December 1975

HIGH GEAR

ale

ex Doll Results

Page 7

Clinic Starts Counseling Rap Group

Among the greater benefits of the somewhat revolutionary sixties was the heightened awareness of people of the numerous alternative lifestyles within American society, including, of course, the then popular hippie style and the lives of gays. One of the, by now, "institutions" developed in this period was the free clinic, and such clinics can now be found in most larger cities across the country. These clinics serve their urban communities in their capacity as I

our

We gratefully extend thanks to the fifty courageous and generous men who dared reveal to us their intimate sexual behavior. The results we received were surprising and enlightening. Trends emerged which we hardly expected in these responses.

This survey is not intended to serve as "how to" or standard of sexual performance. We simply thought it would be fun to systematically probe the preferences of local gay men. Here is how our questions answered:

Do you have sex

were

a source of quality health care | A. 24% Usually with the same

for people without regard to person

wealth of lifestyle. In Cleveland, I B. 56% Usually with various

we are lucky to have the Free | people

Medical Clinic of Greater

ין

Cleveland, located at 12201 Euclid Avenue, to provide this service. Recently, the question of how well the clinic and its! staff were serving and responding to the community was brought up by some of the staff members, and it was decided that some usefulness would be gained by an increased communication between the clinic and gays.

C. 20% Mostly with the same

person, but occasionally with others

2, Are fantasies important in

your sexual activity?

I

gay

A. 52% Yes

B. 32% Sometimes

I

C. 16% No

To this end, Sandy Scully of the clinic invited John Vogel, M.J. Dineen, and David Holleb (a clinic staff member) to speak to the staff at their meeting on Nov.j 20 about the need to be sensitive to gay perspectives and to promote an atmosphere at the clinic in which gays could feel comfortable. While the I clinic provides a range of medical, dental, and psychological services, the 1 areas of greatest concern to gays as gays included V.D. I testing and treatment, counseling, crisis intervention, women's counseling, and hotline response. These are areas of contact with the Free Clinic where a person's, sexual orientation could possibly have bearing on a staff member's response and treatment of a patient. After a presentation by John about the problems of relating to gays because of stereotype images of them, each of these topics was dealt with in discussions.

While the uncritical treatment of V.D. is one of the clinic's major functions and care is taken to put the patient at ease in these cases, the problem of the staff in ascertaining the proper tests for V.D. was brought up as a difficult issue. The current more open and freer sexual behavior of people in general leads to the need, for example, to take oral and rectal cultures to check for gonorrhea..

Too often, the "gay" question revolves around the mores and needs of the gay male and the special concerns of the gay

3. Do you more often

A. 48% Initiate sex with others B. 44% Let others initiate sex with you

8% (No comment)

4. In general are you A. 16% Shy

B. 32% Stoic C. 48% Aggressive

4% (No comment)

5. Do you customarily find sex A. 36% At a bar or disco B. 10% At the baths

C. 4% Gay parties or social functions

D. 16% Through friends E. 4% At public places (Edgewater Park, The Mall)

F. 22% With a lover or friend I G. 8% Elsewhere (one respondent included "by mail")

6. Which part of the male physique excites you the most? 2% Neck

34% Chest and Torso 4% Penis

woman are overlooked. A lively discussion, led by M.J., focussed on these particulars. With respect to V.D., for example, the lesbian is not as likely to have contracted gonorrhea or syphillis as she is to be infected by one of the lesser known venereal diseases. Many of the women who come to the clinic do SO for counseling regarding birth control and pregnancy, which are, of course, not the needs of the lesbian. The problem of sensitivity to this situation by the staff was discussed at length. In terms of hotline response and counseling, the staff

24% Buttocks

14% Face, head 2% Mouth

6% "Whatever is best on an individual"

4% Eyes

4% Groin

2% Legs 4% Everything

7. Would you participate in sex with more than one person at a time? 76% Yes 24% No

members expressed some difficulty in being as useful to the person as they would like to be, simply because of the inability to relate completely to the person's different sexual orientation. The need for referral to gay counselors and gay peers was expressed. In this respect, the meeting yielded several concrete results in that gay counseling is to be a feature at the clinic and clinic space was made available for a gay discussion/rap group. David Holleb will be handling the gay counseling to be offered every Thursday evening and will act as a referral service of the

8. Do you prefer sex with A. 54% A certain physical type. B. 34% Many physical types C. 12% Other

9. Do you have sex with another person

A. 20% Once a week

B. 46% Twice a week (or more) C. 32% Less than once a week 2% "A lot"

10. How frequently do you masturbate alone?

A. 16% Once a week B. 70% Twice a week (or more)

hotline. Women volunteers for this area are still needed. Enthusiasm for a gay rap group where gays could get together in an informal, unstructural situation was quite high; and the rap group, meeting every Friday evening beginning at 8 PM, promises to become one of the better ways for gays to get to know each other and to explore their feelings and experiences as gays. The group is not seen, however, as being a "heavy" experience and the emphasis is on informality. The Friday evening time was chosen to offer at least a one night alternative to the bars for those

C. 12% Less than once a week

2% (No comment)

11. List two or three of the following sexual activities in the order of your preference:

A. 4% Body massage

B. 0% Oral or facial exploration of body orifices

C. 32% Thrusting or rubbing one's body against another

D. 16% Kissing

E. 20% Fellatio

F. 16% Anal intercourse G. 12% (These respondents replied "all" or "everything")

12. By which of the above are you most likely to climax? A. 0% Body massage B. 2% Oral or facial exploration of the body orifices

C. 32% Thrusting or rubbing one's body against another D. 2% Kissing

E. 40% Fellatio

F. 24% Anal intercourse

G. 0% Other

13. Which of the above do you enjoy least?

A. 12% Body massage

B, 8% Oral or facial exploration

of the body orifices

C. 2% Thrusting or rubbing

one's body against another

D. 6% Kissing

E. 4% Fellatio

F. 34% Anal intercourse

G. 6% Other

14. List two or three of the following scenarios in the order

of your preference:

A. 12% Bondage

B. 8% Light or elaborate sadism

C. 10% Light or elaborate masochism

D. 42% Wrestling

E. 8% Other

20% (No comment)

15. Which of the above do you prefer least?

A. 16% Bondage

B. 36% Light or elaborate sadism

C. 8% Light or elaborate masochism

D. 16% Wrestling

E. 24% Other (One respondent remarked, "not too much roughhousing," another qualified, "light S and M only.")

who do not or cannot enjoy that scene.

On the whole, the Free Clinic has re-asserted its commitment to the alternative lifestyles of gays. To the gays attending the meeting, the staff appeared anxious to provide good service to the gay community with attention to our sexual orientation when it is significant and without prejudice when it is not.

Remember, especially, the availability of gay counseling on Thursday evenings and the rap group meeting every Friday evening. See you at the Free Clinic.