Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
San Francisco Examiner, May 5, 1999
Examiner Editorial Writer
WHO WANTS to take a chance on reenergizing the AIDS epidemic?
The campaign to put a pro-bathhouse initiative on the San Francisco ballot is both unwise and futile. Prospects for a positive vote tally are almost nil on the proposal to allow "safe sodomy" nightly in large commercial establishments. The general public would be heavily opposed, and even the gay community is split on the desirability of reopening facilities that were closed for contributing to the raging AIDS epidemic 15 years ago.
And even an unthinkable "yes" result on such a measure probably would not have more than advisory effect, since the closure of two dozen gay bathhouses in The City was achieved by public health decree. Health Director Mitchell Katz opposes their reopening, and San Francisco still is in an official state of health emergency after 26,000 reported cases of AIDS and 17,800 deaths.
The bathhouses provided patrons with private spaces for anonymous sex with multiple partners. They served as for-profit facilitators of devil-may-care behavior that aided the rampant spread of HIV in the late '70s and early '80s, immediately before and after the disastrous scale of the epidemic was recognized.
Sponsors of the initiative campaign say they seek to reopen the bathhouses for purposes of "safe sodomy."
The City does permit operation of so-called sex clubs in which users gather in large, common rooms and employees are supposed to enforce safe-sex rules. The case for permitting these non-aquatic clubs, let alone a revived version of the notorious bathhouses, is unconvincing. In fact, it's downright foolish, given the continued menace of resurgent AIDS. A small percentage of young gay men still contract the virus despite years of cautionary education.
Don't be fooled by arguments that the fate of the bathhouses is a civil rights or a gay rights issue. It's not. It's a health issue - a matter of life and death.
Reopening of the bathhouses - no matter what rules might be posted - would be a reckless signal to some that the days of costless promiscuity and no worry about AIDS had returned. And that would be a tragic mistake.
990505
SE990501
Copyright © 1999 - San Francisco Examiner. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Examiner, Permissions Desk, 110 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 7260, San Franciso, CA 94120.
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1999. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1999. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .