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... sts. This attitude sometimes causes people to make harsh judgments about homosexual individuals. The AIDS epidemic, to which many male homosexuals are falling victim, may be a major contributing factor to antigua prejudices. As more gays have identified themselves publicly, they have also formed more public organizations. There are gay journals, gay newspapers, and gay political groups, These groups have formed an alliance; they support candidates for public office, fight legal battles in such cases as child custody, and work in other areas to eliminate discrimination.
Yearly Gay Pride marches in major cities are intended to bring about awareness by society. (The Shrinking Ten Percent. 1993). So with all of this gay pride in mind, it is evident that there is no simple solution to the problem of effectively teaching homosexuals to avoid high-risk behavior. And with the variety and types of homosexuals in society, it is doubtful that there is any one solution to the problem either. Since it can be established that homosexuals are normal people; it can be further said that there exists a large amount of sub-categories for homosexuals. For example, someone could be white & homosexual, black & homosexual, poor & homosexual, rich & homosexual, or virtually anything and homosexual.
Therefore, in teaching the avoidance of high-risk behavior, society must realize that to a certain extent, homosexuals must each be treated for their individuality and not just for their group stereotypes. I have learned that; one behavior can be associated with virtually every gay person and that behavior is homosexual activity. Since high-risk behavior is for the most part, comprised of unprotected, random encounters of a sexual nature, we must first attack the problem by teaching safe sex to homosexuals. However, to teach all gays not to engage in any sexual activity at all would be crazy, since they have sexual desires, which need to be fulfilled just as heterosexuals do. Just as our parents, Schools, and media are teaching lower risk populations about the importance of safe heterosexual sex, I believe that we should also teach about the importance of safe homosexual sex as well. To do this, homosexuality must be recognized as a legitimate sexual preference.
We cannot afford to continue to ignore it. I feel that in order to teach homosexuals to stop high-risk behavior, we must first begin by teaching society to accept homosexuality. If society would go ahead and accept homosexuality I believe it would have a huge effect on high-risk behavior. Although, while working in the Case Management field, I have found that many intelligent and health-conscious homosexuals still engage in random acts of unprotected sex. I have found that many of society's more distinguished homosexuals remain "in the closet." These individuals look for quick, discreet gay encounters where the other person does not know them, or anything about them. They stake-out bathroom stalls, movie theatres, etc, looking for gay men to have random sex with.
Recent data on HIV prevalence and risk behaviors suggest that homosexual men continue to place themselves at risk for infection with HIV and other diseases. (Need for Sustained HIV Prevention. 2000). If we could create a society that accepted homosexuality, many gay men would come out of the closet and lead healthier, more meaningful sex lives. In one article I read, an anonymous survey indicated that most 'closet gays' leading high-risk life styles wish that they could "come out" and get involved in "normal gay relationships. " In a sense, we as a society are apparently to blame for much of their tendency towards undesirable high-risk behavior. (Stigma: 1963). All homosexuals do not engage in high-risk behavior. I have found threw working very closely with homosexuals, that those involved in serious homosexual relationships remain loyal and true to their lovers even more so than heterosexuals do! The transmission of AIDS is greatest where men are socially forced to hide their homosexuality by seeking unclean, unprotected sexual encounters wherever they can for their sole purpose of quick, sexual fulfillment.
Based on my findings, I am convinced that safe homosexuality should be taught in schools and by the media, just as we teach safe sex to our heterosexual community. After all, if sixty percent of AIDS cases are homosexual and one of our primary goals in teaching safe sex is to prevent AIDS, it is only logical that their be a focus on homosexuals beyond just the simple mentioning of them "constituting a high risk group. " Once this is done by schools and by the media, society will take the next step in accepting homosexuality and homosexuals as societal equals to heterosexuality and heterosexuals. As a result, gays will be less pressured to hide their sexuality and seek anonymous fulfillment in bathroom stalls and adult movie theaters. The problem is not gay sex; just as it is not heterosexual sex- the problem is unprotected, unclean gay sex just as the problem is unprotected, unclean heterosexual sex. Are Some Men Born to be Homosexual? , U. S.
News & World Report, Sept 9, 1991 A Socialism of the Skin: Homosexual Liberation. , The Nation, July 4, 1994 Goffman, E. Stigma: Notes on the Management of a Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Mays, V. V. , and Cochran, S. D. Issues in the Perception of AIDS Risk and Risk Reduction Activities American Psychologist 43 (1988): 949 - 957.
Need for Sustained HIV Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Young and Minority Men at High Risk. Centers for Disease Control (http: // web June 2000 Scego, Betty. Phone Interview. 6 July. 2000. The Shrinking Ten Percent. The Nation. 12 April 1986. v 242.
p 505. Bibliography: WORKS CITED Are Some Men Born to be Homosexual? , U. S. News & World Report, Sept 9, 1991 V 111 n 11 p 58 A Socialism of the Skin: Homosexual Liberation. , The Nation, July 4, 1994 Greaves, Wayne L.
The Black Community. In AIDS and the Law: A Guide for the Public, Edited by Harbor L. Dalton, Scott Burris, and the Yale AIDS Law Project. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1987 Mays, V. V. , and Cochran, S. D.
Issues in the Perception of AIDS Risk and Risk Reduction Activities American Psychologist 43 (1988): 949 - 957. McCord, Colin; and Freeman, Harold P. Excess Mortality in Harlem. The New England Journal of Medicine 322 no. 3 (1990) 173 - 177 McCormick, Kathleen; and Greene, Brenda Z. , eds.
Reducing the Risk: A School Leaders Guide to AIDS Education. vol. 2. Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association, 1989. Miller, Heather G. ; Turner, Charles F. ; and Moses, Lincoln E. , eds. AIDS: The Second Decade. National Research Council, Washington, D.
C. : National Academy Press, 1990 Need for Sustained HIV Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Young and Minority Men at High Risk. Centers for Disease Control (http: // web > June 2000 Scego, Betty. Phone Interview. 6 July. 2000. The Shrinking Ten Percent. The Nation. 12 April 1986. v 242.
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Research essay sample on High Risk Ten Percent
