiest behavior.

 

Obviously there is no--nor should there be--foolproof, enforceable(?) way to legislate peoples' sexual behavior. I guess I'm asking: What's the best way to get a clear message across, bearing in mind all of the communities we've seen wiped out over a 20-year span, and still emphasize that people need to make their own choices?

 

For all of the pain many of us have lived through during the AIDS pandemic, it has probably been a much clearer choice to avoid the riskiest behavior. This is not so much a factor for the young. So how do we get across the import of what we've experienced without seeming to make or legislate decisions about current behavior that people must make for themselves?

 

I'd love to hear feedback on this topic.

 

Thanks,

Jizz

[+ bigjoey]

RE: What Next?

 

i just finished reading "the noonday demon: an atlas of depression" by andrew solomon (reviewed in the sunday new york times book review section, june 24). the author suffers from depression and for 6 months he has unsafe sex in an attempt to get aids and kill himself. the book gives good insight into people with depression including a section on gay men (the author is gay). there are easier and quicker ways to kill yourself, but this is the way the man picked; after six months of unsafe behavior, he was not positive and the feelings of self destruction had passed. i wonder how many of the gay men practicing unsafe sex are doing so in an attempt to kill themselves?

[Guest Zach DC]

RE: What Next?

 

What do we tell the next generation about HIV/AIDS and risky behavior?

 

Tell them there is great hope on the horizon. There is medical prevention for HIV/AIDS in the very near future. Researchers have been diligently developing a vaccine for HIV/AIDS.

 

VaxGen, the leading developer for a vaccine, is in Phase lll trial, the final stage before regulatory approval. VaxGen is hesitant to publicly predict the arrival date, but the success and demand for this vaccine are so high, all involved are fast tracking its final development stage and approval. (Some say it is expected in 2003, maybe sooner.)

This is a revolution. We're winning the battle against AIDS. Keep fighting. Don't give up or give in.

[+ deej]

RE: What Next?

 

>What do we tell the next

>generation about HIV/AIDS and risky

>behavior?

>

>Tell them there is great hope

>on the horizon. There is

>medical prevention for HIV/AIDS in

>the very near future. Researchers

>have been diligently developing a

>vaccine for HIV/AIDS.

>

>VaxGen, the leading developer for a

>vaccine, is in Phase lll

>trial, the final stage before

>regulatory approval. VaxGen is hesitant

>to publicly predict the arrival

>date, but the success and

>demand for this vaccine are

>so high, all involved are

>fast tracking its final development

>stage and approval. (Some say

>it is expected in 2003,

>maybe sooner.)

> This is a

>revolution. We're winning the battle

>against AIDS. Keep fighting. Don't

>give up or give in.

>

 

And until 2003 (or whenever) continue to tell them the disease is 100% uncurable, and infection is not reversible. It's pretty easy to prevent, but it's completely NOT reversible.

 

Even if we get a vaccine that prevents infection, it doesn't mean we have a cure.

[Guest Zach DC]

RE: What Next?

 

>Even if we get a vaccine

>that prevents infection, it doesn't

>mean we have a cure.

 

Hey Deej, I was speaking directly in context with this topic and the question Jizz asked. What do we tell the next generation of people who are HIV Negative. Stay NEG by all means.

[+ deej]

RE: What Next?

 

>Stay NEG by all means.

 

We see eye-to-eye here, Zach.

 

I just wanted to underscore the message. You said "tell them there's hope on the horizon" which is a different message and open to interpretation by the young and hopeful. (As opposed to the old and cranky, like me.)

 

"Stay NEG by all means" is the best advice FOR NOW.