NPR Program Examines Impact of MACS HIV Study Over Past 25 Years

NPR's "All Things Considered" last Friday examined the impact the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study has had on HIV-positive men who have sex with men over the past 25 years. Roger Detels, the director of MACS in Los Angeles and a professor of epidemiology at UCLA, said the study began in 1981 when very little was known about the virus. At the time, "there was no test for the virus, and there was no recognition that in fact there was a virus origin," he said. According to "All Things Considered," more than 6,000 MSM have participated in MACS, which is funded by NIH.

The men who participated in the study were required to undergo two thorough physical exams twice per year that include neurological exams and spinal taps, "All Things Considered" reports. In addition, they were questioned in detail about sexual practices, medical visits and symptoms. Many of the participants stayed in the study until they died, unlike many studies in which participants remove themselves for several reasons. "All Things Considered" reports that the study led to many discoveries, including how HIV is spread, how the body is not protected from the virus by the immune system and how long it takes HIV to progress to AIDS. Researchers also were able to determine the extent of the epidemic, especially among MSM.

Detels said the most significant discovery from MACS is that "there are some men who had many, many partners, and they never became infected." He said that it took a long time for researchers to understand why this occurred but that the study helped researchers determine that a small percentage of people have genes that prevent HIV transmission. Detels said that knowledge of those genes could eventually lead to a vaccine to prevent the spread of HIV. The segment also included comments from Stephen Jerrome, who was one of MACS' first participants.

Check it out.

RELATED: check out the abstract for "Specific Sex Drug Combinations Contribute to the Majority of Recent HIV Seroconversions Among MSM in the MACS."

Onion: For Gay Couple, Fulfilling Lifelong Dream Of Marriage Not Worth Moving To Iowa

Good news via "America's Finest News Source", The Onion:

April 30, 2009 NEW YORK—Having their sworn commitment to each other and all related rights therein recognized by the highest court of a sovereign U.S. state is ultimately not worth the hassle of moving to Iowa, longtime partners Danny Mindlin and Alex Small determined Monday. "Alex and I want to grow old together, but we'd have to drive six hours just to get a mezzaluna at Restoration Hardware," said Mindlin, who claimed he "couldn't survive" without a strawberry frosted cupcake from Amy's Bread after yoga every Thursday. "And where would we summer? Dubuque? I think we'll just buy a townhouse and live in an unrecognized union with beautiful granite countertops instead." The couple told reporters that their plans to adopt also weighed heavily in the decision, since they want to raise a child who is healthy, balanced, and "not tacky."

How is Leo Colemon healthy?

One way I keep healthy is through a vigorous session of Ashtanga yoga.

My teacher brings elements of balance, flexibility and strength to our practice. Yoga challenges my body on many levels while I maintain a consistent and controlled deep breathing.

All these elements are basic to my body’s mental and physical health and I also view them as important extensions of my brain and soul. Going into Yoga, I practice conscious breathing and repeat a mantra of reflection, gratitude, love and responsibility.

Within minutes I become more aware of my body, its changes, limitations and my ability to release with patience and concentration. I especially love when I get lost in the practice, I feel my body and mind move in a meditative way that requires less effort and begin to feel the flow at a deeper level.

I sweat, go beyond boundaries I thought were there and push myself to try even higher levels. All this of course has a bearing on my life outside yoga and supports a foundation that anchors me when I am challenged to be balanced, flexible and strong.

-- Leo Colemon
Los Angeles

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And we'll blog it, right here.
Read past posts.
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Why Searching for Sex Online Isn't Strange

by Kirk Grisham, via WireTap Magazine

Last week on the subway, I noticed a woman reading a New York Times article with an interesting sub-head: “A community united by a penchant for risk.” Later that day, I went online and read the article for myself, a piece titled “Recklessly Seeking Sex on Craigslist” by Douglas Quenqua.

While I had the hopes that the article would explore the benefits of online forums for interaction, I assumed that it would probably be recycling the same nonsense that as a young queer boy, I am all too familiar with. My mother, father, friends, and anyone else who has a chance to inundate me with their ramblings of “safety” will tell me “be careful on the Internet, people are crazy,” or “you never know what will happen.” I have always scoffed this off, because since dial up, I have been addicted to the Internet. It was one of the first places where I found other gay people. I lived in a world of chat rooms, forums, magazines, and porn. Every day the bus ride after school was the waiting room for me to get home and enjoy a few hours alone with the computer before my parents got home. It was one of the first places that I explored gay identity as young adult. I made friends, shared pictures, had “e-boos” all over, and was able to really be “gay.”

Read the rest.

Read Kirk's "How are you healthy?" piece for LifeLube.

The "Work In" - Step Three

Ed Negron, a former drug user, turned gangbanger, turned drug dealer, turned own best customer, turned addict, turned recovering addict (still there), turned activist, turned business manager, turned student, turned Substance Abuse Counselor, turned better and happier person, turned someone who can love and be loved (Love you Patrick), turned blogger. Check out Ed's own blog here.

Featured Every Thursday on LifeLube --- check out all of Ed's "Work-In's" here.

Series began with Step One January 29, 2009
Click here for Step Two

The 12 Steps: A historic and analytic explanation

[Channeled via 12 Steps Workbook: The Proactive Twelve Steps by Serge Prengel]

I shift my focus, from being fixated on my problems, to seeking a sense of wholeness and contentment in my life.

Original wording (AA): Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our Higher Power as we understood this Higher Power.

A leap of faith

The Third Step is a leap of faith - but not necessarily religious faith. What is it about?

You decide to put your efforts into increasing your sense of wholeness and contentment in life. This is harder to do than it seems. It feels really scary to let go of the “solution” you think you have. It feels like, instead of dealing with the problem, you’re giving up.

The more stuck you are, the more you feel that the only way out is to try harder doing what you’re already doing. What enables you to let go is the hope that it will work out. As you feel more whole and satisfied with your life, you will be in a better position to deal with what now seems impossible to change.

Transformation

As you progressively let go of your fixation on your problems and your usual ways of dealing with them, you’ll notice how you tend to tighten up -- how much you want to control things -- when you're faced with something new. Noticing this, you're in a better position to start to relax this tension.

You start noticing how you tend to have knee-jerk reactions to certain situations - how it happens so fast that you weren't even conscious that there was any possibility of doing anything different. Noticing this, you become more aware that you have a choice of how to react in these situations.

Little by little, you discover that your range of reactions is much broader than you were accustomed to. You broaden our sense of who you are. Compared to how you used to be, it feels like you have been touched with something greater than yourself.

Indeed, you have expanded beyond the more limited part of you that you used to think was all of you.

My thoughts:

“…turn our will and our lives over to the care of our Higher Power…” does not mean to sit on your ass and wait for your higher power to make things happen for you. If you need a job but don’t look for one, guess what, you will not get one and it’s not because your HP doesn’t “will” you to have one. Now if you are doing the leg work you’ll get what you need. When you “turn it over”, “it” means the outcome not the problem. Your “Higher Power’s will” is the outcome of your actions or inactions. We can’t predict or control the future we can control our part in the present.

To read daily motivations visit my blog at thework-in.blogspot.com or to receive daily motivations via email join our Google group Back To The Basics Please .

If you are not sure how to begin your work-in or need some guidance please feel free to post a comment or email me directly at thework-in@hotmail.com, I will response as soon as I can.

(Usual disclaimer applies: The suggestions on this blog are just that “SUGGESTIONS.” My words cannot heal your pain and or addictions. Nor can I change your life. Only you can.)

“Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness." -- Shakti Gawain

Who's that Queer?

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was a playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the Victorian Era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his works remain popular today, especially The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men.

While at Magdalen College, Wilde became particularly well known for his role in the aesthetic and decadent movements. He began wearing his hair long and openly scorning so-called "manly" sports, and began decorating his rooms with peacock feathers, lilies, blue china and other objets d'art. Legends persist that his behaviour cost him a dunking in the River Cherwell in addition to having his rooms (which still survive as student accommodation at his old college) trashed.

Though married with children, Wilde is considered by most historians to be bisexual or homosexual. He had significant sexual relationships with Frank Miles, Robert Baldwin Ross, and Lord Alfred Douglas (known as "Bosie"). Wilde also had numerous sexual encounters with working-class male youths, who were often male prostitutes.

Wilde and Douglas in 1893

In 1895, John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, father of Wilde's lover Lord Alfred Douglas, came to believe his sons had been corrupted by older homosexuals, or as he phrased it in a letter, "Snob Queers like Rosebery." The verbal accusations led Wilde to a file a lawsuit for libel, but ended with Wilde being sent to prison for gross indeceny with other men.

Source: wikipedia

Crazy stupid like a Foxx - North Carolina's Virginia Foxx calls Matthew Shepard's murder a "hoax"

The House Republican chosen to lead the charge against including women, people with disabilities, and gays in America's already-existing hate crimes law - existing law already counts violent crime based on the race, religion or national origin of the victim as a "hate crime" - just referred on the US House floor to Matthew Shepard's murder as "a hoax." Her name is Virginia Foxx, and she's from North Carolina. At what point will Republicans stop letting their party be lead by bigots and extremists?



Vote out Virgina Foxx group on Facebook

DEMAND Rep. Virginia Foxx Apologize To The Shepard Family on Facebook


More background via HRC:

While Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard looked on from the House gallery, Foxx, who managed the floor for those opposed to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, spoke saying, “the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard Bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This – the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

“Vile lies, like the one spread by Rep. Foxx today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about Matthew’s brutal hate-fueled murder, continues to underscore how extreme anti-LGBT opponents have become,” said Brad Luna, Communications Director for the Human Rights Campaign. “It is no longer acceptable in this day and age to just come right out and say you don’t like gay people. Instead, extremist opponents of equality must resort to these types of malicious and twisted lies. Rep. Foxx should be ashamed of herself.”

On the night of October 7, 1998, two men led Matthew Shepard to a remote area east of Laramie, Wyoming where they demonstrated unimaginable acts of hate, killing the twenty-one year old college student because he was gay. This hate motivated murder sparked a national outcry to expand hate crimes laws to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The perpetrators of this heinous act are now both serving life sentences for Matthew’s death.

Media Matters for America has posted video of Rep. Foxx’s remarks today and background information regarding widespread acceptance among the media and others that Matthew’s murder was motivated by hate violence. To read the background, go to: http://mediamattersaction.org/items/200904290005

Because there is no federal law mandating states and municipalities to report hate crimes, they are often underreported. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s own statistics, based on voluntary reporting, show that since 1991 over 100,000 hate crime offenses have been reported to the FBI, with 7,624 reported in 2007, the FBI’s most recent reporting period. Violent crimes based on sexual orientation constituted 16.6 percent of all hate crimes in 2007, with 1,265 reported for the year. In addition, while not captured in the federal statistics, transgender Americans too often live in fear of violence.

The LLEHCPA gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias. It also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers, or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias motivated crimes.

A wide coalition of national organizations has called for the passage of the LLEHCPA legislation. Some of those organizations supporting this legislation include: the National Sheriffs Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; 26 state Attorneys General; the National District Attorneys Association; the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; the Anti-Defamation League; the NAACP; the National Council of La Raza; the Presbyterian Church; the Episcopal Church; and the National Disability Rights Network.

To take action to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, please visit: www.FightHateNow.org

-------------------------

Oh, you might want to let Mz. Foxxx know what you think.

Phone: (202) 225-2071
Phone: (336) 778-0211
Phone: (828) 265-0240

If you reside within her district, please email her with your demand to apologize to the Shepard family. Currently, emails are not allowed from outside her district. http://www.foxx.house.gov/

Or.... Become a "fan" of hers on Facebook. And write something on her wall.

He put his ass on the line for research - literally!

There I was naked, cold, wet from lube, asshole hurting, with three people I barely knew.

Scott Wilfong describes his experience in rectal microbicide studies at Johns Hopkins
via IRMA - International Rectal Microbicide Advocates

Let me begin by saying, if you are looking for a really good conversation topic, especially on a first date, get yourself involved in the rectal microbicide studies at Johns Hopkins.

It is a quick and easy way to gage one’s comfort level in talking about anal sex and more importantly, research development that may, in fact, save the lives of others someday in the future.

What’s not to be excited about!?

If only I had a snapshot photo of everyone’s first expression upon telling them the in’s and out’s (no pun intended) of my experience with rectal microbicide research. Some people laugh immediately, some cringe, some have a shocked look, and others stare at me with total disbelief, inquiring about actual proof to something that seems so out of the box for them. For many, it is the first time they have ever heard the word microbicide, let alone microbicide research. Believe me my knowledge is somewhat limited when specifically talking about the medical component of this particular research. So, I try to explain it the best I can with a lean towards the importance of this type of research, the extraordinary doctors that are the so passionate about this research, and the extremely important benefits of microbicide development for the lives of many people in the future.

Read the rest on the IRMA blog.

LGBTI... and Especially U - June 9

Join local organizers for a social mixer and fundraiser at Sidetrack on Tuesday, June 9, in support of the 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit [scheduled for August 14 – 18, 2009 in Chicago.]

The health of our communities is important to all of us – LGBTI and U.

The Summit will focus on “Health Through the Life Course” and is dedicated to preserving and improving the emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, psychological, environmental, and social health and wellness of LGBTI people of all races, ages, creeds and classes.

Donation: $25 - Please join us and tell your friends.

Please visit http://www.2009lgbtihealth.org to learn more about the Summit.

How is Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano healthy?

My health and healthiness: my being healthy is inextricably tied to the health of my people (read – broad and complex definition of “my people”).

I believe, know and center my spirituality, intellectual work and fucking on the notion and truth that my body carries memory.

Following the schoolings of Cherríe Moraga, Sharon Bridgforth and countless fierce queer women of color, I know that my body today is linked to the bodies of queer brown men from and of generations to come.

As an openly hiv-positive hyper-politicized and hyper-critical queer xicano-identified cisgender man, I know that the virus flowing through my veins is the virus that flowed through the veins of many, many queer men of color who were institutionally and methodically left to die under the shadow of their families denial and a flag built upon values and ideologies that rendered them/me subhuman.

Being healthy to me is about being liberated, following the teachings of womanists and knowing that my body is mine, my body is a place of resistance and knowing that each time I fuck a man he will find Aztlán all over me.

-- Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano
San Francisco

How are you healthy?
Join in the conversation.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign.

Woof Wednesday

Random - this is the 144th Woof Wednesday - treat yourself special

The Alzheimers Project - Friday, May 1st at the Center

click to enlarge image

On May 1st, 2009 the SAGE Program at Center on Halsted will host a special screening and discussion of HBO’s The Alzheimer’s Project as part of a national discussion to encourage individuals to learn more about the disease and the research being done, as well as to gain a greater understanding of the issues surrounding it.

To view the trailer visit www.centeronhalsted.org or
http://www.hbo.com/events/alzheimers/.

May 1 - 7pm - Center on Halsted - 3656 North Halsted - Chicago

How is Daniel Cameron healthy?

Everyone agrees that good health overall consists of physical, mental and spiritual factors. But what those factors are and which spheres get weighted over others is extremely variable between individuals depending on their values and priorities. For me, physical health is important, so I try to keep up with exercise and diet as best I can. But it is my level of mental and spiritual health that dictates to a much greater extent how healthy I feel at any given time. For me, the two spheres are mutually nonexclusive and inextricably linked to emotional health (thought of as part of mental health).

Within the spiritual sphere, I value my good friends as a critical part of how I am healthy. For me friendship is more than just someone to hang out with. If you find the right people, friendship can be a deep bonding experience that changes the way you see the world and helps you grow as a person.

A “healthy” phrase I have come to believe in is “Everything in Moderation.” People seem to be approaching you all the time with what’s bad for you. The culprits change often; it may be marijuana, too many carbs or mid-2008 tomatoes. But I think most things are okay to try once. Some studies even suggest that teens who try a bit of “the naughty stuff” during their formative years are profiled to be more psychologically healthy years later than teens who never tried anything.

But sex and drugs aren’t the only things that can be dangerous without moderation. I try to focus on avoiding becoming consumed with any one thing, whether that happens to be booze, television, love relationships, etc. Anything has the potential to become an obsession should be checked frequently. By practicing “Everything in Moderation,” we stay in control of our own lives, and are sure to be far healthier.

One final way I am healthy is by following the axiom ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ Life’s too short to do that.

--Daniel Cameron
Chicago

How are you healthy?
Join in the conversation.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here.
Read past posts.
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Peter, do you have any advice as to how to "resensetize" my penis?

[Peter Pointers is here 4 YOU, as a service to LifeLube readers - whatever question you may have regarding sexual healthy, physical health, mental/emotional and spiritual health - ask him. He will find the answers you are looking 4. Below is a recent Q&A you may be interested to read.]

Question: I am having serious issues achieving orgasm during intercourse. Its never happened and I've been sexually active for 2 years. I can achieve orgasm through masturbation by myself, but during intercourse, whether bottoming or topping, I just can't do it. Do you have any advice as to how to "resensetize" my penis?

Answer: Thank you so much for your question. It sounds like this is a bit of a frustrating situation for you!

To help you out, I talked with Dr. Braden Berkey, Psy.D., the Director of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Institute at the Center on Halsted and a private practice psychologist. He went about this issue very methodically – as if he’s come across it before (read: he has, you are not alone). This is more common than you may imagine.

The problem isn't in your penis; it is in your head. You are most likely thinking way too much during sex. Guys often experience this during their first sexual encounters or following a particularly devastating criticism of their performance. But, sometimes we just get into a state of mind that we can’t seem to shake every time we try having sex.

The trick is to take the focus off the destination and enjoy the journey. You can do that a number of ways… but it all comes down to letting your mind go. Start with massages, staying focused on the sensations you are experiencing - accepting them as they come without evaluating them. As you move into foreplay and sex, watch for any critical or distracting thoughts seeping in. It will take time to re-train your brain to turn off, so be patient.

It is also possible that there are deeper issues attached to ejaculating. If this is the case, it may take more work. Exploring this with a well trained and understanding therapist may be worth the time. Let me know if you need help finding a medical provider or therapist that is qualified to help you out!

Be Well,
Peter Pointers
Friend Peter on Facebook

Free Your Mind of Disease-Free Thinking

How to Stay HIV-Negative in an HIV-Positive World, by Randy Boyd

Excerpt:

That's right. The HIV-negative can have sexual relations with the HIV-positive and remain HIV-negative. Just as two people can have sexual relations and not make a baby, so too can two people have sexual relations and not make AIDS, baby.

Staying away from people who admit to being HIV positive does NOT protect you from HIV.

But Americans do not know this. Gay men in general do not know this. Instead, many gay men see HIV/AIDS as another evil in the universe and vow to avoid all those who carry evil, in this case, men who are HIV-positive. Neg guys declare themselves to be “clean” and only fuck around with others who declare themselves to be “clean,” “disease-free” and “bug-free.” Neg guys boast of their HIV-negative test dates. They've created a whole new lexicon to distinguish and separate themselves. Disease-free as of April 26, 2009. UB2

But how do you know the other person is really “clean?”

The result: millions of gay men are fucking around, not using protection, not having safe sex, not really knowing what is and isn't safe sex, all while assuming they'll be just fine as long as they only fuck around with other dudes who are “clean.”

Read the whole thing.

How is Mark S. King healthy?

Being healthy means not allowing destructive instincts to rule my life anymore.

For years I got high with the party crowd, believing that getting validation at a smokey bar and a strangers bed brought me happiness. Nothing was ever enough, and I eventually abandoned "dance floor drugs" for crystal meth from a pipe and then into my arm. All the while, I thought exhaustion meant I was having fun, that friends were the ones with more favors, and men were measured by what they kept in their pants.

Today I work to be honest. It's an unbelievable thrill not to worry about hiding any more. I sleep normal hours, take my HIV medications without fail, and value my friends enough to actually show up when we plan time together. I've regained my sense of humor -- it's amazing how much laughter there is when misery falls away!

It's been a long road, and I've even had to re-learn sex without the aid (and hindrance) of drugs. For months, I had no sex at all because it brought back too many memories of using. Today, my sexual behavior is based on caring for my partner and not denigrating him or myself.

Helping others has been a huge part of the equation, because it gets me out of my head and feels so damn good. I've written a book about the early days of AIDS in Los Angeles, written a musical about recovery, and contribute a video blog to a large HIV web site. Just being a productive human being with something to contribute is a gift beyond measure.

For you, my friends, please be well.

-- Mark S. King
Atlanta


How are you healthy?
Join in the conversation.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign.

Bitch to Quit - Next Groups Begins April 30

Tired of trying to quit smoking on your own?

Join Chicago's only LGBT smoking cessation program and quit for good!

*7-week smoking cessation program

*Support from a trained smoking cessation counselor

* Sliding scale program fees based on your income

Our next group begins on April 30!

Space is limited, so call today to reserve your place!
773-388-8682

Register for the 2009 LGBTI Health Summit! - in Chicago this Summer

August 14 - 18, 2009 - kicked off by the Bisexual Health Summit

Click to register, book your hotel room, volunteer, and more!

Monday Morning Perk-Up: Colbert's ANTI Anti-Gay Ad

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Quigley asks for hefty earmark for LGBT seniors

New Congressman Quigley Requests Millions In Earmarks -via HuffPo

Here is one of 'em (he is trying to hook up our friends Vida/SIDA also)

Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders (SAGE)

Recipient: Center on Halsted, located at 3656 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60613

Request: $475,000 through the Health and Humans Service's HRSA account.

Description: This century has seen a growing number of seniors dealing with not only the challenges of becoming older, but also with challenges unique to being LGBT seniors. These challenges include dealing with the consequences of financial inequities directed toward LGBT community as well as lingering stigmatization, particularly among providers of senior services. This funding will be used to improve the quality of life for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors through a well-established model of wellness care.

Read the rest of the article, including a list of ALL the earmarks.

Disturbing Strokes

Mom of Gay-Bashed Suicide Victim Speaks Out

Nice find on Queerty today. The Mother of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, the 11 year-old who committed suicide after being bullied by classmates because they thought he was gay, showed up on Ellen to speak out against schools that allow this behavior to happen.

Register for the Alternative Sexuality Conference May 21

Center on Halsted
Chicago
May 21, 2009
Click image for more info and to register

The day-long conference will include lectures, panel presentations, roundtable discussions and poster presentations. Scheduled topics and presenters include the following:

Historical Development of BDSM* Communities
Robert Bienvenu, Ph.D., CARAS

BDSM and Aging
Douglas C. Kimmel, Ph.D., City University of New York

Real Fetish in a Virtual World
Marik Xavier-Brier, BA, San Francisco State University

One Click Away : A Voyage Into the Internet Sex Sub-Cultures
Timaree Schmit, M.Ed. & Courtney Weaver, M.Ed., Widener University

HIV in the Leather Community: Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Practice BDSM
David Moskowitz, Ph.D., Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin

Barriers to Therapy for the Consensually Non-Monogamous
David Rodemaker, M.A., Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Alex Iantaffi, Ph.D., MFT, University of Minnesota Medical School

The Role of Communities in the BDSM Experience
Benjamin Graham, M.S. LCPC, Clarisse Thorn, B.A., DePaul University, Chicago

Insatiable Wives: Women Who Reject Sexual Fidelity in Marriage and The Men Who Love Them
David J. Ley, Ph.D., Independent Practitioner, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Borderline Personality Disorder or BDSM? Distinguishing the Clinical Issues
Karen Torry Greene, LCSW, Independent Practitioner, Phoenix, Arizona

Filling the Research Gap: A National BDSM Community Health Assessment
Gary Wynn, MD, Rob Bienvenu, Ph.D. & Richard Sprott, Ph.D. , CARAS


*BDSM is an all inclusive acronym for bondage & discipline, dominant/submissive, slave/master, sadism/masochism

Feel the Love... with Sister Glo

There is no remedy for love but to love more.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Sister Glo shares her glittery gems of love with LifeLube each Friday.

Friday is for Faeries