Well covered... I picked up your magazine for the first time in a bar the other day. I’m
not positive myself and must admit I hadn’t bothered reading it before,
but was attracted by the powerful cover photo [PN 116, October].
The inside was just as striking: the article on sex addiction really made
me think about my behaviour. It’s a shame the other mags in the bar
were just full of pop stars and adverts for prostitutes. Thanks for a great
read, I’ll be picking it up again.
simon, MAnchesteR
Is Positive Nation turning into a cheap porn mag? I was shocked when I saw
the cover of the October issue in my clinic showing men having sex with other
men. I know the article the picture referred to was about sexual compulsion,
but maybe there were other ways to illustrate this on the cover?
ann, LONDON
I was interested in your story, ‘Web Slowing Spread of HIV’ [World
News, PN 116] about HIV positive gay men in San Francisco using online dating
services to find sex partners who also have the virus. You reported: “The
internet is helping reduce the spread of HIV and other STIs according to new
research”.
While sero-sorting among HIV positive gay men can reduce the spread of HIV
(since both men having unprotected sex already have HIV) it can, and almost
certainly does, contribute to the spread of other STIs among positive men
such as syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis B and LGV. There is also the possibility
of HIV cross-infection. So, while so-called ‘sero-sorting’ may
reduce the spread of HIV, it will increase the spread of other STIs, especially
among HIV positive men. Our research, published in the journal AIDS in June
2005, shows that HIV positive gay men in London also sero-sort through the
internet, as reported in San Francisco.
Jonathan ELford, city university, london
I was interested to read PN’s coverage of depression in people living
with HIV and it brought to mind my own experience after receiving my diagnosis.
I was off work for six weeks with quite severe depression after being told
I was HIV positive. I ended up being sectioned in the secure mental health
unit on a voluntary basis at London’s Homerton University Hospital for
my own protection. I stayed a month and then persuaded them I was OK and was
discharged. My boyfriend buggered off because I become so inactive and socially
disengaged. I was put on trycyclics and not offered any counselling or any
other type of support. My GP tried to be supportive but I had to hunt for
my own help. I eventually found the Red Admiral project that helped me a great
deal. They could only offer six weekly counselling sessions but I managed
to persuade them to extend it to 12 weeks but after that, that was it. I’m
a very private person and couldn’t cope with communal support.I abruptly
came off the tricyclics as they were turning my brain to mush. I hadn’t
been told that coming off them suddenly was dangerous but I managed it nonetheless.
I eventually discovered transpersonal psychology and went through a period
of self-analysis and self-adjustment. I even converted to Buddhism and have
been OK since.
Name and address supplied
I would just like to say how much I enjoyed Amanda’s editorial on HIV and criminalisation in the August issue [Groundhog Day, PN114]. A group that I belong to, Positive Voices, recently had a weekend away in the lovely city of Derry. We discussed the criminalisation issue and it was quite disturbing to hear the concerns the people in the room had.The group consisted of Irish women, men and women from outside the EU, gay men from both sides of the border and people from the IV drug community. We carried out a series of workshops under the titles of criminalisation, stigmatisation, normalisation and disclosure. Unlike some of the organisations in Great Britain, we found we could not agree with or condone the criminalisation of people living with HIV. We discussed deliberate HIV infection but we agreed that, in a lot of cases, it would be impossible to prove if the positive person had disclosed or not. We talked about all the different reasons that positive people could be accused of in deliberately infecting another person such as a spurned boyfriend, and we all said ‘no’ to criminalising positive people. I’ve contacted the court services here and there are no cases of prosecution of transmission of HIV pending in Ireland at the moment. The people in the North, which is still under British rule, are not sure how the rules affect them. However, all the people on the weekend said it would definitely impact on their decision to disclose.
Noel walsh, Gay Community News, Dublin
I felt great dismay after reading Russell’s October column [Pig Pit
and Ping Pong, PN117] because of his attempt to justify barebacking and also
because he implied there is a homogeneous opinion among HIV positive men regarding
it.It’s a very difficult task to justify taking risks when the risks
are known and they have been acknowledged. I would rather Russell say: ‘I
bareback with other HIV positive men and this is my choice’. Trying
to justify it will court criticism and have a divisive effect on the gay community.
I was alarmed by the statement about intimacy and unprotected sex. I believe
that a unique intimacy can occur with penetrative sex but I do not believe
it is appropriate or responsible to imply that barebacking enhances this unique
intimacy.
There is not a homogeneous opinion among HIV positive men regarding barebacking.
This I know from my own
experience and my wide circle of friends. Condoms are essential when having
casual sex, and I do not believe in taking risks when the long-term outcome
of some risks is not yet known. There are many positive men who work hard,
take care of their health, try not to take undue risk, and want to be known
for who they are and not the illness.
jerry, address supplied
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