A Community Forum on Crystal Meth

The Walker Art Center Blogs have this posted on their website. It sounds pretty interesting, a documentary called "Meth" is being screened by the Red Door Clinic and other agencies:

Documaker Todd Ahlberg’s penchant for cautionary studies of the dark corners of gay culture (Hooked) continues in Meth, a potent broadside on the dangers of crystal meth. Ahlberg trains his sharp, high-def lens on a roster of past meth users (often appearing in tight, claustrophobia-inducing close-ups) who describe their own path to addiction, with an emphasis on the drug’s social allure. Able to strip away inhibitions and work as a stimulant, meth is consistently described here as overwhelming in its power to kickstart the libido. Dealer Andrew McGregor, seen shooting up, wants to get off of meth, calling it “the devil.” Ahlberg surely hopes this will be the conclusion drawn by the young gay viewers he’s pointedly targeting.

The event is free and open to the public this Wednesday, October 18th. The film starts at 7:30 pm.

How Will Minnesota Gays Respond to Crystal Meth?

This Wednesday evening, Minnesota's GLBT community will begin a dialogue on crystal meth use, and the health consequences that stem from use of the drug. Here's the press release:

"Minneapolis, MN (August 22, 2005) - A unique collaboration between the Twin Cities health services for gay and bisexual men, the City of Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center, and the Minnesota Department of Health announces a community forum to focus on the emerging trend of crystal methamphetamine use in the Twin Cities gay and bisexual men's community.

The forum titled "Meth, Sex, and Men: The New Challenge Facing Gay and Bisexual Men" will be held at the Gallery 8 Café at the Walker Art Center on Wednesday, September 21 from 7 to 9:30 pm. Refreshments and a complimentary art tour of select pieces from the Walker Art collection will begin at 6 pm.

Bill Burleson of the Health Interventions for Men (HIM) program at the Red Door Clinic notes, "Crystal Meth is a definite health issue in Minnesota, and particularly among gay and bisexual men. New research
confirms that meth users are contracting HIV at a rate three times higher than non-meth users. This is certainly an issue we must take seriously as a community."

The forum will be moderated by Gary Schiff, GLBT community member and Minneapolis City Councilperson and will include presentations from Dr. Hal Martin, Park Nicollet Clinic, Johnny Hess, Pride Institute, Rick Terzick, Alternatives, Inc., and several former meth users.

A similar forum for health service providers will be held at noon on Wednesday, September 21st at the Fairview University Hospitals-Riverside location in the Brennan Center Auditorium that will also include Cindy Lutz, Drug Enforcement Agency Officer.

This forum is a collaboration between the City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support, the HIM program at the Red Door Clinic, Pillsbury United Communities, PrideAlive, a program of the Minnesota AIDS Project, the Minneapolis Urban League, The Aliveness Project, Youth and AIDS Project at the University of
Minnesota, the Man to Man Program at the University of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Health."

This is an important issue and very timely. If we want to prevent Minneapolis from looking like the some communities on the coasts, we should pay attention now. This month's Advocate has some interesting stories about meth:

"Want the creature double feature? Read some of the latest research about the nightmarish effects of meth on the body: the brain tissue turned to Swiss cheese, the flesh-consuming staph infections that won’t go away even with antibiotics, the “suicide Tuesday” depressive crash, the constant irritability. Listen to doctors talk about the connection between meth use and new HIV infections. It’s like something out of a Stephen King novel."

I would suggest reading the entire article. The media likes to sensationalize things to sell ads, but if things are half as bad as is portrayed, we're in for some serious trouble. We need to make sure it doesn't happen here.

More information on the Meth, Sex, and Men forum can be found at www.himprogram.org/meth.html.

Craigslist has Penises

Craigslist is like gay.com only it's without the chat rooms, the spam, or the gay.com users frequent bitching about how bitchy everyone is. It's also good for a chuckle from time to time. If found this while bouncing around the Minneapolis Men Seeking Men and the Men Seeking Women forums.

Here's one guy:
"Hi guys. 41, sane, ddf, friendly guy, seeking a night out with another good looking guy around my age. I am 5'11", 190lbs, muscular and fit. You be same. I'm in town for the night. Let's grab a drink and have some fun. Not looking for a one-night stand per se, but let's see where the chemistry goes. I'm newly out and learning. Experienced and safe, ddf, guys 35 to 55 welcome. Hit me with a note and pic." Posted at 11:05pm.

And the same guy 7 minutes later:
"Hi there. I am in town Tuesday night and looking for a woman to hang out with just to have some fun. Let's have a drink, whatever. No sex necessary, let's let chemistry determine it. I'm just looking to pass some time with someone interesting. I'm here on a business trip and have a night free. I am 5'11", 190lbs, muscular and fit, good looking (se pix). I'm sane, safe, and ddf. You be that too. Hit me with a pic and a post and let's see." Posted at 11:12pm.

If this guy was out with a woman last night, I'd have loved to be a fly on the wall.

But, semi-closeted bisexuality aside, there's a very interesting phenomena in the Craigslist Men Seeking Men forums: an ungodly amount of penises. Although it's not a theme uncommon in most homo-oriented hookup sites, because of Craigslist's open-to-the-world format, anyone can come on in and see the penises.

Somewhere around 19 of 20 postings to the site are for NSA (no strings attached) sex. And 1 out of 3 pictures feature penises, 2 out of 3 are torsos or butts. A lot of posts are repeats. I'm left wondering if that guy with a girlfriend that needs that first time blowjob will ever get his blowjob; he's been trying (or lying) for months now. He also reveals another theme: bisexual, closeted, married, discreet...and guys looking for such things.

The internet makes many of life's chores more efficient. Banking, shopping, looking up information, and, look, I get to write for thousands of people each week without a college degree! This efficiency also translates to sex. And I'm afraid that it's making sex so efficient, that a penis is all there is to it.

How is this efficiency affecting those whose sex lives are mainly internet initiated hookups? How does reducing oneself or (self-worth?) to a pleasure giving body part affect the ability to engage others?

For starters, an increase in sexually transmitted infections. That doesn't mean that internet initiated sex involves more unsafe sexual behavior, but that more people are having sex more often.

I beleive that it also prevents people on the margins of the gay community from actually interacting with that community. Those that are closeted, socially awkward, or geographically isolated are not gaining much of a sense of community or making important friendships when all that is offered is a penis. It also gives new-comers the idea that the most important thing they bring to a sexual relationship (or the community) is a penis, or a place for someone else to put their penis.

Anonymous sex is not always a bad thing. Sex phobic attitudes can be found at the root of many social ills from homophobia, misogyny, sexual assault, the problems associated with sex work, and the spread of STDs just to name a few at the tip of the frigid iceberg that Christian fundamentalism built.

I only have a limited experience with internet-based sexual experiences. As a casual observer, I may be way off base with my critique. But I do see a possible emerging problem as the internet becomes the mode of choice for finding sexual partners. And when the dialogue to initiate the search begins with "Bi WM, discreet. Need to travel. Wanna play with this?", it looks like a problem, especially in an area like Minnesota where the people are (stereotypically?) known for a lack intimacy and genuine communication. The internet just took out the horrors of speaking directly and intimately.

Is craigslist a snapshot of all gay men or men who are into men? Definitely not. But it does raise some questions about how the internet is rapidly sucking intimacy, personality, and human communication (aside from fluid exchange) out of the sexuality of many men.

Minnesota to stop paying for gender surgery

Along with medications for sexual dysfunction, and circumcision, Minnesota will stop paying for sex-change operations (not really the most accurate term, but that's what the Strib and the State use).

Closing a 'loophole'

Minnesota has tried to end Medicaid payments for sex-change operations for 10 years. But activists have challenged the restrictions in court. As a result, two to three people a year have had their sex-change operations paid for by state programs, at a total cost of about $15,000 in state funds, officials say. The new law, which took effect Aug. 1, "completely closes the loophole," Geroux said.

State lawyers say they expect court challenges to continue. Phil Duran, a lawyer for OutFront Minnesota, an advocacy group, says he's appealing the department's denials to five patients awaiting sex-change surgery. "It's certainly our position that this is not about saving money," he said. "This is about imposing a [penalty] on politically unpopular people."

This is an issue that is very complicated, and I support what the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition has to say:

"The Right To Make One's Body Congruent With Gender Role

Given that each individual has the right to assume gender roles, it then follows that each individual has the right to change their body or alter its physiology so it better fits a gender role. These changes may be cosmetically, chemically or surgically induced, provided these changes are supervised by an appropriate licensed professional and the individual accepts sole responsibility for their actions in this regard.

Therefore, no person shall be denied their Human and/or Civil Rights on the basis that they changed or wish to change their body, cosmetically, chemically, surgically or any combination of these, to better fit a gender role."

I think I'm against what Minnesota has decided. Although I'm still not sure. I don't know enough about the issue to determine for myself whether it is medically necessary, but my gut says it is. I'd love to hear people's comments one way or the other: Should MInnesota pay for low-income citizens seeking to alter the gender of their bodies?

Gays could be healthier with marriage

A study finds that people who are married are healthier, but anti-gay activists continue to denigrate GLBT people on health issues. Does it seem a bit pathetic that these 'christians' and 'conservatives' can't figure out that maybe a reason why some in the GLBT community have health issues is because we don't have the option for stable relationships? From the report:

"Married individuals fared better in general health scores: They had fewer limitations in daily activities and in physical or social functioning. They were less likely to:

* suffer from severe psychological stress
* have a physically inactive lifestyle
* smoke cigarettes
* engage in heavy alcohol use
* struggle with obesity
* suffer from headaches

In each of the indicators, unless specifically noted, there was little difference between men and women or between adults of different ethnic origins."

So there's another benefit to marriage than the thousands of other benefits of marriage.