Posted August 31st, 2009 by 1stofficer
It can be hard to resist the temptation to bareback
In our series of posts about barebacking we’ve looked at the consequences of becoming infected with HIV, and the importance of testing often so that if you do become infected with HIV your outlook will be much better.
Today we’re going to take a look at making the personal decision to bareback or not. In a perfect world all gay guys would use condoms, however, we don’t live in a perfect world, and the fact is that a lot of gay guys find condoms a turn off.
This post is written assuming you’re HIV negative. If you’re HIV positive then a site like GMFA will be able to give you more specialised advice. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted August 30th, 2009 by 1stofficer
Captain’s Log 30.08.2009
(Captain’s Log is a message to Mothership’s logged in members roughly every 2 weeks)
Whilst we’re quiet during the traditional August lull it is a good time to look at what’s coming soon on Mothership
Mothership Blog Redesign
At the moment we’re doing quite a lot of work on the Mothership Blog.
If you’ve had a look at it recently you’ll see we have a new colour scheme and format - it looks crisper and more professional, plus it is easier to read too. We’ll be making further tweaks over the next few days.
The Blog is important to Mothership for a number of reasons - not only does it bring you a lot of information to do with all aspects of gay dating, but it helps recruit new members too!
We’ve included dedicated spaces for advertising - when we fill these the revenue generated helps Mothership to recruit more new members which are our lifeblood.
Mothership Store
This coming week, we’re also refreshing the Mothership Store with some design changes and new products. Our most exciting new product is the blingy, twinky Alick Alexander underwear range which will be available exclusively to the Mothership Store - hopefully by the end of the week - the metallic silver waistband on these briefs is a winner. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted August 28th, 2009 by 1stofficer
Get tested once a year at least!
Yesterday we looked at how we need to establish the hard facts about HIV before making decisions or judgements about gay barebacking. Well, another hard fact about HIV is the earlier you get diagnosed HIV+ , the better your medical outcome.
So, get an HIV test early, and get tested often - that’s once a year, or after you have been put at risk (more below).
In the UK our HIV test rates are particularly poor compared to some other countries - Katherine Sladden of the National Aids Trust told Mothership Blog:
“…in Australia we know 85% to 95% of gay men have had a HIV test at some point in their lives. In the UK this is much lower, only 60% of gay men in the UK have ever had a HIV test.”
However, thanks to efforts from charities like the gay men’s health charity GMFA, there has been a considerable improvement in late diagnosis rates amongst gay men. GMFA’s Matthew Hodson told the Mothership Blog that in 2005 21% of gay men with HIV were diagnosed late, but by 2007 this figure was just 15% [2]. Compare that to 40% of the straight population with a late diagnosis. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted August 27th, 2009 by 1stofficer
The popularity of gay barebacking is leading to increasing HIV cases
Let’s clear one thing up right away. HIV is a serious illness. Developing AIDS is worse. Using a condom during anal sex will drastically reduce your risk of contracting HIV.
However a mighty row is brewing in the UK gay community recently over the growing popularity and visibility of gay barebacking (fucking without a condom). The number of gay men contracting HIV is still growing year on year, and there is a worrying spike of HIV infection rates in our young gay men under 24[1].
1980s AIDS advert
A Pink News article by Gary Leigh ’Killing Us Softly’ argues for a return to hard-hitting no-nonsense AIDS campaigns like those from the 80’s. It has attracted 175 comments already, many of them critical of the prominent gay sexual health charities like GMFA and THT. ‘This has happened on your watch’, Leigh seems to be saying.
The actor Alan Cumming has also been very vocal on the issue in this month’s Attitude magazine:
“There will be a new wave of AIDS deaths”, he states, adding
“AIDS will kill you, and it will make your life terrible. You can live longer now but there will be a wave of death when the new combinations stop being effective.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted August 26th, 2009 by 1stofficer
Apology to Brilliant Gay Mathematician Hounded to His Death
Alan Turing
The Alan Turing petition is a petition on the Number 10 website that calls upon the government to apologise posthumously to Alan Turing for the way he was treated before he died. It has attracted thousands of signatures, including from Professor Richard Dawkins.
Who Was Alan Turing?
You’re probably reading this article on your computer. I’m writing it on mine. We can both thank Alan Turing - one of the greatest mathematicians and computer scientists of all time who developed the ‘Turing Machine’ - basically one of the very first ancestors of the modern computer.
Not only that, Turing was an incredible mathematician and codebreaker - working at Bletchley Park in WW2 alongside the famous Enigma code-breaking machine. Turing was gay, and his homosexuality directly lead to his death in 1954 at just 41 years old. Read the rest of this entry »
