Pro and Con Essay - Hiv Among Gay Men

Pro/Con Paper: Hiv among gay men

Hiv is a very serious topic, especially hiv among gay men. Gay men seem to be the most infected among the Hiv community. Carol Midgley argues how serious a problem Hiv is in gay men, in a book titled Sexually Transmitted Diseases by Roman Espejo. In this book, Carol talks about Hiv and the Rise of Complacency stating that homosexual men have become more complacent about Hiv and ravages of Aids, engaging in safe sex practices. She also discusses the rise of Hiv in young gay men. On the contrary, Valenzuela, argues that the Hiv problem for gay men is distorted and made into a bigger issue than what it really is. Valenzuela asserts gay and bi-sexual men are unfairly portrayed as sexually promiscuous and irresponsible in discussions of Hiv and Aids but have similar rates of unprotected sex as heterosexuals. Lets look a little more into both sides.

Is Hiv more of a problem in Gay men? Carol Midgley seems to believe so and in her opposing viewpoints article she states that the young gay community regard Hiv as no more serious than a sexually transmitted disease. Carol believes that the younger gay men enjoy "BB"- bareback sex or sex without a condom and see it as a risk worth taking, more enjoyable and exciting, without any regards to the mishaps that unsafe sex can bring. In 2008, roughly two thirds of the total infected were gay men, many who contracted the virus from other men (Midgley). Carol quotes Alan Wardle, head of health promotion at the Terrence Higgins Trust who states, "We try to give people the best information we can to make the best choice they can but there is only so many ways to say, 'use a condom'. Wardle says that the number of people with Hiv in this country continues to grow with the group most at risk being gay men.

Tony Valenzuela, author of Unprotected, gives a different opinion on the problem with gay men saying that the Hiv problem for Gay men is distorted and perceived as a more serious issue than it really is. Valenzuela acknowledges that the Hiv rate is highest in African American gay men but only due to inadequate health care. Unprotected sex, as he puts forth, is framed as a social and mental problem, not a practice for greater sexually pleasure and intimacy. He pushes that the rates of Hiv transmission in heterosexuals is just as big a problem, if not bigger than the transmission in gay men. Anal sex is more conducive to Hiv transmission than vaginal intercourse which make is more transmittable among the gay community but does not make it a bigger problem.

After reading both views on the matter, I must agree with Midgley. Hiv is a more serious problem among gay men. With bisexuality and being gay on the rise in every ethnic community, more and more gay and bisexual men are becoming infected. Their lack of protection and their failure to stay regularly tested continues to help increases the infection