New York City's HIV epidemic continues to spread. Despite official statements calling infection rates "stable," Gay City News has obtained a 6-page memo in which health commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden says otherwise.
New York City is now experiencing an increase in syphilis and an increase in HIV infection in men who have sex with men. In view of this increase it is appropriate to re-evaluate New York's current policies regarding commercial sex venues to see if policy changes could reduce the spread of these infections.
The city's policies began in 1985, when they closed dozens of bathhouses and sex clubs, mostly gay, to stem HIV infection. Frieden's memo suggests increasing inspections and closing venues that don't comply with warnings. What's interesting is that two of the suggested solutions – extending policy to private sex parties and clubs and using the Sanitary Code to shut them down completely – specifically warn that implementation will piss off the gays. Frieden knows his shit.
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Regulation of for-profit businesses is absolutely necessary, but it's absolutely unacceptable to extend law into private parties.
um.. i would suppose most people are becoming HIV+ by hooking up on the internet. The sex clubs are probably not the reason the numbers are going up.
I agree with Victor – the internet, apathy, and meth use is facilitating this increase in infection.
But internet hookup won't raise HIV (though I guess it is plus syphilis), if people took to notice more who they are fucking and wore a godamn condom. Same for sex clubs. Though I'm guessing those going to those places care even less about the people they are fucking.
Male-to-Male sex has been pushed so far underground and HIV positive stigma is alive and thriving in the Poz capital, New York that a rise in infection rates is a no brainer except we probably won't find out until 2 years later as slow as government statistical-gathering is. Hustling is an epidemic in New York and has overtaken the internet chatrooms and is the last resort economic choice for a chronically under-employed community. If men lied about AOL inches in the past, lies about HIV, Hepatitis B or even Syphillis status as well as those who pray on vulnerable gays for material gain is to be expected. Sometimes, the most accepting gay environments can be the sex club whereas gay nightlife has diminished into sex-less banality catering to the "pots and pans" crystal-crowd. I miss the drunks! Most men in New York, including a large number of so-called "Negative" claiming same-gender loving men simply do not use condoms or will "go with the flow" of the moment when issues of self-esteem, body facism, ageism, looksism, internalized homophobia and econonomic disparities are ignored. Instead, Dr Frieden-stein will drum up Super-AIDS hoaxes, threaten to close all gay establishments, reduce AIDS services and hope we all join the Log Cabin Republicans and Shut the Hell Up! Homo don't play dat!