Louie429 wrote:

But unfortunately you sound extremely paranoid.

Have I said the Government? As in Bush? No. Most definitely the tests and medical exams have to be the responsibility of the health department, probably under the local jurisdiction. After the participant enrolls in the program he is assigned a number (no name or address), which will be the reference for tests results and other pertinent information. The organization in charge of the system could be a separate entity. Non-profit organization? Perhaps.

So, we all know that this program is not for you, but you bring up an important point: trained professionals. This professionals would have to understand the dynamics of sex with men and the needs of men. Usually the professionals at the STD clinics are quite ignorant of man2man sex. The equate it to sex where women are involved: why don't you get one partner?

These professionals would have to understand the relationship between men's impersonal sex behavior and their need to experience sexuality as private; something I call "private sexuality." I talk about this at length in my Community "About Men and their Dicks: Am I gay?" so I won't discuss this any further here. (see

I will get on a tangent here because I can't help it. I need to talk about your paranoia, so common in gay/bi men. Listen, THE WORLD IS NOT AGAINST YOU!!! This is precisely the reason why so many men who have sex with men cannot self-identify as gay/bi. You later write: "Our improving status within this society is pretty tenuous…" This self-victimization of the gay/bi identity is something that many men cannot accept. I interpret homophobic remarks or behavior that originates from men as a result of their own shame about them wanting to have man2man experiences. I don't internalize other men's shame but the gay/bi identity seems to thrive on it.

However, there is merit to Louie429's paranoid remarks. One way of removing the stigma associated with free, impersonal sex between men is to design this system of STD Status Inquiry (SSI) is to open it up to make available to both men and women. That way, a man and a woman who meet but are afraid to get involved in a sexual relationship, can still use this system. They too attend, separately, the STD clinic interview, and they can check each other's STD status, and live happily ever after. However, I'm sure that the membership would be mostly men.

This is not an imperfect. It's just a preliminary proposal. There are many issues that need to be resolved. For instance, the idea of making it open to everyone is a good idea. Thanks Louie429! Every time one handles issues associated with shame, you have to work around it.

It may be appropriate to implement certain constraints in the system: a person must be a member in order to inquire about someone else's STD status. This would prevent non-members from gathering any information form members. That way, if I meet a guy at a bar, I can't just go home, get on the phone and ask him to listen in that I'm clean. He would have to be a member in order to listen to my STD status. Things like this have to be workout.


This is what the HIV/AIDS prevention programs thought too…

Thanks for your comments Louie429.

TheSexWizard


[Note: This message has been edited by Horndogg]