I think too much blame is put on guys being on the "down low". While I will. To dent that there are some guys that are, at this point, it has become a way to place blame on bisexual men (which btw are not in high numbers, certainly not enough to infect a whole community of women as people will have you believe) instead of looking at the heterosexual practices that are contributing to the rise of HIV. Besides, I thought the down low was guys who slept with guys and didn't let women know. How's this related to the higher rate of gay people getting HIV?
Michael T. Ford III - 9 years ago
Yeah, I think that the fact that the existing pool of black gay men in Atlanta is currently infected with HIV at the rate it is, coupled with (likely) less testing due to health care, is the primary reason that infections continue to happen. Safe sex practices are cool and all, but all it takes is one unsafe act, and we know from groupie tales how common those are. There's no reason to believe Down Low guys would be riskier than out guys who aren't in committed relationships, so I think they are just being scapegoated here.
Ratty Gadsen - 9 years ago
Public health measures like clean needle exchanges and access to decent health care is essential to stopping the spread of HIV.
People on meds are much less likely to pass on the virus to others.
The Affordable Care Act could make a great difference for people and help wipe out HIV/AIDS.
The legislature in Georgia have a principled opposition to handouts and those assholes are doing everything they can to limit access to treatment.
So I don't blame the down low
I blame unreceptive assholes.
PrinceLeron - 9 years ago
I read the study and I find it very unlikely that the "Down Low" is responsible for this increase in HIV infection among gay black men in Atlanta. Firstly, the people in the study had to volunteer for study and I doubt that many down low man will participate in a study in which that would have to identify themselves as gay. Secondly, the studies details that gay white man had very similar sexual experiences as their black counterparts. Sadly, the factor that increases the probability of contracting HIV is the amount of sex you have with black males. Luckily, the problem can be avoided by using safe sex practices. This makes me wonder how many black parents, or parents from any other race, discuss safe sex with their gay son. I image that number is very low. This is an major issue since the "outbreak" is occurring mostly in young black men. I wonder if this is spark up another conversation about Truvada. Truvada is a drug that has been shown to significantly lower the chances of transmitting HIV but is not widely used because of the stigma. Men who use the drugs are called "Truvada whores" because of the perception that they are not having safe sex.
It also makes me want to see a study of the primary reason why straight males opt to use condoms; is it for STDs or birth control? In the past if a woman said she was on the pill, I had very little reservation going in unprotected. To keep in 100, it happened during my last sexual encounter. She told me she was on birth control and I threw the condom over my shoulder like Bobby Shmurda threw his hat in the "Hot Nigga" video. It was not a smart move but I guess unexpected pregnancies is my main concern and I rolled the dice with STDs. I usually don't and I was lucky enough to dodge a bullet that time.
I think too much blame is put on guys being on the "down low". While I will. To dent that there are some guys that are, at this point, it has become a way to place blame on bisexual men (which btw are not in high numbers, certainly not enough to infect a whole community of women as people will have you believe) instead of looking at the heterosexual practices that are contributing to the rise of HIV. Besides, I thought the down low was guys who slept with guys and didn't let women know. How's this related to the higher rate of gay people getting HIV?
Yeah, I think that the fact that the existing pool of black gay men in Atlanta is currently infected with HIV at the rate it is, coupled with (likely) less testing due to health care, is the primary reason that infections continue to happen. Safe sex practices are cool and all, but all it takes is one unsafe act, and we know from groupie tales how common those are. There's no reason to believe Down Low guys would be riskier than out guys who aren't in committed relationships, so I think they are just being scapegoated here.
Public health measures like clean needle exchanges and access to decent health care is essential to stopping the spread of HIV.
People on meds are much less likely to pass on the virus to others.
The Affordable Care Act could make a great difference for people and help wipe out HIV/AIDS.
The legislature in Georgia have a principled opposition to handouts and those assholes are doing everything they can to limit access to treatment.
So I don't blame the down low
I blame unreceptive assholes.
I read the study and I find it very unlikely that the "Down Low" is responsible for this increase in HIV infection among gay black men in Atlanta. Firstly, the people in the study had to volunteer for study and I doubt that many down low man will participate in a study in which that would have to identify themselves as gay. Secondly, the studies details that gay white man had very similar sexual experiences as their black counterparts. Sadly, the factor that increases the probability of contracting HIV is the amount of sex you have with black males. Luckily, the problem can be avoided by using safe sex practices. This makes me wonder how many black parents, or parents from any other race, discuss safe sex with their gay son. I image that number is very low. This is an major issue since the "outbreak" is occurring mostly in young black men. I wonder if this is spark up another conversation about Truvada. Truvada is a drug that has been shown to significantly lower the chances of transmitting HIV but is not widely used because of the stigma. Men who use the drugs are called "Truvada whores" because of the perception that they are not having safe sex.
It also makes me want to see a study of the primary reason why straight males opt to use condoms; is it for STDs or birth control? In the past if a woman said she was on the pill, I had very little reservation going in unprotected. To keep in 100, it happened during my last sexual encounter. She told me she was on birth control and I threw the condom over my shoulder like Bobby Shmurda threw his hat in the "Hot Nigga" video. It was not a smart move but I guess unexpected pregnancies is my main concern and I rolled the dice with STDs. I usually don't and I was lucky enough to dodge a bullet that time.