"The Fatal Flaw of Sex-Positive Messages"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"The Fatal Flaw of Sex-Positive Messages"

Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 35
Walter, Dave

Abstract: The disturbing news that gonorrhea cases have quadrupled in Seattle this year follows an earlier report that more gay men in San Francisco are practicing riskier sexual behavior, writes the Advocate's Dave Walter. William Whittington, a specialist in sexually transmitted diseases at the Centers for Disease Control, theorized that "risky sexual relapse" may be occurring among gay men who cannot handle or maintain the behavioral changes associated with the epidemic. Walter asserts that popular gay male culture encourages dangerous behavior, and that sexual hedonism is again in vogue. "Have all the sex you want; just be safe--that is the message that has been deemed appropriate for gay men," Walter writes. Gay men have embraced the "have sex" message, he writes, while ignoring the safe sex caveats. "Too much emphasis on sex can be harmful or fatal," he writes. Walter proposes that "it's time to reevaluate the popular pro-sex mentality" and send out blunt messages that excessively sex-oriented lifestyles can lead to death.

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