Gay Men: November 2007 Archives

Vincent M. B. Silenzio, MD, MPH
Board of Directors, Gay and Lesbian Medical Association

1. HIV/AIDS, Safe Sex: That men who have sex with men are at an increased risk of HIV infection is well known, but the effectiveness of safe sex in reducing the rate of HIV infection is one of the gay community’s great success stories. However, the last few years have seen the return of many unsafe sex practices. While effective HIV treatments may be on the horizon, there is no substitute for preventing infection. Safe sex is proven to reduce the risk of receiving or transmitting HIV. All health care professionals should be aware of how to counsel and support maintenance of safe sex practices.

For many gay men, the high school years were a difficult experience. Ask those same gay men to name the most stressful part of that high school era and you'd be surprised to hear the same answer over and over again. "The most traumatic class for me in High School was Physical Education!" says Steve Armijo, a resident of Long Beach, California.

"I hated PE. It was so intimidating having to be athletic in front of the other guys. I had no hand-eye coordination and so I was constantly dropping the football.the baseball.the basketball.the soccer ball...any kind of ball! Everytime I messed up, the other guys would be really cruel and mean , P.E. was institutionalized torture for me." Steve at age 16, was shy, averse to P.E. classes, ostracized by the "regular" boys, preferring to read celebrity tabloids and watch 'Dynasty' alone in his room.