"In the last few years, the rise of free online porn — content-rich sites that tease viewers to subscribe for more — and pay-site juggernauts like Brazzers have put the L.A.-based adult-video industry against the ropes. Its answer, in part, has been the high-dollar parody, designed to attract ComicCon nerds, science fiction fans and other pop culture aficionados who must collect everything within their target oeuvre." -- The troubled US economy affects pornstars too, so "Porn Defends The Money Shot" (NSFW) [more inside]
posted by bardic on Sep 29, 2011 - 80 comments

The Pope approves the use of condoms
posted by Artw on Nov 20, 2010 - 180 comments

Are the Rules That Determine Who Can Donate Blood Discriminatory? Canadian AIDS researchers Dr. Mark Wainberg and Dr. Norbert Gilmore say that while the ban on blood donation from men who have sex with other men may have been ethically and scientifically justified in the 1980's, it no longer makes sense. (CMAJ.) Even though the US FDA reaffirmed their long-standing ban in 2007, they plan to revisit the policy in June. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 26, 2010 - 69 comments

Kenyan women call to mind Greek comedy, though perhaps they have other reasons to take a week off...
posted by mdn on Apr 30, 2009 - 17 comments

The elderly are staying sexually active [WaPo], and this is a good thing. Although there is a sex-education gap among America's seniors. Play it safe, old folks!
posted by Avenger on Aug 23, 2007 - 55 comments

Dear Bareback Andy --a response by Signorile to Andrew Sullivan's recent article on HIV--"Still Here, So Sorry"-- how HIV vastly improved his life. (Sullivan also famously and prematurely wrote about the End of Aids in '96)
posted by amberglow on Jun 23, 2005 - 51 comments

A Natural Solution for a Tighter Vagina Dry sex is extremely popular in Africa due to the sensation of tightness and additional friction it provides, despite the fact that it is associated with higher rates of HIV transmission. But if you don't have access to mutendo wegudo (soil with baboon urine), Scott and Cynthia Koss have the product for you.
posted by amber_dale on Jan 27, 2005 - 62 comments

Is circumcision an AIDS weapon? To cut or not to cut? Does circumcision prevent the transmission of HIV? It was deemed "An acceptable strategy for HIV prevention" in Bostwana and a study looking at the magnitude of females who get infected with HIV/AIDS/STDs through circumcision
posted by halekon on Jan 9, 2005 - 20 comments

The value of disobedience. [note: nytimes] "Ignoring the reactionary policies of the Vatican, some local priests and nuns quietly do what they can to save parishioners from AIDS." So: when and why do people choose to quietly disobey, rather than leave and promote change from outside their social institutions...or vice versa? Should dissenters just leave, or stay and fight? Anecdotes from Republicans and NRA members are especially welcome ;-)
posted by stonerose on Nov 26, 2003 - 15 comments

Michael Johnston, a strong voice of the ex-gay movement, falls from grace, admitting he willingly had unprotected sex with men without disclosing his HIV+ status, after appearing in national advertisements to promote the ex-gay movement. One of his strongest supporters, the Concerned Women for America, are calling it a "severe moral failing" and equating homosexuality to alcoholism (i.e., a disease).
posted by archimago on Aug 8, 2003 - 60 comments

Dan Savage takes on the Rolling Stone "bug chasing"/HIV+ gay sex story in his column today, and lambastes one of his favorite sacred cows, Gay Men's Health Crisis and other outreach groups that seem to have a lackadaisical attitude towards their clients' risky behavior. He's written about this before, in the case of Seth Watkins, an HIV+ sex education worker who admitted in the NYTimes he has unprotected casual sex at clubs. Does any of this coverage increase awareness of the still-plenty-big threat of HIV, or does it just make gay men look bad? Respectful discussion within...?
posted by serafinapekkala on Jan 29, 2003 - 42 comments

In the Trenches with Love and AIDS. An HIV-negative gay man shares why he sleeps with seropositive men and how he deals with the danger :
"When his health finally collapses, you clean his diarrhea off the sheets and floor and swaddle him in diapers against his will. When he falls into a coma, you lie next to him every night and jerk off amid the scent of looming death. Your orgasms are great. You hold his hand as his last breath slips away and then his mouth drops open and foam bubbles out. They take him away but you can't let him go yet, so you don't change the sheets for two days, and you masturbate some more."
posted by The Jesse Helms on Dec 1, 2002 - 31 comments

White House Wages Stealth War on Condoms The government is waging a covert war on condoms. Fact sheets on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of the AIDS virus have disappeared from government sites. Right wing activists have been appointed to the the presidential AIDS panel. Government audits of AIDS activist groups who protest these policies have begun. So, apparently only evil-doers have sex outside of marriage, and they deserve to die horrible deaths.
posted by dejah420 on Nov 20, 2002 - 166 comments

Increasingly, teens have begun to view oral sex as a way to avoid HIV, despite public health experts' warnings to the contrary. Turns out, the kids may be right.
posted by nathanstack on Jun 7, 2002 - 25 comments

Chlamydia seems to be on the rise. Working in a hospital lab I've seen an increase in tests for HPV, Herpes and Gonorrhea. It's enough to make one wonder if sex is worth the risk.
posted by Apoch on Mar 20, 2002 - 13 comments

AIDS Programs: An Epidemic of Waste. Interesting article about AIDS funding in the USA... and these people want more taxpayer money! Heres a quote: The Stop AIDS Project of San Francisco, which received $698,000 (39 percent of its budget) in CDC grants in fiscal 200139, has sponsored several "prevention" events, including a gay prom in April. Last August it held "Booty Call," a seminar about dildos, plugs, fisting, and rimming. The advertisement read, "After a little basic science, share tales of intercourse and orgasm. Find out why so many of us find ass play a major turn on."
posted by Keen on Mar 4, 2002 - 47 comments

You're Never Too Old to Get HIV!! People over 50 account for 13.4% of 1999 newly diagnosed AIDS cases. But because seniors, who don't think they're at risk to begin with, don't get tested -- the problem may be much bigger than number suggest.

Misconceptions about STDs, multiple partners, and the belief that condoms aren't necessary since pregnancy isn't possible, (and perhaps Viagra?) are contributing to the escalating rate.
posted by jennak on Jul 17, 2001 - 3 comments

No soup sex for you!. President Daniel arap Moi has urged Kenyans to abstain from sex for at least two years to try to curb the spread of HIV. The government announced plans on Wednesday to import 300 million condoms to fight AIDS.
posted by 120degrees on Jul 12, 2001 - 18 comments

Catholic Church offered solution to AIDS crisis? Though I certainly lean more left than right, I have The National Review in print an online for many years to get some balance in my media intake. I must say, they have run numerous articles online of late that I felt were well-reasoned, fair and insighful. This, however, is crap. "Many have tut-tutted the Church for opposing condoms even as an AIDS prevention tool. Some have even called the Church complicit in AIDS deaths. But, as it has turned out, condoms aren't a very good AIDS-prevention tool after all. [emphasis mine] " So now condoms are not useful for preventing AIDS. Did we miss something?
posted by 4midori on Jun 15, 2001 - 27 comments

Great article on the whole Andrew Sullivan and Michael Signoreli fiasco. Finally, a well written viewpoint about the barebacking incident that raised the hackles of gay conservatives and liberals alike.
posted by chason on Jun 8, 2001 - 3 comments

No matter what your situation, if you're sexually active, you have a responsibility to get tested. Yes, it's scary, but knowing your status (and acting accordingly) is the only way the spread of HIV can be stopped. If you live in the U.S., this site can direct you to a local organization that can perform the test -- often for free. (via randomwalks)
posted by jjg on Dec 1, 2000 - 5 comments