Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1987)
lust news AIDS world: The Yankee Plague While Americans have persuaded themselves that AIDS is a gay disease, other nations are characterizing AIDS as an American disease. B Y W C. M c R A E n Japan, the death of the first Japanese woman from AIDS has sent that country into panic. Prostitution is tolerated in Japanese culture. However, the woman who died was a prostitute liv ing near an American army base, accord ing to the New York Times. Homosexuality is also accepted in Japan, but the blame for bringing AIDS to the island nation is being laid to American servicemen. After her death, the woman was pilloried in the Japanese press as getting what she deserved for having dealings with foreign men. Likewise, AIDS in the Philippines has been characterized as an American disease introduced by servicemen. China also sees the disease as a purely Western phenome non, and the Chinese government is now requiring all foreign students, as well as returning Chinese students, to submit to HIV tests. South Korea, gearing up for the 1988 Olympics, is requiring HIV antibody tests of all restaurant and entertainment work I ers. The testing will begin in those areas frequented by US troops. In Italy, safe sex is providing politicians with another opportunity to thumb their noses at the Pope. The Italian Defense Ministry is issuing condoms to members of the Italian Armed Forces in order to prevent the spread of AIDS. The decision is contrary to positions held by leading factions of the Italian government and of the Catholic Church, and is seen as a snub to both. Last month, the Christian Democrat health minister said, “ Anyone who catches AIDS now has gone out of his way to get it.” The defense minister is prepared to face the criticism, according to the London Times. In the same week, a Catholic offi cial, and personal friend of Pope John-Paul II, wrote that AIDS would have a benefi cial effect on society by making people more chaste. In England, where homes of gay men have been fire bombed recently, the gov ernment announced plans to. require HIV tests of all immigrants. • Sexual practices and risk of AIDS exposure infection, contradictory evaluations of “ fisting” are available. The study was conducted during the period from June, 1984 until January 1985 using a cohort of 1034 single men 25 to 54 years of age by the San Francisco Men’s Study, and appear« in the January 16, he Journal of the American Medical Health 1987 issue of the lournal of the American Association recently published a Medical Association. The participants study concerning the correlation were taken from the 19 census tracts of San between certain sexual practices and the Francisco where risk of exposure to the virus that causes been most intense. the AIDS epidemic has AIDS. In layman’s terms, if you The report noted that even before the continue to be the passive partner in findings of this particular study, extensive anal sex without using the minimal protec efforts had already been made in San Fran tion of condoms, you can die. cisco to encourage homosexual/bisexual Another important finding in the data to limit the numbers of their sexual obtained from the study is that it shows “ a men partners and the practice of unprotected strong positive association between num anal/gential contact. There is evidence that bers of male sexual partners and sero- these efforts resulted in substantial changes positivity (exposure to the virus).” Hope in sexual practices homosexual/ fully, this is already known to many men in bisexual men and a among reduction in other sex the community. ually transmitted diseases. • By comparing two groups of men, one — Michael S. Reed group having had no anal/genital contact for two years previous to the study and the other group having practiced various pat terns of anal/genital contact during the two years previous to the study, it was deter mined that “ those practicing receptive (anal/genital) contact, whether exclusively or combined with insertive contact, the adjusted relative risks (of exposure) were A complete line significantly elevated.” of bath, beauty Of the four types of rectal trauma studied, only douche or enema and skin care before sexual contact contributed to the products. risk of infection by receptive anal/genital contact. This finding is consistent with ob servations made in a similar study of 1980 Yamhill Market Place concerning the association between and 5th St. Public Market, Eugene douching and Hepatitis B infection. Al though this study did not show a direct correlation between “ fisting” and risk of T Uncommon Scents. . . SoflfóàtiMted HAIR styled superbly GARY meticulously manicured LJUCXEY NAILS ' COME RELAX OUR SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENT 1225 NE Broadway — 281-7831 & 288-7831 Uncommon Scents. Just Out 7 March. 1987