[Ben S.]

I would guess the rate of substance use in the gay community is a bit higher than the norm. This may be due to persecution of gay people – obviously some are going to seek relief in substance use. Also, a community told that its sexual expression is illegal or frowned upon is probably not going to care too much about similar prohibitions on substances. Drug use is certainly implicitly encouraged in some commercial gay scenes. In some cases there is even a strong message that use of drugs is essential to effective participation in those scenes – eg. parties that go on all night and have particular music and lighting designed to be appreciated by someone who’s used a particular substance. I would say too, that because of the high rate of substance use, there is likely to be a higher rate of abuse. Gay newspapers depend on advertising revenue from the commercial scene, so it’s in their interest to portray that scene as vibrant, exciting and new. This image is often maintained to the extent of excluding stories about the human cost of participation in that scene. I do not know any statistics giving an ethnic breakdown of substance abuse figures. I would imagine the type of substance abuse depends at least partly on whether members of the ethnic group participate in the commercial gay scene.

User Detail :  

Name : Ben S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 35, City : Melbourne, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : corrections officer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Ben S.]

Not the same issue but along similar lines, I once had a boss who opined that gays were ‘sick.’ I asked him if I could take a few sick days off work, as I was homosexual. As I recall, he didn’t seem to think it was that funny…

Seriously, the ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ policy is a bit of a lame compromise and open to abuse in the way you suggest. Of course, it’s well known that men with homosexual proclivities make terrible soldiers. Like Alexander the Great. Or Lord Kitchener. In the Australian defense forces, there isn’t any legal prohibition any more, and once the prohibition was dropped, the issue just died – the culture hasn’t changed overnight, and there’s inevitably victimization, but not, I think, on a great scale.

It also made me feel a bit more comfortable about the idea of volunteering when it seemed that Australia might go to war with Indonesia over the East Timor issue.

User Detail :  

Name : Ben S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 35, City : Melbourne, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : corrections officer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Ben S.]

My experience is that most prefer to do both. If you get a ticket to the funpark, you don’t limit yourself to going on only one ride. Some gay men prefer giving or receiving, but will do either if their partner wants. Only a few limit themselves entirely to either ‘topping’ or ‘bottoming.’ These comments also apply to bisexual and even straight men who have sex with men, though some men who identify as straight may have more of a problem with bottoming.

User Detail :  

Name : Ben S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 35, City : Melbourne, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : corrections officer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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