Activist discusses AIDS prevention

Condoms aren't the only answer to solving the AIDS epidemic. In a speech last night to approximately 50 students, staff and other Philadelphia activists, prominent gay author and activist Gabriel Rotello explained that effective AIDS prevention will not be accomplished until the gay community ends the "multiple partner ethic." The lecture and discussion, one of many on-campus activities during Bisexual Gay Lesbian and Transgender Awareness Days, was co-sponsored by Connaissance. Rotello, the founding editor of Outweek magazine, discussed his controversial new book Sexual Ecology and outlined ways to slow down, and even prevent, the rapid spread of the AIDS epidemic among the gay population. In his talk, Rotello rejected the "narrative of accident" theory -- the notion that the AIDS virus was originally spread among gay men purely by accident. Or, that gay men were the "accidental first victims." In fact, as Rotello pointed out, there is now evidence that HIV dates back several decades before the beginning of the current epidemic. He then proceeded to outline three widely accepted "factors of sexually transmitted disease transmission," popularly referred to as the "triad of risk." These factors, while not independently responsible for the spread of STDs, do often lead to higher probabilities of contracting the diseases. The first factor, "prevalence," refers to the number of infected people within a pool of prospective partners. "Infectivity," the second factor, is how likely one is to be infected upon having sex with an infected person. Finally, "contact rate" is measured as the number of people with whom one has sexual contact. These three behavioral practices, according to Rotello, contribute greatly to the probability of a quick transmission of sexual diseases. Rotello's analysis of the spread of the AIDS virus, he noted, basically refutes the popular "condom code" -- the idea that regular, constant use of condoms during sexual intercourse will automatically lower the "explosive reproduction rate" of the AIDS virus. Rotello does acknowledge that this notion should, in theory, work. Yet, in reality, despite the "universal awareness of condoms," he said that only 50 percent of gay men use condoms during every sexual encounter. Condoms, says Rotello, are "arguably the most important thing we can do to lower the risk of AIDS." Rotello emphasized the need for safe sex, but also focused on how the location of gay areas within red light districts and gay strips often leads to the promiscuity common to many large cities' gay communities. Since condoms, by themselves, are often not enough, Rotello stressed the importance of having members of the gay community lower their number of partners. "My point is not to deemphasize the importance of condoms," Rotello told the audience. It is an "eminently logical approach to AIDS prevention" for gay individuals to lower their contact rate, or number of partners. Rotello spoke for approximately 45 minutes and then fielded questions, based both on his book and his lecture, from the audience. "I think it was a very healthy discourse," said Robert Schoenberg, director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Center. "What he said and the way in which he said it is obviously very controversial, but I think the opportunity to talk about it was very useful."