Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Examining Bathhouse Policy, NYC Says HIV Infections Up - and Points the Finger

Health dept. memo suggests sex clubs could be closed with circumstantial evidence

After saying for years that new HIV infections among gay and bisexual men are high, but stable, a city health department memo given to Gay City News is asserting that new HIV infections among those men are increasing.

"New York City is now experiencing an increase in syphilis and an increase in HIV infection in men who have sex with men," Dr. Thomas Farley, a special advisor to Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city's health commissioner, wrote in the November 2007 memo.

The six-page memo, titled "Policy Regarding Bathhouses and Other Commercial Sex Venues in New York City,"was drafted for Frieden and explores the options for dealing with sex clubs and bathhouses.

Read the rest in Gay City News.

Read Joe.My.God's post titled "NYC Mulls Closing Bathhouses, Sex Clubs."


This is an unfortunately hard line approach. What do you think? Would you want to see bathhouses shut down in your city?


4 comments:

  1. Do we consider for a moment that the baths are a tool of our own oppression and that there is no similar legal venue for heterosexuals? Protected sex in the baths remains the exception, not the rule, regardless of how many signs are posted. The Internet quickly replaced the baths for scoring relatively anonymous sex, while cruising in either venue for most Queermen can be as much a ding to self-esteem as it can be a thrill.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "the baths are a tool of our own oppression... Protected sex in the baths remains the exception"

    I have had tons and tons and tons of protected sex at the baths, and I'm not alone in that at least based on what I've seen and on discussion with my peers.

    And I fail to grasp the argument about baths causing oppression...

    ReplyDelete
  3. to consider any option other than the final one would seem a retrograde step for both public health and the gay community. Other cities across the world are struggling with how best to promote safer sex and testing in sauna settings and New York should look across to other global cities who are facing similar challenges and are taking forward option 4 with some success.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bathhouses have nothing to do with getting HIV or a STD. People will continue to get both if they have unsafe sex .... period

    Gay, Str8 and Bi sexual men all must learn to have safe sex.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

select key words

2007 National HIV Prevention Conference 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit 2011 LGBTI Health Summit 2012 Gay Men's Health Summit 2012 International AIDS Conference abstinence only ACT Up activism advocacy Africa african-american aging issues AIDS AIDS Foundation of Chicago anal cancer anal carcinoma anal health anal sex andrew's anus athlete ball scene bareback porn barebacking bathhouses bears big bold and beautiful Bisexual Bisexual Health Summit bisexuality black gay men black msm blood ban blood donor body image bottom Brian Mustanski BUTT Center on Halsted Charles Stephens Chicago Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse Chris Bartlett chubby chaser circumcision civil rights civil union Coaching with Jake communication community organizing condoms Congress crystal meth dating dating and mating with alan irgang David Halperin David Munar depression disclosure discrimination domestic violence don't ask don't tell douche downlow Dr. James Holsinger Dr. Jesus Ramirez-Valles Dr. Rafael Diaz Dr. Ron Stall drag queen Ed Negron emotional health ENDA Eric Rofes exercise Feast of Fun Feel the love... female condom fitness Friday is for Faeries FTM gay culture gay identity gay latino gay male sex gay marriage gay men gay men of color gay men's health Gay Men's Health Summit 2010 gay pride gay rights gay rugby gay sex gay youth gender harm reduction hate crime HCV health care health care reform health insurance hepatitis C HIV HIV care HIV drugs HIV negative HIV positive HIV prevention HIV stigma HIV strategic plan HIV testing hiv vaccine HIV/AIDS homophobia homosexuality hottie hotties how are you healthy? Howard Brown Health Center HPV human rights humor hunk Illinois IML immigration International AIDS Conference international mr. leather internet intimacy IRMA Jim Pickett leather community leathersex Leon Liberman LGBT LGBT adoption LGBT culture LGBT health LGBT rights LGBT seniors LGBT youth LGBTI community LGBTI culture LGBTI health LGBTI rights LGBTI spirituality LGV LifeLube LifeLube forum LifeLube poll LifeLube subscription lifelube survey Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano love lube lubricant Lymphogranuloma Venereum masturbation mental health microbicides middle Monday Morning Perk-Up MRSA MSM music National AIDS Strategy National Gay Men's Health Summit negotiated safety nutrition One Fey's Tale oral sex Peter Pointers physical health Pistol Pete pleasure PnP podcast policy politics poppers porn post-exposure prophylaxis PrEP President Barack Obama Presidential Campaign prevention Project CRYSP prostate prostate cancer public health public sex venues queer identity racism Radical Faerie recovery rectal microbicides relationships religion research safe sex semen Senator Barack Obama sero-adaptation sero-sorting seroguessing sex sexual abuse sexual addiction sexual health sexual orientation Sister Glo Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence smoking social marketing spirituality STD stigma stonewall riots substance abuse treatment substance use suicide super-bug superinfection Susan Kingston Swiss declaration syphilis Ted Kerr Test Positive Aware Network testicle self-examination testicular cancer testing The "Work-In" The 2009 Gay Men's Health Agenda Tony Valenzuela top Trans and Intersex Association trans group blog Trans Gynecology Access Program transgender transgender day of remembrance transgendered transmen transphobia transsexual Trevor Hoppe universal health care unsafe sex vaccines video violence viral load Who's That Queer Woof Wednesday writers yoga You Tube youtube