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IML bans material promoting unsafe sex
Chicago, IL —
IML's (International Mr. Leather) executive committee has banned vendors at the group's annual convention from displaying or selling any pornographic photos and videos which portray or promote unprotected sex, also known as barebacking.
International Mr. Leather 2008 Gary Iriza
credit :: bullmanx
credit :: bullmanx
"Dear Vendors:
On behalf of International Mr. Leather, Inc., I would like to thank you for your past support and in particular for your participation as a vendor in our annual Leather Market. We are writing you today to inform you of a policy change affecting next year (2010) and all future markets.
Though we are now three decades into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, no cure has been found. The CDC and local health officials inform us that new infections are on the rise. And, while we have had some success developing medications that might make infection more manageable, that accomplishment comes at a price. Not having experienced the deaths - the loss of loved ones -- which preceded these medications, we have an entire generation who may not fully appreciate or comprehend the severity of the situation.
Too many in our community believe HIV/AIDS is curable or manageable. Too few understand that HIV/AIDS infections dominate life. We believe that it is our duty to inform and educate. Several years ago when "Meth" was the scourge of our community, IML drew a line in the sand and raised awareness and used all our influence to try and stop this addictive madness. As is the case with HIV/AIDS, we believe it is our further obligation to do everything in our power to prevent future infections.
To that end, after considerable discussion, the Executive Committee of International Mr. Leather has decided that it will no longer allow participation in the IML Leather Market by any entity which promotes barebacking or distributes/sells any merchandise tending to promote or advocate barebacking. This restriction will also apply to distribution of gifts, post cards or any other information via our facilities.
This policy takes effect immediately."
Jim Pickett, gay men's health advocate, offered the following to ChicagoPride.com:
"IML's decision to ban booths, merchandise, or paraphernalia from companies that focus on selling or promoting bareback sex has created an enormous amount of discussion and debate. That's a great thing, and I'm delighted with the community-wide conversation that Chuck Renslow's letter has encouraged. Gay men SHOULD be critically engaged in our collective health and wellness, and that includes being mindful of everything we consume, including porn.
While I appreciate the consciousness raising aspects of the IML ban, I would ask sexually active gay/bi/trans me to keep a few things in mind. First, not all "bareback" sex, or anal intercourse without a condom, is a risk for HIV transmission. For instance, two men may make a mindful, informed decision to have intercourse without a condom and not worry about transmitting or acquiring HIV if they each have the same HIV status.
Secondly, most of the behavioral research shows that around 50% of gay men engage in anal intercourse without a condom. We need to step up our efforts around NEW ways to protect ourselves and our partners from HIV, beyond latex. Ongoing promotion of condoms is important, for sure, but we also need new tools, like rectal microbicides, vaccines and oral prevention, to add to the safer sex "buffet."
Many people don't like using condoms all the time, or at all, and demanding they use a condom every time they have intercourse won't make it so.
We also need more research into risk-reduction behaviors like sero-sorting and sero-adaption - where men make decisions about the kinds of sex they will have depending on their own serostatus and that of their partners. We don't know enough about things like "strategic positioning" and "dipping" and the withdrawal method - and it's high time we started finding out how well these strategies work for reducing HIV risk.
Finally, if gay porn was so powerful, most of us would be using condoms all the time. Most porn, after all, involves men using condoms with each other. This is not to minimize the possible effects of bareback porn, but to put it into context.
For people who are interested in the discussion around bareback porn, the co modification of pleasure and risk, and sexual intimacy in our lives, please join us for the community forum "Risky Business" on August 17 at the Center on Halsted. Check out LifeLube.org for more information and to RSVP."
POST A COMMENT
-
JimPickett
Total blog posts: 1
MyPride friends: 1
Mark - did you attend the community forum at the Center on Halsted - Monday August 18 - all about barebacking, and bareback porn? It was called "Risky Business - Reclaiming Pleasure" and will be available on podcast at LifeLube.org and the FeastofFun.com by this coming Monday.
TPAN is VERY cool, but they aren't making condoms cool, they are simply doing great work making them available. And for that alone they have my continued financial support.
Let me make this very plain.
"Barebacking" is not simply sex without condoms.
Barebacking is a specific fetish.
With titles like "40 Load Weekend" what is being fetishized isn't the idea that two guys might decide they are a couple and want to forgo condoms in their own sex only.
This is a fetish for reckless, anonymous sexual behavior and, as a rather loud subtext, bug catching. Today catching HIV is treated like it's losing one's virginity. This is scary and no one is rising to address the danger of this message.
With regard to fetishes, human sexuality is actually quite fluid as anyone that has studied the topic in depth can tell you.
No one is born with a fetish for skipping condoms - it is created solely by social forces in adulthood. This also means that we can, through social forces in our own community, change this behavior such that rates of STDs drop and with the result that we have healthier, and frankly wealthier, gay men's communities.
The whole language of risks and risk profiles is often missing from education today. It really is. I know these agencies want to defend their efforts. But the hard news needs to be delivered and I can only hope someone is listening no matter whatever their PR spin is. We need you guys right now more than ever. Please don't fail us.
Based on what I see and hear from young men entering the scene, our current efforts are a massive FAIL. I think you will have little trouble finding the studies to back up what I see in day to day life in terms of attitudes towards safer sex as well as increased seroconversion rates and the rise of Hep-C.
Treating Hep-C usually doesn't work, and the year you spend on Interferon is agonizing.
The current HIV meds are great for saving lives, but their side effects truly suck. We've also created a weird situation that because guys supposedly don't get sick anyone, those that inevitably do often hide what is happening, even from friends. The new stigma is being POZ and actually undermining the happy message of asymptomatic HIV by having the gall to get sick.
A majority of the young gay men in my circle came into the scene with bad messages about barebacking and caught HIV or HEP C as teens or twenty somethings. With the positive influence of guys in my social circle, they all now practice safer sex. These guys are not your men that cannot or will not use condoms. They were kids that were highly influenced by a culture that has embraced barebacking culture, a culture that in large part has been created by bareback video companies. I don't know how to scale this positive influence up, but I do know it requires that a clear message be sent. But if given by people in trusted positions of authority, it does work when delivered with a very sincere statement that says you are loved, and that, HIV positive or negative, you and your health are worth taking care of. You and your past behavior are not being judged.
To be certain, IML banning certain videos from the mart will not slow the sales of these videos or stop the private bareback parties in rooms. It probably won't even stop the bareback companies from using IML to recruit models (they've asked me every year).
But it IS a statement that has significant social power in that it recognizes the need for our community to take a stand. Our leaders need to take stands. Yes the message of risk reduction is hard to deliver, but right now the messaging is off and is helping to promote the problem with a nod and a wink.
If our community is to be effective at stemming the current rise in infections in very young gay men, we need to start creating the cultural forces that will make this happen. While we all pretend that we are individuals that make up our own minds on every topic, any undergraduate sociology student can tell you otherwise. The cultural impact of the bareback movement and the commercial interests that benefit from it are real. Let's not buy into their concepts and language.
Instead, let's create a society and culture that actively helps all gay men stay healthier.
Let me make this very plain.
"Barebacking" is not simply sex without condoms.
Barebacking is a specific fetish.
With titles like "40 Load Weekend" what is being fetishized isn't the idea that two guys might decide they are a couple and want to forgo condoms in their own sex only.
This is a fetish for reckless, anonymous sexual behavior and, as a rather loud subtext, bug catching. Today catching HIV is treated like it's losing one's virginity. This is scary and no one is rising to address the danger of this message.
With regard to fetishes, human sexuality is actually quite fluid as anyone that has studied the topic in depth can tell you.
No one is born with a fetish for skipping condoms - it is created solely by social forces in adulthood. This also means that we can, through social forces in our own community, change this behavior such that rates of STDs drop and with the result that we have healthier, and frankly wealthier, gay men's communities.
The whole language of risks and risk profiles is often missing from education today. It really is. I know these agencies want to defend their efforts. But the hard news needs to be delivered and I can only hope someone is listening no matter whatever their PR spin is. We need you guys right now more than ever. Please don't fail us.
Based on what I see and hear from young men entering the scene, our current efforts are a massive FAIL. I think you will have little trouble finding the studies to back up what I see in day to day life in terms of attitudes towards safer sex as well as increased seroconversion rates and the rise of Hep-C.
Treating Hep-C usually doesn't work, and the year you spend on Interferon is agonizing.
The current HIV meds are great for saving lives, but their side effects truly suck. We've also created a weird situation that because guys supposedly don't get sick anyone, those that inevitably do often hide what is happening, even from friends. The new stigma is being POZ and actually undermining the happy message of asymptomatic HIV by having the gall to get sick.
A majority of the young gay men in my circle came into the scene with bad messages about barebacking and caught HIV or HEP C as teens or twenty somethings. With the positive influence of guys in my social circle, they all now practice safer sex. These guys are not your men that cannot or will not use condoms. They were kids that were highly influenced by a culture that has embraced barebacking culture, a culture that in large part has been created by bareback video companies. I don't know how to scale this positive influence up, but I do know it requires that a clear message be sent. But if given by people in trusted positions of authority, it does work when delivered with a very sincere statement that says you are loved, and that, HIV positive or negative, you and your health are worth taking care of. You and your past behavior are not being judged.
To be certain, IML banning certain videos from the mart will not slow the sales of these videos or stop the private bareback parties in rooms. It probably won't even stop the bareback companies from using IML to recruit models (they've asked me every year).
But it IS a statement that has significant social power in that it recognizes the need for our community to take a stand. Our leaders need to take stands. Yes the message of risk reduction is hard to deliver, but right now the messaging is off and is helping to promote the problem with a nod and a wink.
If our community is to be effective at stemming the current rise in infections in very young gay men, we need to start creating the cultural forces that will make this happen. While we all pretend that we are individuals that make up our own minds on every topic, any undergraduate sociology student can tell you otherwise. The cultural impact of the bareback movement and the commercial interests that benefit from it are real. Let's not buy into their concepts and language.
Instead, let's create a society and culture that actively helps all gay men stay healthier.
-
CPBill
Total blog posts: 1
MyPride friends: 1
I’m certainly not condemning IML for their stance! I think its one that I personally adhere to. I just happen to agree with others when they say that there are other avenues one can employ to be safe.
It also has to be said that groups like Test Positive Aware Network (Tpan.org) are on the forefront of “making STD prevention cool again” There isn’t week or event that goes by where volunteers from their organization aren’t out giving packets with FREE condoms, lubricant, and educational materials. Many is the time where I see TPAN outside of clubs and bars at closing time, giving these free packets to patrons on the mission to enjoy sex. I happen to think that’s cool.
Howard Brown Health Centers and the Center on Halsted also provide educational tools and services to the cause of safe sex and healthy lifestyle. Recently on ChicagoPride.com columnist Stephen K. Wait offered his experience getting tested at the Center on Halsted. (http://www.chicagopride.com/entertainment/column/index.cfm/col/651)
Condoms are a great answer to the issue of being safe. They just aren’t the only one. This dialogue is a welcome part of the solution!
~Bill Pritchard
It also has to be said that groups like Test Positive Aware Network (Tpan.org) are on the forefront of “making STD prevention cool again” There isn’t week or event that goes by where volunteers from their organization aren’t out giving packets with FREE condoms, lubricant, and educational materials. Many is the time where I see TPAN outside of clubs and bars at closing time, giving these free packets to patrons on the mission to enjoy sex. I happen to think that’s cool.
Howard Brown Health Centers and the Center on Halsted also provide educational tools and services to the cause of safe sex and healthy lifestyle. Recently on ChicagoPride.com columnist Stephen K. Wait offered his experience getting tested at the Center on Halsted. (http://www.chicagopride.com/entertainment/column/index.cfm/col/651)
Condoms are a great answer to the issue of being safe. They just aren’t the only one. This dialogue is a welcome part of the solution!
~Bill Pritchard
And as for the actual men in the bareback videos, does barebacking in videos increase their risks? Since there is at least one documented infection recorded on camera for the video buying public, I think that answer is clear. (You may find this amazing, since the video company had sero sorted the actors - perhaps more research really IS needed here before taking this one to market).
Anyhow I find it odd that IML is under attack for taking a stand for what everyone recognizes as the best way of reducing STD transmission.
While you claim to be pushing condoms, I honestly see little of that these days, nor do I see any recognition of the fact that the gay male community currently is hostile and mocking of those of us bores who use condoms.
You say there are complex issues in play. Surely you must know that one of the most powerful of these is peer pressure, and having public health officials pushing techniques like serosorting, and belittling community leaders willing to take a stand sends a statement that invalidates what many of us are trying to accomplish.
So my challenge to you, is how do we make the most effective means of STD prevention cool again, when other messages are being heavily promoted by bareback porn vendors and public health officials?
Anyhow I find it odd that IML is under attack for taking a stand for what everyone recognizes as the best way of reducing STD transmission.
While you claim to be pushing condoms, I honestly see little of that these days, nor do I see any recognition of the fact that the gay male community currently is hostile and mocking of those of us bores who use condoms.
You say there are complex issues in play. Surely you must know that one of the most powerful of these is peer pressure, and having public health officials pushing techniques like serosorting, and belittling community leaders willing to take a stand sends a statement that invalidates what many of us are trying to accomplish.
So my challenge to you, is how do we make the most effective means of STD prevention cool again, when other messages are being heavily promoted by bareback porn vendors and public health officials?
-
CPBill
Total blog posts: 1
MyPride friends: 1
Jim Pickett is this community’s quintessential health advocate! I've always appreciated his honest and insightful education. (Jim, I’ve never heard of rectal microbicide. Thanks for that nugget of info!)
His work in the prevention field has always promoted the best in safety. He's always shown every alternative that is afforded to the sexually active male. I agree with Jim, “. . . men SHOULD be critically engaged in our collective health and wellness, and that includes being mindful of everything we consume, including porn.”
Clearly, we DO need to step up our efforts in more research on how to reduce risk. I for one am VERY GLAD to have people like Jim around! His additions to the “safer sex buffet" are very welcome at my table!
Enjoying the “mindful, informed decision” to have safe sex!
~Bill Pritchard
His work in the prevention field has always promoted the best in safety. He's always shown every alternative that is afforded to the sexually active male. I agree with Jim, “. . . men SHOULD be critically engaged in our collective health and wellness, and that includes being mindful of everything we consume, including porn.”
Clearly, we DO need to step up our efforts in more research on how to reduce risk. I for one am VERY GLAD to have people like Jim around! His additions to the “safer sex buffet" are very welcome at my table!
Enjoying the “mindful, informed decision” to have safe sex!
~Bill Pritchard
-
JimPickett
Total blog posts: 1
MyPride friends: 1
For clarity Mark - I did not, and do not, "recommend" to forgo condoms. Condoms are the gold standard forprevention of the sexual transmission of HIV and other STDs. But not everyone uses condoms for all kinds of reasons (which you may or may not agree with) - so we need other methods of reducing potential risks and harms during sexual intercourse. One method is insufficient, and to expect all gay/bi men to all use condoms for their entire lives is not realistic.
Even as new tools become available, we in the prevention field will continue to promote - first, top line - the use of condoms. But if someone can't or won't use condoms, we must provide other options. It can't be all or nothing.
I think most people would rather use a rectal microbicide that is, say, 60% effective than use nothing at all (assuming condoms are off the table.) That 60% effective rectal microbicide won't be as good as a condom, which is around 95% effective if used consistently and correctly. But 60% is better than 0%. Right?
Likewise, other adaptive behaviors (like strategic positioning or sero-sorting) won't eliminate risk (nothing does), or reduce the risk as well as condoms. And, importantly, as you point out, these behaviors can put one at risk for other STDs - like Hep C and syphilis for instance. But they CAN reduce onward HIV transmission - and we need more research on this to determine how much the risk can be reduced, and to determine the most effective sero-adaptive behaviors.
People need to weigh the risks and benefits of what they do in all contexts - including sex - and my argument is that we need many, many tools to help men find what works for them.
If condoms work for you - fabulous. That is fantastic --- work that latex!
To conclude, blaming HIV transmission rates on the rise of bareback porn is simplistic at best - and doesn't begin to address the complex individual and structural issues that create the context within which HIV transmission occurs among gay and bi men. One quick example is the high prevalence of HIV among gay black men in Chicago, much higher than gay white men. You'd think that gay black men were engaging in more risky behaviors around sex and substance using - but in fact, they are not. Gay black men are actually engaging in LESS risky behaviors overall - yet account for the highest percentage of HIV in our community. Why is that? There is no simple explanation - and not enough room here to begin to unravel those issues. Suffice it to say that their consumption of bareback porn is not a leading indicator.
Even as new tools become available, we in the prevention field will continue to promote - first, top line - the use of condoms. But if someone can't or won't use condoms, we must provide other options. It can't be all or nothing.
I think most people would rather use a rectal microbicide that is, say, 60% effective than use nothing at all (assuming condoms are off the table.) That 60% effective rectal microbicide won't be as good as a condom, which is around 95% effective if used consistently and correctly. But 60% is better than 0%. Right?
Likewise, other adaptive behaviors (like strategic positioning or sero-sorting) won't eliminate risk (nothing does), or reduce the risk as well as condoms. And, importantly, as you point out, these behaviors can put one at risk for other STDs - like Hep C and syphilis for instance. But they CAN reduce onward HIV transmission - and we need more research on this to determine how much the risk can be reduced, and to determine the most effective sero-adaptive behaviors.
People need to weigh the risks and benefits of what they do in all contexts - including sex - and my argument is that we need many, many tools to help men find what works for them.
If condoms work for you - fabulous. That is fantastic --- work that latex!
To conclude, blaming HIV transmission rates on the rise of bareback porn is simplistic at best - and doesn't begin to address the complex individual and structural issues that create the context within which HIV transmission occurs among gay and bi men. One quick example is the high prevalence of HIV among gay black men in Chicago, much higher than gay white men. You'd think that gay black men were engaging in more risky behaviors around sex and substance using - but in fact, they are not. Gay black men are actually engaging in LESS risky behaviors overall - yet account for the highest percentage of HIV in our community. Why is that? There is no simple explanation - and not enough room here to begin to unravel those issues. Suffice it to say that their consumption of bareback porn is not a leading indicator.
Lovely. In the last year, 2 of my POZ friends caught HEP-C following Mr. Pickett's advice.
Also please note that his statement that most porn uses condoms is incorrect. Estimates show 60-75% of the market is now for unsafe sex videos. So the first images most young gay men see show barebacking as normative behavior. While SOME men are unable to play safe, many are if given the right encouragement and support. But that support has vanished. It's not easy to commit to playing safe, and it's gotten much harder in the current environment.
Sero-sorting divides our community along a line that, given all the other STD's, is really irrelevant.
I find it rather distressing that even our so called public health leaders are belittling those of us that make healthy choices and try to encourage others to do the same.
The pressure and personal attacks I receive as a sexually active gay man who practices only safer sex, are often vicious and disrespectful.
I would have hoped that at least public health officials would be there to validate our choices, but I really don't see many of them doing much of that these days except as an mandatory aside.
Also please note that his statement that most porn uses condoms is incorrect. Estimates show 60-75% of the market is now for unsafe sex videos. So the first images most young gay men see show barebacking as normative behavior. While SOME men are unable to play safe, many are if given the right encouragement and support. But that support has vanished. It's not easy to commit to playing safe, and it's gotten much harder in the current environment.
Sero-sorting divides our community along a line that, given all the other STD's, is really irrelevant.
I find it rather distressing that even our so called public health leaders are belittling those of us that make healthy choices and try to encourage others to do the same.
The pressure and personal attacks I receive as a sexually active gay man who practices only safer sex, are often vicious and disrespectful.
I would have hoped that at least public health officials would be there to validate our choices, but I really don't see many of them doing much of that these days except as an mandatory aside.
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