OutLive

by Victor Zorn

Man power: Matthew XII, 1998, painted by Patrick Palmer. Painting from private collection.

MEN, HEAL THYSELVES

A national health summit looks to the future

The title of the keynote address for the May 7–11 Gay Men’s Health Summit—“What Does a Gay Men’s Health Movement Look Like?”—reflects the morphing issues for a community still dominated by HIV/AIDS but confronting additional concerns. At the Raleigh, North Carolina, event, men from across the country will consider some of these, from party drugs to a resurgent syphilis to aging, at more than 100 workshops

Subjects include standard subjects for a conference directed at men: the latest information on HIV/AIDS-related issues and treatment, drug and alcohol use, and general wellness. A group of workshops will introduce the subject of transgender men, covering such issues as trans male sexuality and dating, the relationship between sexual orientation and trans identity, and trans inclusion in the GLBT community.

Other workshops will consider new health issues among gay/bi men beyond HIV/AIDS. These include recent increases in syphilis infections (see following article) and startling new cases of staph infections.

This year summit organizers are placing a stronger focus on minority concerns. The Men of Color Institute track of workshops will address issues of the African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian/Pacific Islander communities.

Compelling and often confrontational workshop topics include these:

• What’s Queer about LGBT Health? Using Critical Theory to Understand Queer Health

• Sink or Swim: Providing Leadership in Difficult Times

• Envisioning Our Future Ourselves: Gay Men and Aging

• Building Better Bears: Healthy Bears through Better Community

• Am I Black? Or Am I Gay? Can I Be Both? An Exploration of the Double-Minority Identity Management Process of African-American Gay Men

• Partying with Our Girlfriends Tina, Mary Jane, Gina, and Kitty: Taking a Closer Look at Party Drugs

• Bag Boyz: The Next Generation of HIV/AIDS Prevention

• Transgender and HIV/AIDS: Who’s Affected, What are the Risks, and How Can Effective Prevention Programs Be Developed?

• F.A.G.S.: How Internalized Homophobia Sabotages Health

• How Can Gay and Bisexual Latino Men Talk About Mental Health Issues?

• Who’s Your Daddy? Eroticism, Romance, and Power Between Gay Generations

• Are You a Sexist Queer Boy?

For more information on the conference, including help with lodging, access www.gmhs2003.org.

SYPHILIS ALERT

Infectious syphilis cases in 2002 in Houston and Harris County rose 7.5 percent and nearly doubled among gay and bisexual men, Houston Department of Health and Human Services statistics indicate.

The department recommends immediate testing for syphilis to people engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners or with partners whose syphilis and HIV status are unknown.

The local increase mirrors trends in other large urban areas such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami, which also report a hike in the cases of syphilis among gay and bisexual men.

Syphilis greatly facilitates the spread of HIV as a result of the painless sore that develops at the site of sexual contact during the primary stage of the disease.

Syphilis is treatable with antibiotics. However, without adequate treatment, syphilis infection progresses to the secondary stage when one or more areas of the skin break into a rash—usually non-itchy and most typically on the palms and soles. Other second-stage symptoms can also include fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue.

In most cases, syphilis goes undetected because the signs and symptoms are misinterpreted or simply unnoticed. If untreated, Treponema Pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, remains in the body and begins to damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. Untreated syphilis during pregnancy can result in a stillbirth or a baby’s death soon after birth.

At the same time, the seven leading U.S. healthcare centers serving GLBT individuals have called for a strong national and community response to the steep increase in syphilis incidence. These institutions, which include Montrose Clinic, asked the secretary of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control to increase their public-health efforts aimed at syphilis screening, prevention, and treatment among men who have sex with men.

Victor Zorn reported on sports in the April issue.

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