Understanding New Research on Lubricant Use During Anal Intercourse

[great article - a must for anal sex enthusiasts!]

via About.com's Sexuality Blog, by Cory Silverberg

Excerpt:

As usual, sexual pleasure isn't being talked about at all, and this too needs to be addressed in both the conducting and reporting of future research. The end goal of all this research is awareness of risk and behavior change. We aren't talking about dental hygiene here. We are talking about activities people engage in for a reason, and sexual pleasure is often part of that reason. To talk about anal intercourse and lubricant, particularly to talk about lube as a risk factor, outside of the context of pleasure makes sense only in the lab, only in theory. It doesn't matter how good the research is, if you want to affect change in people's lives, you have to speak to us in a way that we can connect with. If the only argument you make for behavior change is numeric, it might scare us for about three minutes, but it's not likely to help us at all.

Read the whole thing.

Monday Morning Perk-Up [NCAA Dog Bribe]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Kentucky Violated NCAA Rules While Recruiting Basketball-Playing Dog

Catalog of temptations

Feel the Love... Sister Glo channels Maya Angelou

 

 

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination, full of hope.

~Maya Angelou

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

Friday is for Faeries

every friday

Finally all up in their foxholes

House votes to end 'don't ask, don't tell,' the 1993 policy that bars openly gay men and lesbians from serving in the military.

LUBE MANIA!

The whirlwind of anal lubricant news - let's get a grip!

via the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates (IRMA)

Many of you have likely come across some new research that was recently presented at the Microbicides 2010 conference calling into question the safety of lubricants used for anal sex.

Check out this post from IRMA for some important context/perspective. And keep your panties un-bunched and the pearls un-clutched.

Around June 18? Come to Stonewalled: A Benefit for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Stonewall changed us all, whether we were alive or not. In the 1960's, mad men and mods, hustlers and hypocrites alike all congregated at the Stonewall Inn - one of the only venues in New York City where you could be openly gay. It was here that LGBT Americans came out of the darkness and fought the hatred entrenched in society at that time.

Come celebrate Stonewall and help raise funds for AFC June 18th at the Beauty Bar - be there or be oh so square.

Featuring long-time LGBT activist Vernita Grey Retro Sets by LifeLube's own Pistol Pete & FKA’s DJ Reaganomix MC'd by the Fierce Lois Bates Followed by JD Samson of Le Tigre & MEN!!!

Stonewalled
June 18
6-10pm
Beauty Bar
1444 W Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL

Check out the event page on Facebook

Who's That Queer [Tom of Finland]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Tom of Finland (born Touko Laaksonen in Kaarina, Finland) was a fetish artist notable for his stylised homoerotic art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture.


Touko Laaksonen made his first erotic drawings in his youth, but none of them are known to exist; Laaksonen said that he had at first kept his drawings hidden, but then destroyed them 'at least by the time I went to serve the army'. His drawings were based on images of masculine Finnish laborers he had seen from an early age. Finland, however, soon became embroiled in the Winter War with the USSR, and then formally involved in World War 2, and Laaksonen was conscripted into the Finnish Army. He served as an anti-aircraft officer, holding the rank of a second lieutenant. He later attributed his fetishistic interest in uniformed men to encounters with men in army uniform at this time. After the war, Laaksonen returned to civilian life and worked in the advertising industry as a commercial graphic artist, continuing to create erotic drawings for his own pleasure on the side.



In 1956, Laaksonen submitted some of his homoerotic drawings to the influential American magazine Physique Pictorial for publication under the pseudonym Tom. The editor of the magazine changed the name to Tom of Finland.

Read the rest at Gay for Today.

Think ahead to PLAY HARD

via acon

Save your pennies, gay out

Woof Wednesday

Advisory Panel Recommends Immediate ADAP Wait List in Illinois

Facing an historic budget crisis that could destabilize HIV treatment access for more than 4,000 low-income Illinoisans with HIV/AIDS, a state advisory panel voted on May 21 to urge Illinois to immediately close the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to new applicants and begin a waiting list. The recommendation is now under review by state officials.

“Because the program is deeply underfunded, Illinois must take immediate steps to preserve services for those who rely on ADAP for their life-saving care,” said David Ernesto Munar, vice president of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), and a member of the ADAP Medical Issues Advisory Board, which made the recommendation. “The program faces total fiscal collapse unless immediate actions are taken.”

Take Action Now!

Read the rest at AIDS Connect.

What Would You Do? ABC Documents Reactions to Intolerence of Gay Families

Via Towleroad - On ABC News' latest What Would You Do?, John Quiñones presented diners with the situation of a waiter serving up some intolerance to families with gay parents.

How is Gil Shannon healthy?

A little positivity can go a long way!

I stay healthy by keeping a positive outlook and attitude.

The troubles of day-to-day life can often affect our mental and physical well-being. Bad habits start to form such as eating our emotions or transforming into couch potatoes due to the stress. Though cloudy situations may come, it is important that we look for the silver lining. A little positivity can go a long way!  Stress levels will be reduced, physical activity will increase, better choices will be made, and you will feel great!

I know it is cliché, but what is often said is true; a healthy mind makes for a healthy body. That is how I stay healthy.

-- Gil Shannon
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.
Learn more about the campaign.

D.C. Adds Trojan Condoms To HIV Prevention Program To Appeal To Young People

High school students and college-age adults have been complaining to District officials that the free condoms the city has been offering are not of good enough quality and are too small and that getting them from school nurses is "just like asking grandma or auntie."

So D.C. officials have decided to stock up on Trojan condoms, including the company's super-size Magnum variety, and they have begun to authorize teachers or counselors, preferably male, to distribute condoms to students if the teachers complete a 30-minute online training course called "WrapMC" -- for Master of Condoms.

"If people get what they don't want, they are just going to trash them," said T. Squalls, 30, who attends the University of the District of Columbia. "So why not spend a few extra dollars and get what people want?"

Read the rest at Washington Post.

American Psychiatric Association Wants to Changes the Diagnosis of Transsexualism

The Trans Group Blog has published an open letter from Callen-Lorde and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, in response to the APA's revised DSM diagnosis for Gender Identity Disorder -- which is now being re-named Gender Incongruence.

Re: Comment on the proposed "Gender Incongruence" in the draft revision of the of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5
(DSM-5)

American Psychiatric Association:

The undersigned providers of and advocates for medical and mental health services to transgender and gender non-conforming communities welcome this opportunity to offer feedback and comment on the American Psychiatric Association's draft revision diagnosis for Gender Identity Disorders (GID), "Gender Incongruence" (GI).

The lead organizations facilitating this response are Callen-Lorde Community Health Center and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of New York City. Each of these organizations started providing community services in 1983 and together serve over 2,000 people of transgender experience with primary health care and hormone care as well as substance abuse, mental health, and community building services. Our organizations, as well as the other signatories to this letter, represent the largest settings providing health and social services to transgender and gender non-conforming people and their families in the United States.

We appreciate the APA's proposed "Gender Incongruence"(GI) diagnosis is an effort intended to de-stigmatize gender non-conformity and improve transgender-identified people's access to mental health care. We agree with the intention behind this effort; however, we endorse an alternative viewpoint, based on our years of collective practice knowledge. We believe GI will continue to inappropriately pathologize gender non-conformity, maintain barriers to medically necessary health care, and lend justification to gender based stigmatization and discrimination.


Read the rest.

Monday Morning Perk-Up [Colbert & Ex-Gay]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

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The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Alpha Dog of the Week - George Rekers
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

We can handle the socks

In the pipeline - NEW WAYS TO TAKE IT beyond condoms

*currently in development a rectal microbicide is an agent that could be formulated as a lubricant, gel, douche, or an enema and used rectally to reduce a person’s risk of HIV infection. Rectal microbicides could offer both primary protection in the absence of condoms and back-up protection if a condom breaks or slips off during anal intercourse. learn more about rectal microbicides here.

International Rectal Microbicide Advocates Release 
Update on New HIV Prevention Technology  

New Report Outlines the Growing Field of 

Rectal Microbicide Research and Development

Chicago -- International Rectal Microbicide Advocates (IRMA) will officially release its third landmark report -- "From Promise to Product: Advancing Rectal Microbicide Research and Advocacy" -- at the 2010 International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh, PA taking place May 22-25, 2010. The ambitious, comprehensive document reports on the growing scientific activity in the rectal microbicide field, capturing the optimism among researchers and advocates alike as the field sets its sights on the development of safe and effective rectal-specific products that will provide protection against HIV during anal intercourse.

Additionally, IRMA continues to call for a Global Rectal Microbicide Development plan by which stakeholders can coordinate efforts across the full range of scientific activities, developing strategies and setting priorities. Such a plan does not yet exist.

Dr. Ian McGowan, Scientific Vice-Chair on the IRMA Steering Committee and co-Principal Investigator of the Microbicide Trials Network says, "A detailed map such as a Global Rectal Microbicide Development Plan is absolutely necessary if we are going to make the best use of each and every research dollar in this time of global recession and constricted resources."

An updated resource tracking of funds specifically allocated to rectal microbicide research and development -- the only such exercise -- is followed by a call for escalating funding over the next 10 years and for increased diversity in the funding portfolio as well. The United States National Institutes of Health currently provides over 90% of global resources devoted to rectal microbicide activities, and nations of the European Union and global philanthropic organizations need to support this critical work as well.

"Increased funding is also needed for IRMA. We maintain an enormous global footprint and are the only advocacy group focused on rectal microbicides in the world -- and we achieve this with inadequate resources," says IRMA Chair and Director of Advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago Jim Pickett. "Our work must be valued and supported if we are to continue uniting AIDS advocates, scientists, and policy makers around the globe to bring safe and effective rectal microbicides to market as well as to confront the homophobia, gender inequities, human rights, stigma, and denial that must be addressed to make sure such products will be used."

[The full report is available online in both English and Spanish.Lear more about IRMA and help make rectal microbicides a reality for the millions of men, and women, who have anal sex around the world.]

International Microbicides Conference Gets Underway in Pittsburgh

Article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review covering the Microbicides 2010 conference:

Despite advances in the treatment of HIV, experts warn that the global fight against the disease has a long way to go.

"For every person you put on treatment in the developing world, another two or three people get infected," said Dr. Ian McGowan, a leading investigator at Microbicide Trials Network, based at Magee-Womens Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. "The figures are still depressing."

More than 33 million people are living with HIV, and doctors diagnose about 2.5 million cases a year globally, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations' AIDS-fighting agency.

Over the next four days, the Microbicide Trials Network, or MTN, will host an international gathering of HIV experts aimed at discussing ways to prevent the disease. The International Microbicides Conference, to be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, is co-chaired by McGowan and Sharon Hillier, the network's principal investigator and a world-known microbiologist.

Read the rest...