ABSTRACT
Is there any such thing as safe sex? Since the beginning of time, the consequences of sex have been dangerous — even deadly. Sex has been responsible for the spread of debilitating and sometimes lethal diseases, such as hepatitis, syphilis, and gonorrhea, and has often led to unplanned parenthood and back-alley abortions, as well as possible death of mother and child. Sex has never been safe, but most contemporary, Western gay men only consciously began to think about the mortal risks of sex after the onset of AIDS. When it became common knowledge that one way HIV spread was through the exchange of bodily fluids, sexual encounters took on a whole new ominous possibility. While other STDs could be treated if caught in time, AIDS still has no cure. The disease often progresses with ferocious speed and always with devastating impact. Having sex with an infected partner, or taking precautions for safer sex and having them fail, could literally kill you.
