Great set of op-eds in the NYTimes about rising HIV rates amongst young black MSM

I really suggest that you guys read it. It disproves some of our basic assumptions about younger black MSM engaging in down-low/riskier behaviors etc. I would love if you all read it before commenting.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/08/10/fighting-hiv-among-young-black-gay-men

Some of my fav quotes were

"To fight AIDS among young black men who have sex with men, first we have to fight homophobia. We can't expect to resolve the crisis if people are too afraid to talk about it." Keith Boykins

"Yes, H.I.V. continues to disproportionately affect gay and bisexual men in the United States, particularly young black gay men. But we should not leap to the conclusion that these disparities in infections are neatly explained by higher-risk behavior. More than 150 research studies have compared sexual and drug risk among black and white gay men in the United States. On the whole, black gay men do not engage in riskier sex, report fewer male sex partners, report less drug use, and are just as likely to get tested for H.I.V. as white gay men. Why then do black gay men continue to bear the brunt of H.I.V.?" Greg Millet

And then there is something less tangible, but equally crucial. Young black gay and bisexual men are uniquely at risk for lots of stuff — hate crime, homelessness, poverty, you name it. When people don’t have the economic or emotional resources to protect themselves from a whole host of threats, they can’t protect themselves from this virus either. No, there is no simple, singular fix for that reality. But that doesn’t mean we can’t all work together to change it." Kay Wright

to qualify for ANY kind of an epidemic!

:crazy:
rocktivity

put them on stages to call gay people vampires, to call for war on us, what exactly do they expect to be the result? Do they really think it helps when some 'minister' says we try to kill chldren and they slap him on the back and pay him to be their surrogate? When those 'ministers' call for war on gay people, and then we see death, they are getting the war toll they prayed for. They pray away the gay by shaming their own community and infecting it with ignorance and hatered.
I honestly have a hard time even looking at the Obama family after the McClurkin stuff, I lost so many friends and they are just so smug about the hate preaching, so willing to say that is acceptable.
Knowledge = Life Silence = Death

I knew exactly how Obama felt about gays - that he doesn't give a shit about us.

taking pleasure messing with women's emotions. I had an uncle, white Catholic who married in the 50s to hide his sexuality. My very devout aunt became something of a monster, really unhinged but she never, out of shame, told anyone what she was enduring. My uncle presented himself as a victim of a crazy woman, one he didn't divorce because of his religion. It was only after her death did the story come out from my cousin (who btw is gay) that my uncle, who it seems hated women, deloiberately drove her over the edge.

the fact that a significant number are on the downlow? This fact should be part of the discussion because female partners of these men will be part of those rising statistics. This is not a separate issue.

From the article:



Notice there is no mention of women? Why is that? Its in the first paragraph.

Here's the original article the OPs blog is linking too: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/health/04hiv.html?_r=1 it too says nothing of HIV infection rates increasing in women black or otherwise who date bisexual or gay men (on the downlow or not,). All infection rates have stabilized except for young black gay men.

There's a reason given for that too, poverty and lack of medical care. Those that take antiviral drugs are 96% less likely to pass on HIV.

snip

...young, black gay and bisexual men experience significant increases in HIV

snip

We are deeply concerned by the alarming rise in new HIV infections in young, black gay and bisexual men and the continued impact of HIV among young gay and bisexual men of all races,”

snip

The HIV infection rate among black men was the highest of any group by race and sex – more than six times that of white men – and the rate among black women was 15 times that of white women. There was no statistically significant change in HIV incidence from 2006 to 2009 overall, among black men or black women.




http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/HIVIncidencePressRelease.html

:shrug: I don't get your earlier post.

When hate like this goes out unchallenged, what message does it send to youth?

LGBT issues ARE Black issues. Black issues ARE LGBT issues. The two communities clearly overlap in a Venn Diagram. To fight for the rights of Black people, you need to fight for LGBTs. To fight for the rights of LGBTs, you need to fight for the rights of Blacks.

That's why it's not acceptable for queer folks to be racist or black folks to be homophobic. And it sure as fuck isn't okay for a bunch of white, straight people to use the President's race as an excuse for undermining LGBT struggle. Who loses the most in the end? LGBT people of color.

Second quoted paragraph is interesting.


The only conclusion I can come to is that, because the population as described already has higher infection rates, those higher infection rates beget more infection even though their behavior is similar to and equivalent of their white counterparts. For example, they may have unprotected sex at roughly the same rate, but due to the higher rate of infection among black MSM, this sex is more likely to happen between somebody infected and thus spread the infection.

:-(

How much unconventional outreach is happening with AA populations? When I volunteered at APLA back in the day they produced a magazine that was basically beefcake with a safe sex message, and IIRC in San Francisco they actually had classes in things like sensual massage given with a safe sex message. I wonder if things like that are penetrating the AA gay community.

How much HIV transmission happens in prison? It's not a secret that men in prison have sex with other men, and it's also not a secret that the population that's most likely to go to prison is young AA men. What is being done to identify HIV positive men who enter the system, what's being done to prevent transmission, and what's being done after these men get out of prison? Maybe all prisoners should be required to take classes in STD prevention and safe sex, not just for their time inside but to bring back to the community after they get out.

Where are the populations living that are most at risk? Is HIV spreading in the city or in more rural areas? I would imagine that strategies for outreach would be different in different areas.

Do these AA communities have access to condoms? Most gay men in SF and other big cities can afford condoms or know where to go to get free condoms. Is this the case in the AA community?

What's the attitude of the AA church towards premarital sex in general? Do they preach abstinence-only or can they be tapped into for help in spreading the safe-sex message?

Are there still a lot of needle drugs in the AA community? I know that among young gay white men, there can be a cycle of poverty that involves prostitution and drug use that just winds up spreading HIV between different at-risk communities. Is that the case in the AA community, or not so much?

Interesting discussion. Thanks for the link. :)

:thumbsup:

also because I grew up in a way that I knew not a single other gay person, and I had to find my own way 100%. Likewise, many of the young black men who are on the downlow have no support of any kind from their families, churches or any of the other important people in their lives. One of the reasons this leads to more high-risk behavior is that you then tend to go where the sex is easily available, anonymous (facilitating the downlow part) and mostly very furtive. And as someone who was once young, I know at young ages you get horny once, twice, multiple times per day.

(On a side note, heterosexuals just have so many opportunities to share intimacy and satiate their lust - dances, proms, homecomings, movies, just regular dates, etc., that I hate listening to them lecture gay people, because they just have no idea how gay people can suffer as youngsters, and how lonely and EXTREMELY isolated gay people can be, how that can actually provoke mental illness and self-destructive behaviors. I'm not going to get myself started, so I'll that there for now.)