rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) (06/12/84)
The current (today's May 12th) Gay Community News (Boston paper) has a sane & eye-opening review of recent books by gay & straight authors on AIDs & other sexually transmitted diseases written by Charley Shively. Shively shows how medical & other authorities are effectively reintro- ducing fear of sex and outright superstition by means of the current public anxieties over herpes, hepatitis, as well as AIDS, above and beyond the real risks contained in these diseases. Many of the books reviewed are being widely read; some are worse than others. The best are anthologies of medical papers that have least bearing on personal health practices. It's worth reading the review if you have read or will read any of this literature.
rrizzo@bbncca.UUCP (06/14/84)
After reading my previous message, I realized I should qualify it: the reviewer TENDS to downplay the real dangers of STDs, so the review should be read somewhat "with a grain of salt". There ARE books worth reading & using as guides among those reviewed. Some of the books carry quite a bit of homophobia in some of the information & advice given; the review should be seen as a needed corrective to such shortcomings. I certainly hope I didn't convey the impression that the AIDS crisis isn't an extremely serious matter that one ignores only at the risk (quite literally) of one's life, or that the other widespread STDs (hepatitis, herpes, repeated gonorrhea & amebiasis) aren't debili- tating illnesses that occasionally can even become life-threatening. I also hope this note doesn't heap more health anxieties on anyone. Ron Rizzo