New research pinpoints a major reason why gay and bisexual men remain so vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic: When it comes to the transmission of HIV, a man who has unprotected anal intercourse is at especially high risk. “Everywhere we looked, HIV is expanding both in high- and low-income countries among men who have sex with men,” said study author Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Johns Hopkins Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program. According to UNAIDS, HIV is more common among gay and bisexual men than adults in general in all areas of the world, even Africa. In North America, an estimated 15% of gay and bisexual men are infected with HIV; the rate is the highest, 25%, in the Caribbean. Previous research has shown that being on the receiving end of anal intercourse is equally risky whether you're a man or a woman. The risk was estimated at 1.4% per sex act with an infected person -- about 18 times more risky than male-to-female vaginal intercourse.
The risk of HIV infection from sexual contact for MSM (Men who have sex with Men) was approximately 150 times greater than the heterosexual male population in 2010. In addition, the CDC states that the rate of primary and secondary syphilis among MSM is “more than 46 times that of other men and more than 71 times that of women.” Most tragically, of the nearly 48,000 new HIV cases identified in the United States in 2010, the latest year for which complete data are available, more than 12,000 involved teens and young adults according to the CDC. About 72% of these new HIV cases in younger adults occurred in young men who are gay or bisexual.
Although these numbers and statistics are vitally important, I also believe that it’s equally imperative to relate what is actually taking place in the lives of gay men; especially with the young - who are the most vulnerable. Albeit my experiences are over 20 years old, from what the men in the gay lifestyle continue to tell me: nothing much has changed since then; except that the newly initiated neophytes are getting younger, and the demands upon them are more extreme. For example, when I went into the Castro, as a 19 year old guy - I was way too naive and trusting for my own good. Yet, most of the kids, who believe that they are gay, enter the lifestyle with a genuine and earnest desire to find love and companionship. What they quickly discover is a wall of older and more experienced males who want to “break them in.” Even during the height of the AIDS crisis, back in the late-1980s, when I started life as a gay man, most of these mature “daddy” types asked you to forgo any forms of safe-sex. The pressure to submit, conform, and to be accepted was often overwhelming. Sadly, I knew 18 year old boys, after a few months in San Francisco, that tested positive for HIV. By the early to mid-90s, most were dead. Those that survived, like myself, felt as if they just dodged a bullet. After that, one tended to consider themselves rather indestructible; and this only fed into the furthering atmosphere of promiscuity. Yet, as the number of your partners increased - a curious sense of loneliness and unfulfillment exponentially doubled and tripled. At a massive orgy, attended by innumerable gay men, it would be like you were the only human in the room. By the late-90s, this caused the complete cascade effect within the gay cult of condom use. Gay men wanted to be intimate with their partners once again, and hence the enormous increase in HIV infections. Yet, the bonding, unlike what the gay lobby would have us believe, has not engendered monogamy. In essence, it has caused the second wave of HIV. But the psychological need within the gay man to heal those hidden wounds is so strong that they will defy the fear of death. I know this first hand: I crossed The Golden Gate Bridge in 1989, knowing full well that AIDS awaited me; then, that meant a quick and gruesome death. Only, I found that most of the guys were willing to take their chances: hoping beyond hope that the perfect sexual embrace awaited them; and that this would create their heaven in hell. Now, with the advent of retrovirals, the risk seems lessened - therefore an incredible spike in sexual indiscrimination. What they do not realize: for, there is no earthly resolution to the homosexual restlessness. It’s a tragic muddle that they find themselves locked into. And one that should not elicit loathing or disgust, but heart-felt sympathy and understanding. Most remain within these destructive cycles because they see no other way out; and no one has ever offered them an alternative. I now understand: Sex is not the answer: because, the unique solution to each individual struggle remains within.