And we pay these people! Researchers at the Common Sense Institute of Idiotville have discovered that binge-drinking New Yorkers have higher rates of HIV. You’ll never believe the remarkable findings:
“There’s a wide body of evidence that shows the use of alcohol can lead to lowered inhibitions and impaired judgment,” said Sean Cahill, managing director of public policy, research and community health at the nonprofit Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
and
…gay bars are a site of social interaction and a site of community,” [Cahill] said.
Thanks for that sparkling report, brilliant researchers! You can go back to burning piles of money now.
ggreen
“Thanks for that sparkling report, brilliant researchers! You can go back to burning piles of money now.â€
And the booze peddlers can go back to sponsoring every aspect of the gay community, and how gays see themselves (drunk, sex obsessed, party animals sponsored by Absolut Vodka)
Matt
Well back in the day when I had sex, alcohol never really led me to more sex. It actually just made me tired and irritated and not interested in anything except fast food and then passing out.
Alan down in Florida
I knew a guy that never had sex unless he was wasted. Considering he was a troll his partners must have been blind drunk too.
Don’t you just love it when people feel compelled to do studies on subjects with obvious results.
faghag
In other newS:
It has been revealed today that the Pope is a Catholic and that bears do indeed shit in the woods.
In tomorrow’S obvious news, we will be discussing the probability of Anderson Cooper’s gayness, but until then….
It’s goodbye from me.
audiored
Actually, I get more inhibited when I’m drunk.
kevin
Oh please. You want lowered inhibitions? Try crystal meth and GHB. Not to mention lowered standards!
Smokey Martini
Thanks for that shoddy summary of the report, Queerty. And now, to summarize the REAL points, it as it should have been done:
1. According to the report, “Many New Yorkers recognize that drinking increases the risk of injuries and auto accidents, but they may not recognize these other risks” (i.e. the contraction of HIV and other STDs) because awareness campaigns do not focus on the relationship between binge drinking and risky sexual behaviour. “There’s been a lot of emphasis in the media on crystal meth as a problem connected with HIV-risk behaviour” mainly because crystal meth is an illicit drug whose abuse is known to have serious consequences. Alcohol, however, does not receive the same attention because it is a legal substance. Nevertheless, its abuse may lead to consequences that are just as damaging to the individual.
[This is pretty important given how prevalent PSAs for both youths and adults nowadays. And they’re right: why haven’t we heard much about alcohol use and the risks of increased HIV/STD infection? We hear of alcohol and sex, but alcohol and HIV? Now THAT’S scary.]
2. Binge drinking is prevalent among straight adults, 15% of whom admit to “consuming five or more drinks on one occasion at least once a month”. Within the gay community, binge drinking goes up to 24% precisely because the gay bar is, and has always been, a staple space for gay social interaction. Unlike their straight counterparts, gays have limited spaces within the city to freely and openly socialize, making the gay bar one of the first – if not the only – available spaces to meet other gays. As such, alcohol consumption has had a major role in the socialization of gays within the city and has led, presumably, to a culture of increased “HIV-risk” behaviour.
[This is the crux of the report, guys. Essentially what they’re saying is that gays need MORE non-alcohol-influenced gathering spaces within the city. And ain’t that the truth!]
3. And, lastly, the more obvious points: straight adults who binge drink are twice as likely than non-drinkers – and three times more likely than non-binge drinkers – to report having between two and four sexual partners in a year. The number of partners for a gay adult goes up to five or more. Interestingly enough, binge-drinking behaviour is not that different for teens, 14% of whom report having had more than five drinks in one sitting in the last month. More than 25% of teens who binge drink report having multiple sexual parterns, compared to the 11% who don’t. And only 60% of the binge drinkers report having sex with a condom, compared to the 72% sober ones.
[The point of this section was to get numbers into the mix. Social scientists LOVE numbers!]
That is all. Better reporting next time, Queerty! 😉
Qjersey
“Thanks for that sparkling report, brilliant researchers!”
Does Japhy have a degree in social science that gives him the credentials to make such an denigrating statment?
Japhy should have just said “well duh” rather than intimating that the researcher were less than brilliant and produced a badly written report.
BTW, half of social science is confirming what we already “know” to lend more power to the arguments for better programming, services, education, etc.
And more people have unsafe sex under the influence of booze than meth… (as pointed out above). And then there are those who say “I think we used a condom…I don’t remember”
Reminds like an old friend of mine who swore he always had safe sex when he came up HIV+. I had to remind him he used to go to the bathhouse drunk regularly and he only thinks he always used condoms.
Mark
@Qjersey: Um, this wasn’t written by Japhy. Might want to tread the bylines sometime.
Karl hanging out at www.gayvolt.com
I can’t believe the dude in No. 8 felt the need to remind his friend of his mistakes AFTER he was HIV+. Cant you just let your buddy lean on you and keep your mouth shut?
Smokey Martini
@Qjersey:
Kudos to you for that bit on the social sciences.
It’s true: sociology is about the study of social interactions – social interactions of which you an I are part of each and every single day. Sure we may claim we know what social scientists know, but do we REALLY know what they know? Obviously not – for they use systematic observation techniques (aka ‘scientific methods’) to produce their findings which, for the most part, confirm what we know. Then again, there are times when such techniques provide findings that are contrary to what we know and that challenge our assumptions — and THAT’S where the social sciences get all juicy!
For a good example of this – set all the way back in the 1960s – I would suggest you guys read Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places by Laud Humphreys. He provides a pretty concise look at washroom sex and determines that – contrary to popular belief – laws against public sex should be loosened, not tightened, and that any police force that tries to regulate it is just wasting its resources. This here is sociology at work! Surely, his recommendations have yet to be put in place…
Smokey Martini
Oh, and ps: Humphreys was straight.
With a wife and kids.
tommy
I think Japhy is just lazy,,, give the whole report or just keep to your fluff pieces. Your lack of reporting is just sad!
Bearnaked Joe
Hey Smokey Martini, great comments! I’d love to get in touch with you. Send me an email.