Delany

Some author guy came to talk yesterday about AIDS, homosexual issues, literature. The D reported on it. They said the following:

"Delany estimated that he has had anywhere between 5,800 and 7,000 encounters of unprotected receptive oral sex with different men, many of whom were complete strangers.
'I enjoy a certain kind of pleasure,' Delany said. 'I gamble in getting it.'
Delany used his explicit stories to illustrate the need for further studies of how AIDS is transmitted.
Delany, whose identity as an African-American gay man has defined his life's work, criticized what he called an "appalling" lack of studies addressing AIDS transmission. He warned that because these studies tend to be based on speculative accounts of sexual behavior, more research must be done to improve accuracy."

Now, I'm about as pro-sex (and, for that matter, pro-gay) as an awkward straight boy can be. But getting head from 7000 dudes in one lifetime should be regarded at completely unacceptable behavior. At that point, you:disease::bees:flowers. You're telling me you're going to check the sexual histories of 7000 men, "some" of whom are "complete strangers?" Bullshit!

If the gay community doesn't take a strong stance against this kind of nonsense, they're undermining their legitimate claims to mainstream acceptability. Homeboy should have condemned his own actions as selfish and irresponsible, and the Stonewall Fund and whomever else should have echoed in turn.

"Sex is an appetite, so people are going to gamble," he said. "The tests simply have to be done."

Yeah, well, I have appetites too, but somehow I've managed not to have unprotected oral sex with thousands of people. This is because I'm not an ignorant, selfish motherfucker, and I am aware that my life is not the only one I'm "gambling" with.