Corgan Sow

I have bigots who keep sticking to the myth that homosexuals can contract AIDS while heteros can't. I know that only multiple sex without protective contraceptives can get virtually ANYONE with AIDS. Can someone post me an evidence to give these peeps some lesson?!

Mark_Chid

Yup - there's a lot of bigotry, but on the other hand its simple denial to claim that some sexual practices are not more dangerous than others.

Unprotected anal sex is especially dangerous for the receiver - and gays have more anal sex than straights. And here's the killer - condoms are not 100% safe, and a 1% chance of a leak in anal sex is still pretty dangerous.

The best option remains monogamy, but unless you are 100% sure of your partner anal sex is STILL riskier than vaginal sex.

Doubting Didymus

I've never understood that. Why is a virus so picky about orifices? I always thought that the risk came from a simple statistical anomaly: that more homosexuals happened to have it in the first place, which is easily explained. Aids simply got to a gay man first, so it naturally spread only in the homosexual community at first. Am I wrong?

vixstile

Yes. AIDS has always existed in both strait and gay communities. It was simply more prevalent in the gay community because they are far more sexually promiscuous.

Doubting Didymus

Now I know that's not right. Aids has only been on the human scene for a short time. it has not always been equally prevalent.

As for your suggestion that gays are more promiscuous, have you any evidence?

tronvillain

Doubting Thomas:
Well, the virus is not as contagious as many other viruses, and the difference between the orifices turns out to affect the risk - the more delicate tissues make it easier for the virus to be transmitted. I can't recall any statistics to this effect, but I suspect it may be riskier to be on the recieving end.

Yes, AIDS has definitely not always been around. I recall a theory that says when HIV was introduced into homosexual male population in San Fransisco in the seventies it found the perfect environment - it was transmitted so quickly and so widely that only speed of replication was selected for. As a result it became far more virulent strain, killing people far quicker than it previously had, unlike when it had been forced to spent extended amounts of time in one host.

Would you be surprised to find that men are more promiscuous than women? If you accept that then the difference in promiscuity between heterosexuals and homosexual males shouldn't be all that surprising.

The Lone Ranger

My understanding is that it has to do with the fact that the vagina is "designed" to receive a penis, whereas the rectum is not.

Anal intercourse is much more likely to cause tearing of tissue than is vaginal intercourse, thereby making it easier for the virus to enter the receiving partner's bloodstream.

***

Here's something to think about. Which sexually-active group is least likely to contract AIDS? Committed lesbians! I've pointed this out to a few "AIDS is God's punishment for homosexuality" types on occasion, and it usually shuts them up for awhile.

Cheers,

Michael

[ September 12, 2002: Message edited by: The Lone Ranger ]</p>

Godless Dave

Those people are going to be in for a rude shock if they are in the habit of patronizing prostitutes in Thailand. Some huge percentage of female Thai prostitutes have HIV. It would be funny except the johns will probably transmit it to their wives, which is what's happening in Africa.

simian

There are those much better suited (have the facts with references at their fingertips) than I, but here's a start.

As I understand it, there are commonly (white?) blood cells in semen. Unprotected sex results in the infective agents entering the person on the "receiving" end. Both anal and vaginal sex results in tears in the orifice walls (most will be small and unnoticed), giving direct access to the bloodstream. As I understand it, most of the world has HIV spread mainly by the heterosexual community.

As an aside, one of the items I have heard stated is that female to male transmission is rare compared to male to female transmission. I don't know enough to say if this is myth or truth or not.

Keep in mind this commentary is completely from my faulty memory, and I am not going to take the time to look everything up. I hope this is a stop-gap until somebody with real knowledge shows up to state the facts with references.

Simian

edited to make wording more accurate.

[ September 12, 2002: Message edited by: simian ]</p>

Ut

There's also the issue of HOW you have/prepare for anal sex.

Some don't use enough lubricant and then set themselves to have their anus/rectum hurt. Also, some are overzealous in cleaning this area and use all sorts of enemas, etc. that irritate and hurt this area.

If your diet is too low in fiber, and you end up constipated or you need Herculean strength to defecate, of course you're going to hurt that area.

Safe[r] sex is about more than just wearing condoms.