Chicago HIV report sparks reaction

The Chicago Public Health Department’s alarming report, released Friday, that suggests the HIV infection rate among gay men in Chicago is nearly 20% has drawn varied responses from Chicago’s gay and lesbian community.
ChicagoPride.com surveyed a number of gay men on a busy Saturday night in Boystown.
From Waveland to Buckingham, the responses were varied with one common undertone that gay men no longer think HIV is a death sentence. And despite extensive media coverage on the recently release report, many were unaware of the report and its contents.
“I’m not at all surprised by these statistics.” Said thirty-something Al joined by Jared and Jamie outside of the Center on Halsted. “The fact that a lot of our own community members are not aware of their status is probably because of their fear of knowing.”
“We are very closeted in the U.S. regarding educating our youth,” added Jaime.
Some do not believe the numbers and conclusions published in the report.
“You can work the numbers however you want,” said Matthew a bartender at Buck’s. See Chicago HIV report sparks reaction

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/chicago-hiv-r…

Gays and aging: Halsted center serves surging population of gay … Chicago Tribune

Windows on the second floor of the Center on Halsted frame an ever-changing portrait of gay life in 2009: Same-sex couples walk hand in hand; cross-dressing young men strut with confidence; rainbow banners herald a neighborhood that embraces gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of any age.

Behind those windows every Tuesday sit Chicagoans in their 60s, 70s and 80s, many on the tailing arcs of lives spent denying their true sexual identity. Women and men who married opposite-sex partners, had children and only late in life felt comfortable telling the world that they’re lesbian or gay. Men and women who chose solitary lives over the possibility of being outed.

They’re a population celebrating still relatively newfound openness, while also confronting issues that rarely appear on the radar of a youthful gay-rights movement focused on the right to marry.

Some have only recently come out and are trying to find their way in a new community. Some have been out for years but are now in nursing homes where their sexuality has again become a stigma. See Gays and aging: Halsted center serves surging population of gay …

Chicago Tribune

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Gay life on exhibit by Rob Bondgren

Rob Bondgren will be showing his Better Days Ahead series at Hydrate in Chicago’s Boystown. The opening is this Saturday, March 7, 9-11pm. Mr. Bondgren’s paintings deal with the figurative gay theme of at the beach or by the pool at a gay resort. Flesh tones of men reclining and having fun in company with the gay “family” is emphasized with an interest on male sexuality, bonding and friendship. A $10.00 donation to Lambda Legal includes a hosted bar and an appetizer buffet courtesy of the artist. Hydrate is located at 3458 N. Halsted in Chicago. See Gay life on exhibit by Rob Bondgren
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