Lessen HIV Burden Among Young Gay and Bisexual Men

via The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) nmac.org

Call to Action: Lessen HIV Burden Among Young Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States

When new infections among young Black gay men increase by nearly fifty percent in three years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter. - President Barack Obama, December 1, 2011

We will never end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US until we dramatically lessen the burden of HIV among gay and bisexual men, particularly young men.

Across race, age, and geography, gay and bisexual men remain most vulnerable to HIV infection in the United States. Gay and bisexual men are the only group of people in which new HIV infections are increasing each year. They represent only 2% of the US population, yet account for 64% of new infections. Young gay and bisexual men aged 13-29 comprise less than 1% of the US population, but account for 27% of all new infections.  Black young men are especially hard hit by the AIDS epidemic, experiencing a shocking 48% increase in the number of new HIV infections between 2006 and 2009.

Despite alarming infection rates, the response to HIV/AIDS among young gay and bisexual men has never been adequate. Allocation of prevention, research, and other resources to focus on gay men overall or young men, in particular, has never been equal to their proportion of the epidemic. Negative experiences and other barriers to accessing health care have left too many young men estranged from the services and institutions that could support healthy sexual, physical, and emotional development. Family rejection, social isolation, homophobia, and absent legal protections have perpetuated a cycle of homelessness, unemployment, substance use, and poverty among the most vulnerable.

To achieve the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the US – (1) to reduce new HIV infections, (2) to improve access to health care, and (3) to eliminate health disparities – particular attention must be paid to young gay and bisexual men, for too many of whom HIV infection has become a rite of passage to adulthood. We can and must respond to HIV/AIDS in a way that respects and cares for all people living with HIV, while recognizing the unique impact of HIV on young gay and bisexual men.

We have never been better equipped to mount a comprehensive response to HIV among young gay and bisexual men. Social marketing campaigns and affirming messages from the highest levels of leadership are beginning to validate years of hard work promoting equality and dignity. The Affordable Care Act will offer health care to millions who have been denied access for decades. Scientific research has demonstrated both sustained health improvement and a dramatic reduction in transmission among people living with HIV who initiate treatment early after diagnosis.

We can achieve an AIDS-free generation for ALL young gay and bisexual men in the United States, but only if we make the commitment to change today.

Sign on to this initiative by clicking here. Both individual and organizational endorsement are welcomed: http://alturl.com/zojpo 

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Funding for Bisexual Community Lacking

via Huffpost Gay Voices, by Amy Andre

Here's some math for the new year:

Fact 1: According to research from the Williams Institute and Hunter College, among others, half of all those in the United States who identify as either gay, lesbian, or bisexual, identify as bisexual. That means, we bi folks make up 50 percent of the LGB (lesbian, gay, bi) population.

Fact 2: Research cited in the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's report, "Bisexual Health: An Introduction and Model Practices for HIV/AIDS Prevention Programming," shows that, compared to lesbians and gays, bisexual people tend to have poorer health, both physically and mentally, with higher rates of everything from smoking and alcoholism to depression and suicide attempts.

So, if you add Facts 1 and 2 together, it's clear that a large portion of our community is in dire need of support.

After all, greater challenges equal greater need. Shouldn't that also equal greater funding?

Unfortunately, here's Fact 3: We bisexual people don't get any. According to the latest report from Funders for LGBTQ Issues, the total amount given from foundations for bi-specific grants in 2009 and 2010 (the last two years of available data) was $0.

The report states:

The 2010 report contains some positive indicators as well as some that continue to challenge our sector... Grants dollars increased by 12 percent to the lesbian community and by 24 percent to gay men. Though the number of transgender-focused grants increased, the amount of total dollars to transgender issues decreased by 5 percent, and support to bisexual-focused issues remained at zero for the second year in a row.

Zero. As in, not one single dollar. For two years.

Something is not adding up. I'm not trying to play "oppression Olympics" here. Every subset of our larger LGBT community needs and deserves funding, to cover costs for everything from direct services to developing the next generation of our movement's leaders.

So I'm not saying that bisexuals deserve more than our fair share. What I am saying is that we deserve more than no share at all.

Funders for LGBTQ Issues is a national nonprofit organization based in New York.

Of the many important things that they do is produce an annual report looking at who gets what.

They just released their report regarding foundation giving in 2010; the report has information on the grant-giving of over 300 foundations and other organizations.

Collectively, these grants totaled nearly $100 million in 2010 alone, for LGBT causes.

The foundations gave out $97,189,139, to be exact.

And out of that $97,189,139, some went to lesbian causes, some to gay, some to transgender, and some to LGBT in general.

But, again, not one penny -- of $97,189,139 -- went to bisexuals, the largest subset of the LGB population.


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Gay Men Being Trafficked in Kenya

via Advocate, by Diane Anderson-Minshall

Gay and bisexual men in Kenya are being lured into sex trafficking rings in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, according to a new report in African LGBT magazine, Identity.

Identity magazine says that the men attending Kenyatta University are particularly targeted, offered jobs as airline attendants or office workers,and given visas and passports (thanks to officials who've been bribed to help facilitate the travel arrangements).

Some of the men have reported violent sadistic sexual abuse at the hands of their captors.

Many countries, including Qatar, have no anti-trafficking legislation and remain on the U.S. Department of State watch lists for showing no progress in identifying victims of trafficking and prosecuting the perpetrators.

While Kenya did pass anti-trafficking legislation last year, homosexuality is still illegal in both the Arab states as well as Kenya, so the men are unable to report abuse to police.


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Same-Sex Marriage Improves Gay Men's Health

via myhealthnewsdaily, by Staff

Gay men's health improves when their state legalizes same-sex marriage, a new study finds.

The results showed gay and bisexual men in Massachusetts had significant fewer medical- and mental-health-care visits, and lower mental-health-care costs in the year after the state legalized gay marriage, compared with the previous year.

This amounted to a 13-percent reduction in total health-care visits, and a 14-percent reduction in health-care costs for this group. The reductions were similar for partnered and single gay men.

Previous research has shown that excluding lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals from marriage has a stressful impact on this population, according to the study.

There were also reductions in cases of hypertension and depression, according to the study. Both conditions are associated with stress.

The findings suggest that legalizing same-sex marriage could benefit public health "by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions in gay and bisexual men," said study researcher Mark Hatzenbuehler, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

However, among HIV-positive men, there was no reduction in HIV-related visits, suggesting that those in need of HIV/AIDS care continued to seek needed health-care services, the researchers said.

The researchers surveyed 1,211 patients from a large, community-based health clinic in Massachusetts that focuses on serving these groups.

Because the clinic was in a large metropolitan city, these results may not be generalized among people living in more-rural communities, the researchers said.

The study is published online today (Dec. 15) in the American Journal of Public Health.


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When Sexual Health Requires Stealth

via BiMedia, by admin

Bisexual men have unique health needs compared to exclusively homosexual and heterosexual men, but the stigma they face makes learning of their needs – and even reaching bi men in their “hidden communities” – difficult for public health professionals, say researchers at Indiana University in the USA.

The reported need for privacy, because of the perceived stigma and lack of acceptance in both homosexual and heterosexual communities, is so pervasive that bisexual men often do not feel comfortable accessing sexual health-related services, even those targeted toward “gay and bisexual men,” because of a concern over what others would think of their bisexuality.

A more general approach to providing services, framed as “men’s health” or “men’s sexual health,” will most likely be more effective, researchers learned.

“In terms of designing a specific program for behaviorally bisexual men, we’ve learned it will not be effective to openly advertise about it or put it on billboards; we have to be more discreet,” said Brian Dodge, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at IU.

Dodge’s research for nearly 10 years has involved bisexual behavior and associated health needs, yet these findings from his recent study were “surprising.”

“The fear of disclosure, desire for privacy, and anticipation of stigma are even more problematic than we anticipated,” he said.

“The reasons for these issues eventually need to be addressed not only with bisexual men but also at the societal level if we are to increase participation in effective health services without operating in stealth.”

While the findings are from the USA, at BiMedia we suspect things are very similar here in the UK.

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Progress through Resiliency

via Positively Aware, by Amy Herrick, Mary Hawk, Mackey Friedman, Chingche Chiu, James Egan, Mark Friedman, and Ron Stall

While improvements in approaches to HIV prevention have been made over the 30 years since the start of the AIDS epidemic, HIV among MSM is far from eradicated.

Despite more than two decades of prevention efforts focused toward MSM, the rates of HIV infection in this population continue to rise.

What is the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S.?

A 2008 report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that MSM accounted for 46% of all new HIV infections and HIV infection rates among young MSM increased at a rate of about 12% each year between 2001 and 2006.

This report further noted that MSM were the only risk group who experienced an increase i n infection rates during this time.

In fact, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, even if the rate of HIV infection among MSM remains at the current level, by the time a group of young MSM (18 years old) reach the age of 40, 41% of them will be HIV-positive.

We cannot make any progress in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. unless we find ways to lower rates of HIV transmission among MSM.

How do other health disparities among MSM relate to risk for HIV/AIDS?

A growing set of recent scientific papers had shown that health problems among MSM are interconnected and function as a group to increase HIV risk in this population.

Because they are sexual minorities, gay, bisexual, and other MSM experience massive minority stress and social marginalization (for example, widespread bullying, gay-bashing, and other forms of violent harassment).

Studies suggest that these negative experiences increase a person’s risk for multiple health issues, including depression, anxiety, drug use, and sexual risk behaviors.

This process happens over time as people are exposed to discrimination and social marginalization.

These experiences cause stress to the individual, resulting in lowered self-esteem, increased emotional distress, and a sense of social isolation, all of which cause a person to be more vulnerable to serious emotional and physical health problems.

According to the CDC, a syndemic is, “Two or more afflictions, interacting synergistically, contributing to excess burden of disease in a population.”

In other words, negative health conditions are thought to interact to form a syndemic: synergistic epidemics that, together, can lower a person’s overall health and make him or her more susceptible to disease.

For example, health problems such as drug use, depression, and domestic violence have been found to interact so that their impact on the overall health of the person is greater than what we might expect from looking at each affliction separately.

While many studies involving MSM have shown interconnections between health problems, such as drug use and high-risk sex, two recent studies have focused on syndemic conditions in samples of adult MSM and young MSM.

These two studies showed that as the number of psychosocial conditions (such as depression, anxiety, and experience of abuse) a person has increases, so will his likelihood of having unprotected anal sex, as well as his likelihood of becoming infected with HIV.

It has been suggested that this set of co-occurring psychosocial health problems operating together as a syndemic may actually be driving the HIV epidemic among MSM, while also working to raise the levels of other health problems among MSM.


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Sexy Sex Study!!!

Hey check out this fun, sexy, interactive sex study via MANHUNT! Complete with fun surprising statistics you may not have known about gay/bi sex and who's doing what and to whom and how often...I promise you wont be disappointed! Check out the interactive site here and see what the buzz is about, enjoy!!!

Check it out

Get Freaky Recap!

via Windy City Times, by Blair Mishleau

Everything from anal cleanliness to the benefits of kissing and cuddling before sex—and many tangents in between—were covered Oct. 25 at "Get Freaky: A sexual health forum for Men who have Sex with Men."

Approximately 50 audience members gathered for the event, held at the Center on Halsted with hosts/bloggers Feast of Fun moderating it.
 
It was an opportunity for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, to learn and ask about the parts of sex not covered in health class.
 
The forum was hosted in conjunction with Project CRYSP and LifeLube, which are both gay men's sexual health projects, as well as the Chicago Black Gay men's Caucus.
 
The forum is likely the last to be held in the series, which has run four times a year for the last four years, as the grant that funds the program has ended.
 
"We've covered all different topics," said Jim Pickett, director of prevention advocacy in gay men's health at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. "We've covered things from alcohol in the gay community to sex online to homophobia to 'what is justice for gay Black men' [ and ] trans rights—we've had a number of topics."
 
The three "sexpert" panelists included Gary Bucher, an anal-health specialist and director of the Anal Dysplasia Clinic Midwest; Debby Herbenick, a sex researcher and sex columnist for TimeOut Chicago; and John Stryker, a nurse practitioner at the Howard Brown Health Center.
 
The event started with light snacks, mingling and a series of vendors demonstrating sex toys. The panel commenced after that.
 
To make the panel more interactive, audience members were given clickers and asked various questions that appeared on-screen, with the audience results appearing in real time.
 
Some questions asked included preferred position in sex ( top, bottom, versatile, doesn't apply ) . The audience was mostly bottom, followed by versatile and then top.
 
Other questions asked about anal cleansing, getting tested for HIV and more. Panelists were then called upon to talk about these poll numbers, alongside greater national information.
 
"We try to make them feel interactive, so people feel engaged and they have the forum they want to have," Pickett said. "It really depends on the people who show up and how they interact with our panellists."
Audience members were also encouraged to ask questions, with topics like HIV prevention, anal douching and the difficulty of finding a boyfriend as gay men, being discussed.
 
"One of the things we always get criticized for not bringing up is 'how to get yourself a man,'" said co-host Fausto Fernos of Feast of Fun, as he introduced a question from an attendee.
 
Herbenick, who teaches a sexuality seminar at Indiana University, gave some advice regarding young gays trying to find long-term relationships.
 
"There's no easy answer, but I do think that young people do want relationships," said Herbenick. "I've been teaching college students for eight years, and I haven't seen that change at all. I think the vast majority of men and women of all orientations talk on and on about wanting relationships.
 
"That doesn't mean they don't have periods of sexual exploration and that sometimes people want to have one night stand. But ultimately, the majority, if not all of them, really want relationships. I think it's difficult for people to be honest with what they want and to share that."

Hyper-Masculinity effects on Gay and Bi Men

via GoodTherapy

“Gay and bisexual men experience numerous negative health conditions, including high rates of mental health problems,” said Beth N. Fischgrund of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, and lead author of a new study examining masculinity and mental health in gay and bisexual men.

“Empirical studies show that a strong adherence to masculine norms is correlated with poor health outcomes, such as mental health problems and risky sexual behaviors.”

National studies have shown that gay men are nearly twice as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety as heterosexual men, and that suicide rates for these men are nearly double those of other men.

The way gay and bisexual men perceive their masculinity has a significant impact on mental health. “Society’s messages about sexuality are not the only cultural attitudes that sexual minority men are confronted with; cultural attitudes also delineate what it means to be a man,” said Fischgrund.

 She added that some men may exhibit hyper-masculine behaviors when they feel their masculinity is being threatened.
“Gay men who endorse hyper-masculine norms might then experience identity incongruence when they are presented with general society’s norms that differ and contradict their own.

 In these situations, the more integral the hyper-masculine norms are to a man’s identity, the more psychological distress he may experience.”

For her study, Fischgrund recruited 311 gay and bisexual men, nearly a third of which reported an HIV positive status.

 “Among these gay and bisexual men, those who adhered to norms that incorporate an interpersonal aspect of masculinity (i.e., conceptions of masculinity as social behavior or as sexual  behavior) endorsed higher levels of mental health distress than did men who adhered to norms that focus on the intrapersonal aspects of masculinity (i.e., conceptions of masculinity as physical appearance),” said Fischgrund.

“Additionally, men who did not know their HIV status endorsed higher levels of depression.” She emphasized the importance of her findings.

“Specifically, designing programs that center on altering the social and sexual masculine norms within the gay male community are needed to decrease the mental health burden of gay and bisexual men, which has been shown to be associated with HIV risky behaviors.”


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Tomorrow!!!

Hey Everyone! Tomorrow is the day, get ready for our Get Freaky Community forum!

It's going to be an exciting fun-filled event, we will be kicking it off with an hour long reception starting at 6 PM featuring a cash bar, light treats and snacks.

Oh and did we mention that there will be sex toy demonstrations put on by Cupid's Treasure, Tulip, and Early to Bed!

Then after we've eaten and drank our fair share join us in the Hoover Leppen Theater at 7 PM so we can get down to the dirty talk! Our hosts from one of the most popular gay podcasts out there Marc Felion and Fausto Fernos of Feast of Fun will be facilitating discussion with our three distinguished panelists:

Gary Bucher: Anal health specialist, director of the Anal Dysplasia Clinic Midwest

Debby Herbenick: Sex researcher and Time OUT Chicago's sex columnist

John Stryker: Howard Brown Health Center nurse practicioner

Please join us
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Center on Halsted
3656 North Halsted, Chicago

We begin at 6:00pm for free light nibbles, a cash bar, and sex toy demos in the 2nd floor John Baran Senior Center.

The dirty talk begins at 7:00pm in the Hoover Leppen Theatre, 3rd floor. Hope to see you all there!!!


RSVP Here!

Bisexuality Exists!

via backdropbook, by Gayle Pitman

Psychology is like the classic George Orwell novel 1984. Yesterday two plus two equaled four, but today two plus two equals five – and once five is declared the correct answer, any historical record of two plus two equaling four is wiped out.

 The psychological analogue to 2+2=4 is the idea that “you’re either gay, straight, or lying” – the idea that bisexuality, at least in males, doesn’t really exist.

 This belief has very effectively invalidated bisexuality, cheapening the experience of bisexual people and rendering their sexual identities invisible. And, up until very recently, the existing biological evidence supported the doubters.

 A highly-publicized 2005 study indicated that, among the male particpants who identified themselves as bisexual, arousal patterns in response to watching videos of same-sex activity were directed exclusively towards one sex or the other, usually towards men – but not towards both.

While female bisexuality has been documented more extensively, this study appeared to be the nail in the coffin for bisexual males, cementing the idea that men who identify as bisexual must be lying, in transition, or just plain confused.

I think it’s important to be clear that the assumptions that we hold about people – particularly about members of historically oppressed groups – aren’t just benign thoughts held by individuals. Our assumptions contribute to a belief system.

They provide a filter through which we view the world. And they leak out into our cultural consciousness – the media being one example of a convoy of cultural beliefs. 

The idea that bisexuals are liars, or that they’re concealing their true homosexuality, shows up over and over and over. Sharon Stone’s character in the 1992 film Basic Instinct embodies the stereotype of the murderous psychopathic bisexual. Fast-forward to 2011, and we have Kalinda in the popular show The Good Wife.

Kalinda is a private investigator for a law firm, and her personal and work-related ethics are more than a little bit sketchy. She has sex with married men – and with married women. She manipulates people to get the information she wants.

She’s a moving target – you never really know whether or not you can trust her. (Add to the mix the fact that Kalinda is also a woman of color, and this media portrayal becomes all the more negative.) Of course, both of these examples involve women, and the idea of female bisexuality has been a little easier to digest.

We don’t really see media portrayals of bisexual men – because, don’t you know, there’s really no such thing as a male bisexual.

Read the rest

I Need a Bi Guy

via Bisexual-Talk, by msarko

Over at Net Insanity, another blog in the Klat network, I run a recurring feature called The Craigslist Files. In that column, I compile and comment on the strangest, most ridiculous posts I can find on the world's craigslist sites. Recently, I came across the following post and felt like I had to comment on it, but Net Insanity wasn't really the place for this particular piece.

 Looking for a bi guy who's dating a woman - m4mw - 31

You know what they say: it's not gay if your balls don't touch. j/k. 

I'm looking for a bi guy who is in a relationship with a woman to hang out with and possibly fool around with.

 A bi guy. Actually. Really. Bi. A bi guy, as in a guy who who actually has has sex with men and women. And you're dating or married to a woman. And she knows that you're bi. 

Looking to hang out, get to know each other, and possibly fool around with if there's a click. 

About me: I'm 31, a professional, work downtown, put in too much at my corporate job, work out when I can, try to get in a happy hour once in a while during the week and live for my weekends.

Oh, and I'm gay. Way gay. Very much in to men. Even when they're into women. And men. 

Why am I looking for a bi guy? I want more guy friends. Not girl-guy friends.

Oh, want to understand other men better, and their relationships with women. Ok, and maybe I'm a little bi myself. I'm not sure. But I'm still in to guys. 

This is more than a little silly and it's indicative of a problem in our society that never really gets addressed when discussing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The man who posted this ad is very clearly bi-curious, except he comes from a rarer angle of bi-curiosity.

He's a gay-identified man who, despite fervent insistence that he only likes other men, is very particular about wanting to engage in sexual acts involving a woman.

 It's only at the end of the ad that he admits he may be "a little bi", only to once again reinforce his homosexual identity to anyone who may be reading.

Now, I can't say whether or not this man is actually bisexual. What he's asking for (a sexual relationship with a man who is physically involved with a woman) is the tiniest of baby steps toward exploring something that scares him.



Read the rest

Young gay meth users more likely to be exposed to HIV

via Pink News, By Jessica Geen

Young gay and bisexual men who use methamphetamine are more likely to be exposed to HIV, research suggests.

Most studies on the issue focus on older gay men, but the latest research suggests a link between use of the drug and risky sexual behaviour which can lead to HIV infection.

Researchers at the Northwestern University in Chicago looked at data collected in 2005 and 2006 on 595 gay and bisexual men aged between 12 and 24 in eight US cities.

The 64 who said they had used methamphetamine in the last three months were substantially more likely to have been involved in risky sexual behaviour.

Read more.

Adoptions by Gay Couples Rise, Despite Barriers

via The New York Times by Sabrina Tavernise

Growing numbers of gay couples across the country are adopting, according to census data, despite an uneven legal landscape that can leave their children without the rights and protections extended to children of heterosexual parents.

Same-sex couples are explicitly prohibited from adopting in only two states — Utah and Mississippi — but they face significant legal hurdles in about half of all other states, particularly because they cannot legally marry in those states.

Despite this legal patchwork, the percentage of same-sex parents with adopted children has risen sharply. About 19 percent of same-sex couples raising children reported having an adopted child in the house in 2009, up from just 8 percent in 2000, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“The trend line is absolutely straight up,” said Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a nonprofit organization working to change adoption policy and practice. “It’s now a reality on the ground.”

That reality has been shaped by what advocates for gay families say are two distinct trends: the need for homes for children currently waiting for adoption — now about 115,000 in the United States — and the increased acceptance of gays and lesbians in American society.

The American family does not look the same as it did 30 years ago, they argue, and the law has just been slow to catch up.

Read more.

Guy Talk: Mythbusting Bisexual Men and the One Drop Rule

One of the corollaries to this dismissiveness of the possibility of male bisexuality is what I call the “sexual one-drop rule.”

via The Frisky, by Hugo Schwyzer

“You’re either gay, straight, or lying.”

I first heard that oft-repeated phrase when I was an 18-year-old freshman at UC Berkeley. I was at my first meeting of the GLBA (Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Alliance). I’d recently broken up with a girlfriend, and had been dating (and sleeping with) both men and women; I was ready to “come out” as bi and to get involved in campus activism. But as I quickly found out, though there were equal numbers of gay men and lesbians in the group, the only bisexuals were women. And while many of those women faced a certain amount of “bi-phobia,” at least the GLBA acknowledged their existence.

Bisexual men, I was told, didn’t exist: we were either cowards or liars, too scared or too dishonest to admit we were really gay.

Read the rest.

Gandhi, India's God-Like Founding Father, Was Bisexual, According to New Book

Was Mahatma Gandhi gay? A new book by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Joseph Lelyveld claims the god-like Indian figure not only left his wife for a man, but also harbored racist attitudes.

Gandhi, who led India to independence and is a universal symbol of peaceful resistance, had another side -- a more human one. In a biography that hit stores this week -- "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle With India," former New York Times reporter Lelyveld insists that Gandhi was gay, or at least bisexual.

His lover was Hermann Kallenbach, a German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder. The couple built their love nest during Gandhi's time in South Africa where he arrived as a 23-year-old law clerk in 1893 and lived for 21 years, Lelyveld writes.

Much of the intimacy between the two is revealed in Kallenbach's letters to his Indian friend. Gandhi left his wife, "Ba," -- an arranged marriage -- in 1908 for Kallenbach, a lifelong bachelor, according to the book.

In letters, Gandhi wrote to Kallenbach, "How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance. "

"Your portrait (the only one) stands on my mantelpiece in the bedroom," he writes. "The mantelpiece is opposite the bed."

The new book has been banned in one Western India state, Gujarat, after local press reports claimed the book maligns the father of modern India, according to the Associated Press. Its top state politician, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, called the book "perverse. "

Politicians in the state of Maharashtra, home to India's financial capital Mumbai, have asked the central government to bar publication nationwide.

"This is a non-issue," said Bidyut Chakrabarty, resident scholar at The Gandhi Center for Global Non-Violence. "In India, especially, they tend to think the mahatma is perfect. Mahatma means great soul and they put him on a pedestal, thinking he cannot be human, he's a god."

"And if he's a god, how can he be homosexual?" he asked.

Read more from ABC News

Video: The Cost of Stigma

via IN THE LIFE

Stigma is the invisible mark on individuals targeted by fear and misinformation. 

This month on IN THE LIFE, we look at the power of stigma within our justice system and how the myths and fear that spread with the AIDS epidemic gave rise to laws criminalizing HIV transmission. And we meet researchers who consider stigma as a possible key link between bisexuality and poor health.

Gay and Bisexual Men's Health - NEW RESOURCES

The CDC has a number of new info resources that will be very handy for all of us working in gay/bi men's health, as well as HIV/AIDS.

The following came to LifeLube's inbox this morning....Check them out.

Updated Factsheet: HIV among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)
The HIV among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)factsheet has recently been updated with information from the 2008 HIV Surveillance Report: Diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependent Areass

MMWR: Prevalence and Awareness of HIV Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men --- 21 Cities, United States, 2008
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 2006, 57% of new HIV infections in the United States occurred among MSM. To estimate and monitor risk behaviors, CDC's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system (NHBS) collects data from metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using an anonymous cross-sectional interview of men at venues where MSM congregate, such as bars, clubs, and social organizations. 

New CDC Site: Gay and Bisexual Men's Health
Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent an incredibly diverse community. Gay and bisexual men have both shared and unique experiences and circumstances that affect their physical health and mental health needs as well as their ability to receive high-quality health services. 

Today is Bisexual Day! Celebrate it tonight at Center on Halsted

Tonight at 7pm, Chicago's Center on Halsted celebrates Bisexual Day

Center on Halsted is welcoming some of Chicago's dedicated Bi activists, who will share their place in the world with a guest panel regarding Bisexual history, health, activism, politics, relationships with Transgender people, and the importance of working together. Followed by a social hour.

The organizers look forward to a lively conversation on the pressing need for communication and organizing among bisexuals, allies, and health care providers.  This event will be a unique opportunity to explore issues impacting a group that research shows to be similar in size to the gay and lesbian population, but has typically been less visible, misunderstood, and less often studied. Increasingly, as more information about sexual orientation is collected, more will be know about the health needs of bisexuals, as well as the programs and strategies to meet those needs. The discussion will help the  advocacy efforts underway to support and nurture a bisexual health agenda and increased Bi visibility and acceptance in the Chicago LG_T community.

Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 7:00 pm – 9:30
Center on Halsted - Hoover Leppen Theatre - Third Floor
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Program begins promptly at 7:00 p.m.

Welcome
Speakers – Presentations

• Bi History and Biphobia -  Paige Listerud
• Bi Women’s Health - Wendy Bostwick, PhD, MPH
• Bi and Transgender, Birthright - Karen McReady 
• Queer Identity - Elliot M. Scott 
• Bisexual Media &  Bi Pop Culture in Entertainment - Adrienne Williams
• Bi Men’s Health, Recovery - Ed Negron

Panel Q&A
Social/Networking Time

More info on speakers/program.

The Last to Leave the Closet?

by Stephanie Chen, via CNN  

"It's either you're in the closet or out of the closet, and it's not that simple," David Malebranche, a physician and professor of medicine at Emory University, says about the common perception of bisexuals.

Excerpt:

Ben Pierce, a 22-year-old recent college graduate living in Massachusetts who identifies as bisexual, can understand why bisexuals are hesitant to come forward. He likens being bisexual today to being biracial in the 1960s, a period when racism and discrimination were widespread. A person who was mixed race often couldn't feel comfortable among either racial group, Pierce explained.

"You're caught in between these two very different groups of straight people and gay people, and neither one really accepts you," he said.

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[Chicago hosted the 2009 Bisexual Health Summit as part of the 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit. Learn more about that event.]