All posts tagged with: Aids

Every 9 ½  minutes, someone in the United States is infected with HIV. There are an estimated 220,000 people living with HIV that do not even know they are infected. While over the years research has substantially improved the treatment for HIV, awareness of safer sex and education for people to get tested to know their status has become incredibly important to reduce the spread of infection. People living with HIV rely on community support programs.

This is where Dine Out for Life steps in. Each year, Dine Out for Life raises over $3 million to support the 60 service organizations. Across the United States and Canada over 3,000 restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds on this special day to help HIV/AIDS resource organizations so they can fulfill their mandate.

Funds that are raised locally, stay locally. Vancouver’s Dine Out for Life will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2013. Restaurants in Vancouver, Whistler, White Rock and the Fraser Valley contribute 25% of food sales to the program. The Vancouver beneficiaries benefit A Loving Spoonful and Friends For Life.

This Thursday, March 7, visit a participating restaurant for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and be a part of an amazing social movement to help people living with HIV/AIDS.

Contest

Wild Rice is delighted to participate in Dine Out for Life. The socially conscious establishment prides itself for their farm-to-table menu. Their focus on local, seasonal, and sustainable menu, along with owner Andrew Wong’s Chinese heritage, has influenced the East-meets-West and traditional-meets-modern Asian-fusion fare. Both Gastown and New Westminster locations are favourites of Vancouver foodies.

Enter for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Wild Rice. To enter tweet:

I want to win a $50 gc to @WildRiceBC from @br_webb to support @VanDOFL, @alovingspoonful & @VanFFL: http://ow.ly/ih8d2  #WinWildRice

Once you have tweeted this contest you can receive up to four additional chances to win by doing the following:

1. Follow @br_webb on Twitter and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you are a new follower for an additional entry.
2. Leave a comment on this blog post if you’ll be going to support Dine Out For Life Vancouver this Thursday, March 7, 2013.
3. Share this blog post on Facebook and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you have shared on Facebook for an additional entry.
4. Subscribe to myWebbSite.ca and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you have subscribed for an additional entry.

Contest closes at 5:00pm PST, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. One random drawn winner will be announced on this blog post on or before Thursday, March 7, 2013. Read the complete contest rules.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

This contest is now closed.

Congratulations Dilara, you are the lucky winner of a $50 gift card to Wild Rice! 

Thank you to everyone who entered by sharing on Facebook, twitter, and subscribing to myWebbSite.ca. Please keep watching for more contests coming soon.

The State of California continues to push forward on the contentious issue of mandating all adult porn studios to have performers use condoms, not everyone is on board with the idea. While the initiative is intended to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), there has been resistance between the studios and models.

“I feel porn stars are sex icons,” explained gay porn model, Spencer Reed. “People do what they watch on screen. That’s where people learn from. As an icon, I have a responsibility.”

Spencer, who has been working in gay porn for the last five years, is an advocate for safer-sex in the porn industry. He belief is when people see that their favourite porn stars protecting themselves, they set a good example for others to do the same.

“In today’s day and age, there’s a lot of things out there,” Spencer said, referring to HIV/AIDS and STI’s. “I’m always safe. I have safe sex as often as possible.”

Spencer further explained that he does enjoy unprotected sex, but he is careful to only do it when he is in a committed relationship.

Many people have questions about HIV/AIDS, or simply do not have enough education about it. Here are some quick facts you need to know:

1. 1 in 5 people with HIV do not know they have it.
2. People who know they have HIV are less likely to transmit it to others.
3. People with HIV who are on antiretroviral medications are less likely to give it to their sexual partners.

You can do your part by getting tested regularly.

Photo credit: Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press

HIV is a very serious topic, and not one to take lightly. It’s a sensitive topic for many, especially those in the gay community. Over the past decade British Columbia has adopted a treatment-as-prevention strategy. The results are in, and the charts are looking good.

According to Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, since 2005, the number of HIV deaths in British Columbia have seen a steady decline to just 55 in 2010.

More importantly, in 1996, there were over 700 new cases of HIV detected in British Columbia, and over 400 cases per year were recorded throughout the early 2000’s. With the new treatment-as-prevention strategy in place, there were just 301 new HIV detected cases in 2010 – an all time low since 1996!

Although the number of people receiving HIV antiretroviral treatment is on the rise, treatment does reduce the amount of virus in bodily fluids of someone with an HIV infection.

The New England Journal of Medicine reported in August 2010 that of 1,763 couples which had one partner with HIV infection, that antiretroviral treatment reduced the risk of heterosexual transmission by 96 per cent!

Just a few provinces over, in Saskatchewan, in 2009 they reported 200 cases, but in 2010 they saw a drop to 172. However, there are new efforts in place in that province to go out and find new cases, so the numbers for 2011 are expected to rise.

In Saskatchewan, 70 per center of new HIV cases are drug injected related and more so from the first nations population.

Back in British Columbia, medical officials are lobbying governments to find ways to make antiretroviral treatment for those just diagnosed with HIV to receive treatment for free – without co-payments or deductibles. Cost of treatment is a barrier for many and it keeps patients on the less effective pill treatment.

Additionally, the BC medical community notes that if private drug plans are charged, the billing information could potentially get back to employers, which would discouraged individuals from getting tested and treated.

Since British Columbia has implemented access to treatment, they have seen a decrease in new diagnoses of HIV close to 50 per cent, which equals dramatic savings considering one infection costs between $250,000 – $500,000 over a lifetime.

Used with permission.

“Safe sex is best!” says 26 year-old gay male porn star, Dayton O’Connor. Professionals in the health and LGBT community would agree, yet even with aggressive education campaigns since the outbreak of HIV / AIDS in the mid 80’s, unprotected sex still continues. It’s a sensitive topic and one that generates a lot of discussion.

“It may not feel the best, but let’s face it, the world as a whole is going through tough times and it seems with all the crap out there why people wouldn’t take the small step to at least try to be safe is beyond me,” explained Dayton.

HIV is primarily spread through unprotected sexual contact including anal, vaginal and oral sex. HIV is not spread through closed mouth kissing or casual contact like holding hands or hugging. There is a remote risk of HIV infection from deep, open-mouth kissing if there are sores, bleeding gums or if blood is exchanged. Saliva, tears or sweat have not been shown to be a cause of HIV infection.

Today, more than half of all new infections are among men who have sex with men; coincidentally is also the only risk group for which new infections are on the rise according to Greater Than AIDS.

If you are in a situation, don’t wait for your partner to bring up HIV. Take charge and ask your partner. It’s easy to explain it’s not about trust, it’s about taking care of each other. It’s your health and your life. Have this conversation when you have time, privacy and before things start to heat up.

“I feel like if you are in a committed relationship and there are no other partners and if everyone is clean, then between two adults, so be it as long as no one else is in the picture and you know both partners status, then it’s ok,” Dayton very carefully explained. “The best thing is to be aware of each other status. The question of wrapping before slapping is up to the people doing the deed.”

Dayton, who is in a committed relationship does admit to having unprotected sex.

“I have barebacked in my personal life and that is ok with me,” said Dayton. “I am not sleeping with anyone else. Neither is my partner. So I am not worried. We are two mature adults and it’s our decision.”

There is no vaccine to prevent HIV, nor is there a cure for those who are already infected. There are medications to help people with HIV to live longer and healthier lives.

The US Centre of Disease Control and Prevention recommends sexually active gay and bisexual men to get tested at least once a year. Other health professionals suggest more frequently. It’s best to talk to your doctor. Specifically ask to be tested for HIV and STI’s. The only way to know for sure is to be tested.

It can take as long as three to six months after exposure for antibodies to be measurable in an HIV test. During this time you could test negative for HIV but still be infected and be able to transmit the virus to others.

For more information on HIV testing, visit hivtest.org or speak to your doctor or local health professional.

Working in adult entertainment can be a risky job. Models who work in the adult entertainment and the porn industry are at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) or more seriously, HIV/aids.

Most agencies and studios do not force models to perform bareback. Models are usually given the choice, unless they willingly work with a studio or agency that exclusively shoots bareback scenes.

There are some models will only work with companies that have safer-sex practices and policies. It is the models personal decision, not the agency or studio, if the model will perform safe or bareback.

There are a few agencies and studios almost exclusively only produce bareback porn.

“Personally, I prefer to bareback,” said 24 year old gay male porn star Jessy Karson.

Some people find bareback porn offensive, unsafe and irresponsible. There is also a negative stigma because of the risk.

“If you don’t want to see it, don’t watch it,” Jessy bluntly stated.

“We’re selling a fantasy, we have to cater to everyone,” Jessy explained.

Not all agencies require models to get tested prior to a shoot; however, they are required to sign a waiver releasing the agency from any consequences, including the transmission of STI’s or HIV.

Unfortunately Jessy was not careful and contracted the HIV virus three years ago. He does not know whom he got it from; however, he does not hold any anger against the person who infected him.

Jessy carefully monitors his condition with regular check-ups. Today’s advance in the treatment of AIDS allows him to continue to lead a regular, healthy lifestyle.

When it comes to practicing safe sex, Jessy said, “I respect people who pay attention. It’s personal and up to you.”

When heart-throb Brent Everett debuted in Barebacking Across America for Tipo Sesso in 2003 with his then boyfriend, Chase Evans, practicing safer sex wasn’t really much of a concern. At just 18 years old, Everett was featured in a number of films having unprotected anal intercourse with a number of performers.

Fast forward to today and Brent’s personal policy and beliefs have changed. Brent is a firm believer in the use of condoms and safer-sex practices. He credits his change in behaviour in part to Chi Chi Larue, one of the studios he works with on a regular basis, and to his husband, Steve Pena.

“The reality is, if people are given the choice between bareback and condoms, 9 out of 10 times people will choose to watch bareback,” said Everett.

Brent strongly feels that the entire industry should be pushing for  the use of condoms, more education on safer sex, and raising awareness.

Gay porn producer, Chi Chi Larue is also adament about the use of safer-sex practices. Larue says:

When I moved to LA in 1987 and took a job in promotions at Catalina Video, the AIDS crises was in full swing.  I lobbied hard to William Higgins and John Travis of Catalina and Chuck Holmes at Falcon to get condoms on the models.  I would like to think that some of my persuasion helped make condom movies a reality.  Since then, gay porn has helped lead the way  in showing  gay men how to use condoms, how to have safer sex and removed some of the stigma that was associated with condoms at the time.

In straight porn there is less regulation and it’s more acceptable not to perform safer sex. “There is a double standard with straight porn,” said Everett. “[Barebacking] is just not acceptable in gay porn.”

So say goodbye to the days of Brent Everett performing bareback on screen. Everett has promised he will lead by example and always use condoms in all his future releases.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @br_webb, and please leave a comment on this post!