think it odd that both are hung like a newt.
page 2 of 3
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If young men are so influenced by the current desirable body shape, to
what extent is the older man, for better or worse, similarly influenced?
The idea of growing old disgracefully is not without attractions - though
I do believe that any inclination to wander into the sad world of Peter
Stringfellow is to be avoided at all costs. Decorum has its place and
that doesn't include sporting a bleached pony tail.
And yet a certain careless disregard for the conventions of those advanced
in years can be entertaining. If it involves the dance rhythms of South
America or clothes with an unusually large content of cashmere, so much
the better. The result can be life-enhancing. Who hasn't watched with
undisguised admiration an elderly Italian, dressed to kill, as he walks
to the post office for his pension or stands sipping his espresso doppio
like one of the Medici in his well-cut jacket and trousers?
But it is unwise to confuse image with substance. Never more so than dealing
with questions of health. Some time ago I met a young man who had recently
been exposed to HIV. He had not seroconverted and had been offered post-exposure
prophylaxis. In other words he was one of those rare and fortunate cases
where immediate treatment with anti-retrovirals might result in the virus
being contained before it becomes established.
Yet though he was fully aware I was HIV positive, he wished to engage
in very unsafe sex. It wasn't just a case of someone taking a foolish,
calculated gamble. He wanted to be positive, saw something desirable in
it, welcomed it. Now I wonder where that
idea came from?
