by AMBROSE ABAN
EDGE New York City Contributor
Chief Blogger, QueerGam
An HIV activist has gone off on a limb that has alienated him from AIDS researchers, activists and organizations by advocating "self-serosorting" by HIV-positive and--and this is the controversial part--HIV-negative gay men. (scroll down to see a special ad on www.hiv-ub2.net on the left) Even if his methods are unconventional and his rhetoric off-putting to many, he’s raising points that have been discussed for years. Just not in the open--until now.
Some 25 years into the AIDS epidemic, gay men are debating serosorting more than ever before. Part of that is due to an "unstoppable protagonist" as he has been called, Robert Brandon Sandor. Bolstered by reports that suggest serosorting brings either psychological relief or danger to gay men, Sandor has embarked on a crusade to keep "pozzies" and "neggies" out of each other’s bedrooms.
Sandor doesn’t exactly shy away from controversy. He calls HIV-negative men the future and invites them (and only them) to "HIV-UB2" parties via his new site, . HIV-positive men have been vocal in their complaints of "sero-apartheid." Sandor points to a study of gay men in San Francisco that reports serosorting resulted in a reduction of HIV infection among gay men there.
According to reports like that one, serosorting may be effective for positive and negative couples. For positive men, they don’t have to worry about HIV transmission to somebody who is negative, although they still have to worry about other STDs. Serosorting brings psychological relief, for HIV negative men. But, experts say, serosorting cannot obviate the issue of trust as the foundation--and fundamental problem--of any effective serosorting. Why? Because HIV-negative gay men may assume their partners are also negative and STD-free.
[Full Story on http://aban-usa.blogspot.com]
EDGE New York City Contributor
Chief Blogger, QueerGam
An HIV activist has gone off on a limb that has alienated him from AIDS researchers, activists and organizations by advocating "self-serosorting" by HIV-positive and--and this is the controversial part--HIV-negative gay men. (scroll down to see a special ad on www.hiv-ub2.net on the left) Even if his methods are unconventional and his rhetoric off-putting to many, he’s raising points that have been discussed for years. Just not in the open--until now.
Some 25 years into the AIDS epidemic, gay men are debating serosorting more than ever before. Part of that is due to an "unstoppable protagonist" as he has been called, Robert Brandon Sandor. Bolstered by reports that suggest serosorting brings either psychological relief or danger to gay men, Sandor has embarked on a crusade to keep "pozzies" and "neggies" out of each other’s bedrooms.
Sandor doesn’t exactly shy away from controversy. He calls HIV-negative men the future and invites them (and only them) to "HIV-UB2" parties via his new site, . HIV-positive men have been vocal in their complaints of "sero-apartheid." Sandor points to a study of gay men in San Francisco that reports serosorting resulted in a reduction of HIV infection among gay men there.
According to reports like that one, serosorting may be effective for positive and negative couples. For positive men, they don’t have to worry about HIV transmission to somebody who is negative, although they still have to worry about other STDs. Serosorting brings psychological relief, for HIV negative men. But, experts say, serosorting cannot obviate the issue of trust as the foundation--and fundamental problem--of any effective serosorting. Why? Because HIV-negative gay men may assume their partners are also negative and STD-free.
[Full Story on http://aban-usa.blogspot.com]
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