January 1986

Gay Peoples Chronicle

page 12

The Ins and Outs of Condoms

BY BUCK HARRIS

Before becoming the Gay Health Consultant to the Ohio Department of Health, I worked as a technician in a sexually transmitted disease clinic and then as a consultant for Planned Parenthood. I like to consider myself a "Condomologist." In the interest of science, I have explored condom use extensively. It is from research, testimony, and personal experience that I offer the following information.

Unprotected rectal intercourse is the most deadly sexual activity in which gay men can engage. Rectal intercourse with a rubber can be pleasurable for the inserter and recipient and adds a most important ingredient to a sexual encounter: peace of mind!

A survey at last year's picnic at Wildwood Lake indicated that only 25% of the 400 respondents used condoms during sex. That's an improvement. In 1984, only 3% reported using condoms. The 75% who do not use condoms report a few major problems: "They break or leak." "When I'm in the throws of passion, I want to disrupt the by having to put condom." "Condoms are a drag.

don't moment

on a

My response is that if you think condoms are a problem or a drag, try AIDS!

ANSWERS TO THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CONDOMS:

Q. Do condoms stop the spread of AIDS?

A. HTLV-3, the virus that causes AIDS, survives in bodily fluids and in an infected person is highly concentrated in semen. Condoms prevent the passing of semen from partner to partner. Recent studies have shown that condoms do in fact block the AIDS virus. Con-

Porn star Richard ("Put a Rubber On It") Locke surrounded by safe sex paraphernalia at a recent Health Issues Taskforce event.

Cleveland Conference on AIDS

From Page 1

The United Labor Agency is the human services and educational organization of organized labor in Cleveland, including the AFL-CIO, UAW, and Teamsters Union. Participants

dons ilso help prevent theBesides Murphy represent

transmission

several

other sexually transmitted diseases which may be cofactors for the development of AIDS.

Q. I'm nervous about using then. How can I get over it?

A. Play with yourself before you play with anyone else. Go to your local condom outlet. Buy a supply. Go home. Put on some romantic music. Drum up your most erotic fantasy and masturbate with a condom. I call this a "wet run," or an undressed rehearsal. Get used to putting them on, how they feel, taste, and smell. You'll get over your Der-

vousness.

Q. What is the proper way to use a rubber?

A. The main reason rubbers fail is user abuse. Condoms are user-friendly. Follow these simple guidelines:

* Keep an ample supply in a cool, dry spot for convenuse. Don't store them Page 14, col. 1

ient

official

ing the ULA, sponsors of the conference include Congressman Edward F. Feighan, who represents the 19th Ohio District; and Dr. Leonard H. Calabrese Director of the Cleveland Clinic AIDS Task Force.

Panelists and moderators include Katherine L. Armstrong, Health Programs Manager, Bank of America in San Francisco; Dr. Leonard H. Calabrese; Dr. Brian Davis, Associate Professor Metropolitan General Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Frank Emig, Director of Community Services for the National AFL-CIO.

Also Fred Griffith, WEWSTV (Channel 5) Editorial Commentator and host of the Morning Exchange; Dr. Thomas J. Halpin, Acting Director of the Ohio Department of Health and Director of the AIDS Advisory Group for the State of Ohio; Buck Harris, Gay Health Consultant, Ohio Department of Health; Carol Levine, Editor of the Hastings Center Report and CoDirector of the Hastings

Center Project on AIDS; Father John Murphy, Superintendent of Catholic Diocesan Schools, Cleveland; Michael J. Murphy.

Also Dean Rhonda Rivera, Ohio State University School of Law and Attorney at Law Dr. Susan Rehm, Department of Infectious Disease, Cleveland Clinic; Robert L. Samsot, City Editor, the Plain Dealer; Dr. Mervyn F. Silverman, Former Director of Health for the City and County of San Francisco and currently a private consultant on AIDS and related health issues; and Dr. Phyllis Workentin, Associate Director of the of the Northern Ohio Red Cross Blood Service.

Program

The Conference will open with introductory remarks by Dr. Calabrese and a formal welcome from Congressman Feighan. It consists of three sessions, each including a number of panelists and a panel discussion.

a.m.

AIDS as a Disease Session I, at 9:00 concentrates on AIDS as á disease. Dr. Rehm is moderator. Panelists and the titles of their papers are: Dr. Calabrese, "The Spectrum of AIDS; Dr. Davis, The Virus and Transmission;" and Dr. Silverman, "AIDS: A PsychoSocial Disease.

AIDS in the Work Place Session II, AIDS in the Work Place, starting at 10:30 a.m., will be moderated by Mr. Emig. Panelists are Dr. Silverman, "A Public Health Perspective; Dr. Levine, "Ethical Perspective;" Ms. Rivera, "Legal Issues: Hiring, Firing, Discrimination; Mr. Harris, "Emotional Issues: The Gay Worker; Dr. Armstrong, "Perspective of a Corporate Health Plan." Discussion follows.

AIDS and the Community Session III, AIDS and the Community, begins at 1:30 p.m., following lunch. Moderator is Father Murphy. Panelists are Dr. Levine, "Ethical Problems with AIDS in the Community;" Dr. Halpin, "AIDS in our Schools"; Dr. Workentin, "AIDS and the Blood Supply;" Mr. Griffith and Mr. Samsot, "AIDS and the Responsibility of the Media; Dr. Silverman, AIDS: The Future and What Can be Done, and Dr. Murphy, Practical Direction."

The Conference is open to all interested persons. Registration, which includes lunch, is $25. For information, write United Labor Agency, Inc., 3510 Chester Avenue, Cleveland 44114. Address inquiries to the attention of the AIDS Conference Coordinator.