Sunday, December 2, 2007

'Smarter' Sorting?

Poz guys are hooking up with other poz guys as a means to avoid infecting negative men, and when they are together they fuck bareback.

Some negative guys are trying it too.
How do you feel about negative guys barebacking?

Do you sort status when hooking up?
Is it working? Is it responsible?

Click here to read up on the STOP AIDS Project's guide to 'Smarter Sorting' and then tell us what YOU think!

5 comments:

Araucaria said...

HIV+ individuals are still at risk and should avoid barebacking. Monitoring your viral load is crucial. And, all steps that can keep the viral load down should be encouraged. By barebacking, they are potentially incurring more viruses from the partner within their own body. Furthermore, they acquire a different strain of the virus. (Treating multiple strains is more difficult). As far as sorting potential partners, no matter what you think or what they tell you - you should always consider them potentially positive. After all, a significant number of men are unaware of their HIV+ status.

Anonymous said...

ok, i think that barbacking is one of the worst choices a man can make when it comes to gay sex! i think that if you are a commited man and are planning on spending the rest of your life with your partner, then it's ok, but the both of you should get tested and see where you stand on HIV levels. But other than that i think that no other man should do it no matter how horny you are or whatever, just keep a comdom in you wallet or somthing!! it's not worth the risk!!<3

peace&love

Anonymous said...

I find that many in our community get offended if you ask their status. The "always assume everyone is positive" line is offered up as an answer. I don't ask people their status because I want to bareback, I ask because I'm a bottom and want to decide if I'm willing to risk infection if the condom breaks. I've had enough condoms break while a guy was inside me to know that having protected intercourse with someone that I know is positive is like handling a loaded gun. You don't want it to fire accidentally, but they can and do. I wan't the condom to be the secondary line of defense in case someone is positive, not the only one. I've had some extremely hot play time with positive partners, but I can't do the intercourse thing. I wish more people would understand a bottom's point of view. Not get all upset and scream "discrimination." I'm not interviewing you for a job, it's just a f*** and my health is important to me. I don't call that discrimination.

theszak said...

A thought experiment... the strategy of let's get tested TOGETHER BEFORE we have sex for A VARIETY of STDs. A sexual health checkup reduces ambiguity and can be like anything else potential sex partners might do together.

Regarding the link
            http://www.howiroll.info/smartersorting.html
          > • get tested frequently
          >     (every 3-6 months)
          > KNOW YOUR HIV STATUS
          > + ? -
          > Test every 3-6 months, if
          > you are more sexually
          > active, test often.

Getting tested regularly doesn't work
because if an infection is detected
it's already too late for your sex partner.
If there's an infection, regular testing
is getting tested after
exposing another person and that person
in turn exposing another. The strategy of
let's get tested TOGETHER
BEFORE having sex, for A VARIETY of STDs
gives the potential sex partners
information about existing infections
before it's too late.

Unknown said...

Anything that moves sex in a direction of more freedom and less potential harm is a good idea. I'd like to see 'strain' sorting, too, so that a perfect match could circumvent superinfection altogether, and sex could have no HIV consequences. But that's a dream.

Most people are totally strict w/condoms, loose in their use, or demand the bareback experience. There'll be no change in this pattern without changing the message. If people are sero-converting from barebacking, then it has to get a face on it. Describing statistics is not enough. People are numb from statistics. And with the new drugs, even after conversion, the face on the street hasn't changed (unlike the 80's when the gay population was obviously debilitated by HIV).

But here's something I don't understand. I've read great things about the Female Condom 2: More comfortable (for top & bottom), stronger (like a condom), and quieter. Why has this not caught on?? I've been trying to find this in NYC and it's unavailable even though the governments of NYC, India and Uganda have spent millions making it avaialable through health services. But in Chelsea, NY pharmacists don't even know anything about it. Would it be cool to have an ass ready to go without worry? I'd love for this to become a topic that opens up, so to speak :)