Sexual Ecology

rdf:langString Sexual Ecology

rdf:langString Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men

rdf:langString Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men

rdf:langString RA644.A25 R68 1997

rdf:langString United States

rdf:langString English

rdf:langString Print

rdf:langString Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men is a 1997 book by the gay activist Gabriel Rotello, in which the author discusses why HIV has continued to infect large numbers of gay men despite the widespread use of condoms, and why many experts believe that new HIV infections will disproportionately strike gay men in the future. To investigate this, he examines the origins and history of the AIDS epidemic, and draws upon epidemiology, sociology, gay history, and ecology. His conclusion is that gay men need to reduce the number of partners and increase the use of condoms in order to bring the infection rate down. Rotello's central argument derives from the epidemiological concept that sexually transmitted epidemics are the result of three factors, sometimes called the Triad of Risk: 1. the ‘infectivity’ of a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or how easily it spreads, 2. the ‘prevalence’ of that STD in a particular group, and 3. the ‘contact rate,’ or the average number of sexual partners that people have within a particular group. Rotello argues that gay men significantly lowered the first leg of the triad, infectivity, through the use of condoms, yet condoms alone proved unable to quell the epidemic because the second leg of the triad, prevalence, was already so high. Therefore, gay men needed to address the third leg of the triad, the contact rate. Rotello argues that lowering the contact rate while continuing to emphasize condoms might provide enough additional ‘room for error’ to bring new infections below the epidemic's tipping point. Sexual Ecology was considered by some a major contribution to the AIDS discourse and became a gay best seller. New Scientist called it, “...a remarkable book...a breath of fresh air in the growing litany about the AIDS epidemic.” The New York Times called it ‘trenchant’ and ‘brave’ and said it “merits the attention of a broad audience,” while The Boston Globe described it as “...the Silent Spring of the AIDS epidemic.” It also received considerable praise by some within the LGBT community. Writing in The Nation, gay historian Martin Duberman called it, “...the most important book about gay men and AIDS since And the Band Played On. And it is far better.” But Sexual Ecology was criticized by others within the gay community for arguing that multiple partners played a significant role in the etiology and longevity of the gay AIDS epidemic and that, along with condoms, partner reduction was key to containing the epidemic. Mark Schoofs in the Village Voice called Sexual Ecology "toxic" and "an ugly distortion of gay life." AIDS activist Jim Eigo compared Rotello to right wingers like Pat Buchanan and Jesse Helms, writing that he “scapegoats and stigmatizes those of us who engage in multipartnerism.” A new activist organization, Sex Panic!, was formed in part to combat the message of Sexual Ecology, accusing Rotello and other writers whom the group labeled ‘gay neo-cons,’ particularly Michelangelo Signorile, Larry Kramer and Andrew Sullivan, of betraying gay sexual freedom.