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Dissenting View… Anal sex & AIDS Fred Cline Note: The information on this website is presented for
educational purposes and This document was provided by Since early on in the AIDS "epidemic it has been widely asserted that there is a correlation between gay men who practice passive anal sex and AIDS.1 The argument is that AIDS is induced by the direct immuno-suppressive action of semen in the anus and by the deleterious effects of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) and other infections more easily than through the mouth and throat (fellatio) or vagina. This so-called scientific evidence is based on a correlation first made in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, 1988.2 Correlation, however, is not proof of causation. Peter H Duesberg, on the other hand, in his paper "AIDS acquired by noncontagious risk factors" states that: "The probable reason for the higher AIDS risk associated with receptive anal intercourse is that this sexual practice directly correlates with a two-fold enhanced use of nitrite inhalants and other aphrodisiac drugs that facilitate anal intercourse."3 On numerous occasions he has personally restated this position to me up to the present. I am not able to argue the point that semen in the anus is directly immuno-suppressive since I am not a scientist. Peter Duesberg, however, has pondered this and come to the conclusion that even if it is mildly immuno-suppressive there is not sufficient quantity to cause a general immune collapse such as we find in full-blown AIDS, even taking into consideration those men who might practice passive anal sex compulsively. It is generally assumed that anal sex is the riskiest form of sexual behavior for passing on HIV. This may be so. Being an AIDS dissident, however, I believe that HIV either is a harmless passenger virus of does not exist.4, 5 Leaving aside HIV, we are, therefore, only dealing with people who are ill for whatever reason. The evidence that I have for anal sex not directly leading to illness is based on personal circumstantial evidence from an active gay life lived on three continents and numerous textual references to widespread anal intercourse practiced around the world. The most important reference I have been able to find for this practice amongst heterosexuals is "Heterosexual anal intercourse" by Bruce Voeller.6 Some very interesting facts emerge from this study. First of all let us look at the prevalence of anal sex in the heterosexual population in the US. "According to the 1987 US census figures, the American female population between ages 15 and 64 years is about 81.6 million. Based on the estimate that 10% of women engage with some frequency in anal intercourse, roughly 8 million women are involved."7 He concludes that "This startling number of women at risk through anal inter-course probably exceeds the number of homosexual men at similar risk..."8 What then accounts for the vast difference in the number of AIDS cases between the two groups? Furthermore, "25 percent of teenage girls [in the US] engage ‘in rectal intercourse...to avoid pregnancy or to retain their virginity.’ But the risk for ...’AIDS’ is the same as for females who do not practice anal intercourse – almost nonexistent."9 It is interesting to note that Kimberley Bergalis in the famous Dr David Acer case was found to have venereal warts on the anus upon being autopsied.10 These can be contracted only by anal intercourse. This, in spite of the fact that she testified before Congress that she was a virgin! Perhaps vaginally she was. In many areas of the world anal sex is practiced as a means of birth control. It would only seem logical that in China, a country of well over one billion individuals that restricts its married couples to one child, this would be the case, especially since we have abundant evidence in the poetry, literature and art of China of anal coupling.11 Furthermore, in this study the author contends that "surviving literature [from China] depicts anal inter-course as the preferred form of homosexual intercourse."12 China is still, in spite of the influence of Communism, one of the most traditional and unchanging cultures on Earth. It is therefore fairly certain that anal inter- is still widely practiced there, and in the light of their huge population, the actual number of rear-end encounters could exceed those of the US. In spite of this, we find practically no AIDS in China and China still suffers from a growing population. Even more starting are the statistics on heterosexual anal intercourse in Brazil. "In a survey of some 5,000 households, over 40% of those interviewed in rural Brazil considered anal intercourse a normal part of sexuality, and over 50% of urban citizens in Rio de Janeiro did."13 The author further opines that this is probably due to the widespread acceptance of this practice since prehistoric times. One can only guess at what the total number of anal encounters might be in this situation, since only those who admit to it are counted. Suffice it to say that it has been almost universally practiced in Latin America from prehistoric times to the present. There is a curious taboo against speaking of anal intercourse although, at this point, I hope you are convinced that it is very widely practiced. This taboo has distorted any objective treatment of the subject until recent times. We should further note that in popular culture only gay men are thought of as participants in back-door acrobatics. Recently, a famous actor was quoted as saying he did not get along with gay men because they "took it up the ass." Although he regretted this outburst, we can be grateful to him for highlighting this very important misconception. According to a recent survey done in the UK, the most frequent sex acts performed in the gay population are as follows in descending order offrequency: (1) self-wank, (2) wank/other, (3) suck, (4) fuck.14 The average of those who "fuck" is set at around 6%.15 Similar studies have revealed this pattern in the US and other developed countries. If, then, only 6% of the gay population engage in anal sex on a regular basis, and, if, indeed, we only represent 10% of the population, it then becomes abundantly clear that most anal sex in almost all societies is straight anal sex. Straight men are not supposed to engage in receptive anal sex. My experience and various other sources would tend also to lay this myth to rest. Need we remind ourselves of what happens in all-male groups, such as prison or the armed forces? Steve Zeeland in his book The masculine Marine: homoeroticism in the US Marine Corps documents, through confidential interviews, that there is widespread anal sex amongst Marines who do not consider themselves homosexuals.16 Marines, to a surprising extent, he concludes, are notorious bottoms! Lastly, I would like to quote Voeller again, who refers to a study of the Siwan of Africa: "all men and boys engage in anal intercourse...and males are singled out as peculiar [ie. queer? FC] if they do not indulge in these homosexual activities."17 Voeller also disabuses us of the canard that a tearing of the tissue in the rectum, contributes to disease: "Fear about anal intercourse is bolstered by a widespread viewpoint that it is accompanied by severe trauma to the rectal and anal walls, commonly including bleeding. These notions find slim backing in fact, rape and force excepted."18 With the abundance of new lubricants, this should no longer even be considered a problem. My conclusion is that semen deposited in the anus during intercourse does not contribute to illness because this practice has been so widespread both geographically and historically. Although avoiding passive anal sex without a condom has become one of the cardinal rules of "safe sex" in the gay world, I have come to doubt, because of the aforementioned facts, the effectiveness of this practice in preventing "AIDS" even though it obviously prevents the transmission of STDs. The myth has become so widespread that one of the leading gay poets in an interview is quoted as saying: "I do not practice unsafe sex, which to me is not practicing anal sex."19 In espousing this point of view I am therefore going against current prevailing myths in the gay community. Those gay men who have regular medical checkups for venereal disease, who do not use hard drugs such as poppers and amphetamines, and who live a balanced life with some attention paid to their health, should have no more problem with anal sex than their heterosexual brothers and sisters who are apparently going at it in this manner with no ill effects.
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