features - issue 75

TO TELL OR NOT..... TO TELL

positive nation

prevent myself from breaking. I wanted him to see that I was strong.
It was as if I had told him he had tested HIV

positive. He seemed irrational, and though I didn't doubt his deep feelings for me, I knew it was already over.
His reaction was not one I had considered, as I have been fortunate to receive very positive reactions from partners in the past. I had never faced this before.
Having recently come out as positive to my parents who had received the news in a more sedate manner than I had assumed, I just hadn't contemplated such a negative response.
Also my new partner was younger than I was. I told myself, he would have received better sex education than I had and would be prepared for this possibility. He did not deny his education, but he had never thought it would touch his life.
That struck a chord with me as I remember once having thought the same, eight years ago. A young gay man in London today, starting a new relationship with a guy he barely knows. Surely my sexual history should be forefront in his mind? But he had not considered it.
It worried me greatly, as it was living in the realm of dreams and blindly believing that true love comes with no small-print or exemption clauses, that left me in the position that I am in today.
His fear was compounded by his feelings for me. He didn't want to hurt me but he

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could not handle the situation that he found himself in.

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