January 27, 2006 | Sex & Society

The condomless conundrum

Michael Shernoff, a gay, HIV-positive psychotherapist from New York, does not subscribe to the common belief that sexual risk-taking is a self-destructive pathology. In "Without Condoms: Unprotected Sex, Gay Men, and Barebacking," his new book, he argues that  sexual risk is a universal by which most of us are tempted at some point.

"No one wants to see large numbers of new infections and people dying," Shernoff tells The Advocate in a recent interview. "But the desire for sexual freedom and abandon is normal and natural. Contemporary AIDS prevention efforts need to speak to all categories of gay men without demonizing those who don’t use condoms as 'bad gays who are pathological.'"

Among Shernoff's favorite terms is "sex negativity," referring to Americans' Puritanical views of sex, which dub sexuality -- and pleasure, in general -- as sinful and wrong. Shernoff advocates, instead, a sex-positive approach to HIV prevention efforts, which might acknowledge and even embrace the idea of sexual pleasure in order to promote safe sex rather than abstinence.

In fact, that's exactly how many other countries approach STD prevention, Shernoff tells The Advocate.

"Countries like England and Australia have come up with prevention methods that don’t rely solely on campaigns that tell all gay men to wear condoms all of the time," he says. "These countries all acknowledge that consistent use of condoms is the best way to reduce the spread of HIV. They also acknowledge that refusing to address the sex lives gay men are actually having is in fact counterproductive to limiting the spread of HIV."

Meanwhile, in the United States, the President still believes that babies are delivered by storks. Not really - but it would explain a lot - right?

• Michael Shernoff [Advocate.com]