The Stranger - Part Two
For anyone looking for my own personal response to all of this... well here it is.
HIV and STD rates have been rising in people of color communities for years and The Stranger has written nothing… not so much as a phone call to POCAAN or Brother to Brother. But the moment white gay men are affected again, BAM! Eli, the white writer on his heroic white horse, comes out swinging. And people seem to be listening. And pointing fingers, ready to blame.
And so it stands that HIV and AIDS are white problems again. Great! I am so happy that once again we are involved in a crisis and yet are just as invisible now as we were in 1982. And no one seems to be listening. No one is suggesting a damn thing.
I came to work for Gay City because I believe in the mission. Our approaches start from the same place: looking within our community for answers, not providing them in a quick, easily forgettable sound bite or tag-line. It’s an approach that works because it involves all of us in asking important questions and looking to each other for answers. It’s advice from people who care; wisdom from those who have a stake in our health and the health of all gay and bisexual people.
We continue to feel the repercussions of shame and how it remains a factor in the choices gay and bisexual people make in regards to our sex lives. Homophobic rhetoric is still used in an attempt to demean us for who we are. Sadly, those messages still inform how many of us feel about our bodies, our sexual selves and our community. It would be immoral and irresponsible for a community organization to use the “master’s tools” and attack the self-esteem of gay and bisexual people in the same way; then pretend it’s an effective method of HIV and STD prevention.
But Sanders is suggesting community organizations and HIV prevention groups do just that. His solution to the rise in STD transmissions is to go back to a shame and fear based strategy that didn’t last long the first time as has less of a chance to be successful now. We’re in a different world than we were in the 80’s. We’re in a different world than we were for most of the 90’s. Shame and fear are useless as long term motivators for behavior change.
The effect of re-casting that net could be as you suggest and rates of HIV and STD’s could drop again. But, as research and history tells us, that would be rather temporary, leaving us with not just another rise in STD transmission but also the costs of those caustic messages. Again.
And I dare anyone to come into communities of color and use shame to affect behavior change.
Meanwhile barebacking websites offers the notion of sex without protection as a fun, sexy, action-oriented way to take control of our sex lives. This is a powerful message to communicate. Does anyone really think that the way to counter that message is by pointing our fingers while shouting “Shame! Shame! Shame!”?
I continue to stand by the belief that gay and bisexual people should be characterized by our strength and courage: perfectly capable of governing our own lives. We face a number of challenges. HIV and STDs are a reality of our lives. Building a gay men’s health movement is about facing those challenges head on and doing so in a way that empowers us, not shames us, to create healthy solutions.
The mission I moved half-way around the country to serve… “is to promote gay and bisexual men's health and prevent HIV transmission by building community, fostering communication and nurturing self-esteem”. It’s a mission that works and I stand by the work we do.
HIV and STD rates have been rising in people of color communities for years and The Stranger has written nothing… not so much as a phone call to POCAAN or Brother to Brother. But the moment white gay men are affected again, BAM! Eli, the white writer on his heroic white horse, comes out swinging. And people seem to be listening. And pointing fingers, ready to blame.
And so it stands that HIV and AIDS are white problems again. Great! I am so happy that once again we are involved in a crisis and yet are just as invisible now as we were in 1982. And no one seems to be listening. No one is suggesting a damn thing.
I came to work for Gay City because I believe in the mission. Our approaches start from the same place: looking within our community for answers, not providing them in a quick, easily forgettable sound bite or tag-line. It’s an approach that works because it involves all of us in asking important questions and looking to each other for answers. It’s advice from people who care; wisdom from those who have a stake in our health and the health of all gay and bisexual people.
We continue to feel the repercussions of shame and how it remains a factor in the choices gay and bisexual people make in regards to our sex lives. Homophobic rhetoric is still used in an attempt to demean us for who we are. Sadly, those messages still inform how many of us feel about our bodies, our sexual selves and our community. It would be immoral and irresponsible for a community organization to use the “master’s tools” and attack the self-esteem of gay and bisexual people in the same way; then pretend it’s an effective method of HIV and STD prevention.
But Sanders is suggesting community organizations and HIV prevention groups do just that. His solution to the rise in STD transmissions is to go back to a shame and fear based strategy that didn’t last long the first time as has less of a chance to be successful now. We’re in a different world than we were in the 80’s. We’re in a different world than we were for most of the 90’s. Shame and fear are useless as long term motivators for behavior change.
The effect of re-casting that net could be as you suggest and rates of HIV and STD’s could drop again. But, as research and history tells us, that would be rather temporary, leaving us with not just another rise in STD transmission but also the costs of those caustic messages. Again.
And I dare anyone to come into communities of color and use shame to affect behavior change.
Meanwhile barebacking websites offers the notion of sex without protection as a fun, sexy, action-oriented way to take control of our sex lives. This is a powerful message to communicate. Does anyone really think that the way to counter that message is by pointing our fingers while shouting “Shame! Shame! Shame!”?
I continue to stand by the belief that gay and bisexual people should be characterized by our strength and courage: perfectly capable of governing our own lives. We face a number of challenges. HIV and STDs are a reality of our lives. Building a gay men’s health movement is about facing those challenges head on and doing so in a way that empowers us, not shames us, to create healthy solutions.
The mission I moved half-way around the country to serve… “is to promote gay and bisexual men's health and prevent HIV transmission by building community, fostering communication and nurturing self-esteem”. It’s a mission that works and I stand by the work we do.