Thursday, April 29, 2010

Safe Sex Education is a Must

Tonight the boyfriend and I are hosting a fundraiser for ACCESSAIDS Care at one of the participating restaurants in the area for Dining Out for Life and what strikes me is that with everything that is now known about HIV/AIDS, young gays are still becoming infected at alarming rates. While HIV/AIDS is not the guaranteed death sentence of 30 years ago, why on earth aren't young people - and many older people more careful? If one is not in a 100% monogamous relationship with someone who has been tested and is HIV-, one should NEVER have unsafe sex. Yet it happens over and over again that care and common sense are thrown to the wind and potentially deadly conduct is engaged in as a result of foolishness, too much alcohol or perhaps drug induced stupidity. Now, porn star Sean Lockhart - better known as Brent Corrigan - who is no stranger to controversy and negative news is featured in same sex videos being put out by Washington D.C.– based STD prevention group DC Fuk !t. The first video - which is definitely NSFW - is explicit and hopefully will get the attention of those who might otherwise engage in stupid conduct since Corrigan is featured in it. Here's some highlights from The Advocate's take on the safe sex campaign:
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Porn star Brent Corrigan has partnered with Washington D.C.–based STD prevention group DC Fuk !t for a series of instructional videos on proper condom use and sexual health.
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The program launched last year after a study revealed the nation’s capital has the highest percentage of HIV-positive residents in the country. It promotes safe sex and condom use through the distribution of safe sex kits promoted by a series of provocative, often sexually graphic ads and videos.
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Cofounder Terry Gerace, M.D. says he recruited Corrigan for the campaign because of what he’s learned since starring in a series of bareback films at the beginning of his career while he was still underage.
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“He has long since become an advocate for safer sex and has very publicly apologized for his past appearances in films depicting unsafe sexual practices,” Gerace says. Garace talked to The Advocate about Corrigan’s video shoot, why he thinks the young porn star has more than redeemed himself for his bareback films, . .
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It was really about it being someone who learned from their behavior and made a change, which I think represents most young people. They’ll start out doing something high-risk, and if they’re lucky, they’ll survive it and make a change. That’s what he did, so I think in a lot of ways, he represents your average person.
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It’s about being honest, really. Gay men don’t learn a lot about sex in the sex-ed classroom. They learn on the Internet, from porn. That’s where they’re getting this material, and we were seeing such resurgence in bareback online that we needed to put out an alternative that focused on safer sex. It’s tongue-in-cheek. a little bit. that they’re public service announcements, but they’re very straightforward in showing you exactly what you have to do. I think they’re pretty effective. I was bracing for negative feedback, and frankly, we haven’t gotten any.
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Kudos to Fuk !T and Corrigan. I hope the campaign helps individuals to avoid an avoidable disease. And again, DO NOT watch the video at work!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's a shame our country has chosen to politicize the sex education so much, for both gays and straights. We ought to be teaching kids to make smart choices involving sex, because it's a part of life where small mistakes can have disproportionate consequences. Reducing the number of people who wind up with STDs, unwanted pregnancies, or bad feelings after sex (that they'd been forced or coerced into something they didn't want to do) should be more important than teaching and abstinence-only type ideology.
Great post, Mike.