ABSTRACT
In the context of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), gay subcultures have played and continue to play an active educative role. In Western countries, where gay men were among the first to suffer infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), gay communities took the lead in HIV prevention campaigns. For example, North American gay communities were among the first to suggest condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV in anal sex. In Australia, gay communities developed some of the most successful initiatives in Australian AIDS education. Dowsett (1989a, 1989b) has documented the importance of the gay community in Sydney as a source of information and educational material about HIV and ‘safe sex’. In the United Kingdom, too, gay communities have taken a major role (Fitzpatrick, Boulton and Hart, 1989; Watney, 1990).
