Dg Use among Gay and Bisexual Men at Weekend Dance Parti:The Role of Intentns and Perceptns of Peers’ Behavrs - PMC

Contents:

• THE RISE OF GAY 'CHEMSEX' PARTI VOLVG LIBIDO-ENHANCG DGS
• THE FOUR REASONS WE LOVE METHLEON FOX·FOLLOW7 M READ·JUN 29, 2021--4SHARETHE GAY MUNY HAS BORN THE TRAGEDY OF TWO GREAT EPIMICS: THE FIRST WAS HIV/AIDS, WHICH ROBBED OF A GENERATN OF LEARS AND MENTORS. THE SEND WAS METH, WHICH WILL NTUE TO ROB OF FUTURE LEARS, MENTORS, AND YOUTH FOR YEARS TO E UNLS WE N E TO UNRSTAND S POWER OVER OUR MUNY.HI, MY NAME IS LEON FOX. OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, I’VE STGGLED WH BOUTS OF METH E THAT REPEATEDLY THREATENED TO VASTATE MY LIFE.NEVER DID I THK MY TWICE-YEARLY RECREATNAL E WOULD SNOWBALL TO A BI-WEEKLY HAB BY YEAR SEVEN AND BEE MY GO-TO RUAL FOR NUMBG PAS AND CELEBRATG PLEASUR. THIS PERD OF MY LIFE CULMATED A HARROWG SIX MONTHS WHERE I WAS EHER G OR G DOWN AND NSTANTLY NSUMED BY SADNS, ANGER, SELF-LOATHG, AND SELF-PY.I NSUMED METH BENRS THAT LASTED 4–5 NSECUTIVE DAYS, DURG WHICH I BARELY ATE, DRANK, OR SLEPT — UNTIL I WOULD EVABLY PASS OUT OM EXHSTN. THE SPAC BETWEEN WERE ALWAYS BTAL: LEAVG ME PHYSILLY AND MOTIVATNALLY STUTE FOR A WEEK OR EVEN LONGER. AT LEAST A HUNDRED TIM, I PROMISED I’D NEVER PICK UP THE PIPE AGA, AND A HUNDRED TIM, I BROKE THAT PROMISE.DPE BEG FULLY AWARE THAT MY LIFE WAS SPNG OUT OF NTROL, MY SIRE TO E REMAED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED.I DID EVERYTHG I ULD THK OF TO BELAY MY SELF-STCTN. I TRIED HARNSG MY WILLPOWER AGAST . I TALOGED MY HATRED FOR JOURNALS. I SOUGHT THE GUIDANCE OF EXPERTS THE FIELDS OF THERAPY AND HARM RCTN. SADLY, THE EFFORTS PROVED EFFECTIVE TERRG MY E.IT WASN’T UNTIL A CHANCE NVERSATN WH A IEND ABOUT HOW HE SUCCSFULLY STOPPED SMOKG CIGARETT THAT I SAW THE REAL FLUENC UNRPNG MY RELATNSHIP WH METH AND WHAT I ULD DO TO IMPACT .HE SAID THAT ONCE HE UNRSTOOD WHY HE LOVED SMOKG CIGARETT, HE WAS ABLE TO GIVE THEM UP.SO I CID TO ASK MYSELF, “WHY DO I, AND SO MANY MEN WH OUR MUNY, LOVE METH?”REASON ONE — METH CREAT EMPHATIC SEXUAL NNECTNS
• DG USE AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN AT WEEKEND DANCE PARTI:THE ROLE OF INTENTNS AND PERCEPTNS OF PEERS’ BEHAVRS
• METH HAS VASTATED THE GAY MUNY FOR S. A NEW TREATMENT OFFERS HOPE.
• ORIGAL ARTICLE“GETTG HIGH TO GET LAID.” DGS AND GAY SEX UNR FLUENCE.☆
• GAY MEN ARE DYG FROM A CRISIS WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT
• GAY LIFTYLE IS FUELLED BY DGS, REARCH REVEALS

THE RISE OF GAY 'CHEMSEX' PARTI VOLVG LIBIDO-ENHANCG DGS

""They e the high for the stimulant and then they e a prsant to even them out after a few days, so they uld be able to eat and get sleep, " he his film, he wanted to highlight how the issue is particularly pronounced for young Black, gay men.

THE FOUR REASONS WE LOVE METHLEON FOX·FOLLOW7 M READ·JUN 29, 2021--4SHARETHE GAY MUNY HAS BORN THE TRAGEDY OF TWO GREAT EPIMICS: THE FIRST WAS HIV/AIDS, WHICH ROBBED OF A GENERATN OF LEARS AND MENTORS. THE SEND WAS METH, WHICH WILL NTUE TO ROB OF FUTURE LEARS, MENTORS, AND YOUTH FOR YEARS TO E UNLS WE N E TO UNRSTAND S POWER OVER OUR MUNY.HI, MY NAME IS LEON FOX. OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, I’VE STGGLED WH BOUTS OF METH E THAT REPEATEDLY THREATENED TO VASTATE MY LIFE.NEVER DID I THK MY TWICE-YEARLY RECREATNAL E WOULD SNOWBALL TO A BI-WEEKLY HAB BY YEAR SEVEN AND BEE MY GO-TO RUAL FOR NUMBG PAS AND CELEBRATG PLEASUR. THIS PERD OF MY LIFE CULMATED A HARROWG SIX MONTHS WHERE I WAS EHER G OR G DOWN AND NSTANTLY NSUMED BY SADNS, ANGER, SELF-LOATHG, AND SELF-PY.I NSUMED METH BENRS THAT LASTED 4–5 NSECUTIVE DAYS, DURG WHICH I BARELY ATE, DRANK, OR SLEPT — UNTIL I WOULD EVABLY PASS OUT OM EXHSTN. THE SPAC BETWEEN WERE ALWAYS BTAL: LEAVG ME PHYSILLY AND MOTIVATNALLY STUTE FOR A WEEK OR EVEN LONGER. AT LEAST A HUNDRED TIM, I PROMISED I’D NEVER PICK UP THE PIPE AGA, AND A HUNDRED TIM, I BROKE THAT PROMISE.DPE BEG FULLY AWARE THAT MY LIFE WAS SPNG OUT OF NTROL, MY SIRE TO E REMAED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED.I DID EVERYTHG I ULD THK OF TO BELAY MY SELF-STCTN. I TRIED HARNSG MY WILLPOWER AGAST . I TALOGED MY HATRED FOR JOURNALS. I SOUGHT THE GUIDANCE OF EXPERTS THE FIELDS OF THERAPY AND HARM RCTN. SADLY, THE EFFORTS PROVED EFFECTIVE TERRG MY E.IT WASN’T UNTIL A CHANCE NVERSATN WH A IEND ABOUT HOW HE SUCCSFULLY STOPPED SMOKG CIGARETT THAT I SAW THE REAL FLUENC UNRPNG MY RELATNSHIP WH METH AND WHAT I ULD DO TO IMPACT .HE SAID THAT ONCE HE UNRSTOOD WHY HE LOVED SMOKG CIGARETT, HE WAS ABLE TO GIVE THEM UP.SO I CID TO ASK MYSELF, “WHY DO I, AND SO MANY MEN WH OUR MUNY, LOVE METH?”REASON ONE — METH CREAT EMPHATIC SEXUAL NNECTNS

Alhol and dg e among some gay and bisexual men n be a reactn to homophobia, discrimatn, or vlence they experienced due to their sexual orientatn and n ntribute to other mental health and physil problems. For some gay and bisexual men, alhol and illegal dg e, pecially methamphetam (meth), amyl nrat (poppers), and dgs ed to treat erectile dysfunctn (when a man has a hard time keepg an erectn durg sex), also ntribute to a higher chance of gettg HIV and other STDs. “While g dgs batn wh and to specifilly enhance the sexual experience tends to be associated wh gay and bisexual men, we found that our sample, men and women of all sexual orientatns engaged this behavur.

“Harm rctn msag relatg to substance-lked sex general should therefore not only be targeted towards gay and bisexual men, as they are relevant to all groups.

DG USE AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN AT WEEKEND DANCE PARTI:THE ROLE OF INTENTNS AND PERCEPTNS OF PEERS’ BEHAVRS

For stance, MDMA creased ‘emotnaly/timacy’ the most, while GHB/GBL creased ‘sexual sire’ the people of all genrs and sexual orientatns reported engagg substance-lked sex, gay and bisexual men were more likely to have done so; homosexual men were 1.

6 tim as likely as heterosexual men to have ed dgs wh the specific tent of enhancg the sexual experience the last typilly nsired as ‘chemsex’ dgs – methamphetame, mephedrone and GHB/GBL – were more monly ed by gay and bisexual men batn wh sex, which the rearchers say highlights the ntued need for certa targeted harm rctn msag.

Stay ahead of the trend fashn and beyond wh our ee weekly Liftyle Ed newsletterStay ahead of the trend fashn and beyond wh our ee weekly Liftyle Ed newsletter It's Friday night and a group of gay men is gatherg London for a party one of their hom.

METH HAS VASTATED THE GAY MUNY FOR S. A NEW TREATMENT OFFERS HOPE.

But if we the gay muny thk this is a problem that n be obscured om the world at large, pretendg that affects only a rogue subset among , we are wrong; chemsex is merely the most extreme ditn of a hidn burn many of still rry, spe the rapid velopment of gay rights over the past and a half.

However, the staff at 56 Dean Street, London's pneerg sexual-health clic, timate that 3, 000 gay men who e recreatnal dgs sexual ntexts e through their doors each month. It's also difficult to obta reliable evince for the lk between chemsex and risg rat of HIV, but a study missned by three south London boroughs, published 2014, found that three out of four gay men who had attend chemsex parti had engaged unprotected sex, wh a potentially high risk of passg on the vis. ”The film's portrayal of the chemsex phenomenon will no doubt shock straight viewers who've been sced by the visn of a newly emancipated muny of proud and happy gay men that many of have been so willg to project.

What I learnt durg that time was that my experience of homophobic bullyg as an effemate and obvly gay child had left part of me believg I was jt as disgtg as everyone had said – and was this self-loathg which was motivatg my urge to urse, there n be all kds of reasons why people, both gay and straight, try to stroy themselv – and this is somethg I like to explore my fictn. However happy we like to thk we are as adults and however much progrs has been ma the field of equal rights, the realy is that most gay men over a certa age have grown up experiencg homophobia. Perhaps most tragilly, many younger men who have grown up an apparently much ls homophobic society now seem to be fallg to the scene almost accintally; anyone loggg on to Grdr need ntact only a few ers before beg offered “chems”.

ORIGAL ARTICLE“GETTG HIGH TO GET LAID.” DGS AND GAY SEX UNR FLUENCE.☆

And although younger gay men general might rry around ls shame attached to their sexualy, they may have had other personal experienc that motivate them to self-stct – or may simply be stgglg to unrstand their masculy or sexual inty.

And next year Matthew Todd, the edor of Attu magaze, will publish a book that exam the damage homophobia has done to gay men, wh a signifint foc on the issu around if we are beg more open about all aspects of the gay experience, I hope people om outsi our muny won't react agast . And I hope people won't start dividg to two distct tegori: “good” gays, who assiate and have relatnships and children, and “bad” gays, who go to chemsex parti and ntract HIV. Many health re and mental health anizatns foced on the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny also offer substance e treatment or may be able to provi rmatn about lol rourc.

”Reason One — Meth creat emphatic sexual nnectnsFrom an early age, we as Gay men are forced to nceal our attractn towards other men unr threat of….

GAY MEN ARE DYG FROM A CRISIS WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT

7 Some mon SUD treatment modali have been shown to be effective for gay or bisexual men, cludg motivatnal terviewg, social support therapy, ntgency management, and gnive-behavral therapy (CBT).

Addictn treatment programs offerg specialized groups for gay and bisexual men showed better out for those clients pared to gay and bisexual men non-specialized programs; but one study, only 7. 11 Current rearch suggts that treatment should addrs unique factors the patients' liv that may clu homophobia/transphobia, fay problems, vlence, and social isolatn. For example, gay and bisexual men and lbian and bisexual women report greater odds of equent mental distrs and prsn than their heterosexual unterparts.

Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC3625484NIHMSID: NIHMS431715AbstractSubstance e is high among gay and bisexual men attendg weekend dance events, yet ltle rearch has vtigated motivatns for dg e and ntextual factors fluencg e the settgs. Keywords: Gay, Bisexual, Peer, Dg Use, EcstasyIntroductnUse of illegal dgs is one of the primary risk factors for HIV fectn among men who have sex wh men (MSM) [1–3], and is also associated wh other risk factors associated wh HIV fectn cludg unprotected anal terurse (UAI) and havg multiple sex partners [4–8].

GAY LIFTYLE IS FUELLED BY DGS, REARCH REVEALS

Th, unrstandg ntexts which gay and bisexual men e dgs and their motivatns for g is necsary to rm public health mpaigns geared toward this populatn that tends to have higher rat of dg e than their heterosexual peers [9–11]. Recent studi examg dg e the settgs are lackg, and is unclear whether dg e patterns at the events mirror trends over time observed among gay and bisexual men urban environments (e. G., creasg e of ecstasy between 2002–2007 New York Cy) [16] theory of planned behavr [17] provis a eful startg pot for unrstandg dg e among gay and bisexual men the ntext of weekend dance events.

Also, rearch on adult populatns is limed; studi to date suggt a strong relatnship between dividuals’ perceptns of their peers’ substance e among adults neighborhoods [27] and at works [28] fluence of peer norms on dg e has rarely been studied among gay and bisexual men, though peer works may be particularly salient shapg substance e behavrs this populatn. Durg adolcence and young adulthood, gay men may be ls likely to form a strong sense of personal inty amidst heteronormative environments [29, 30].