Posts Tagged ‘bisexual’

In “News We Already Know,” MSM Have Disproportionate HIV and STI Infection Rates

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

The Henry K. Kaiser Family Foundation recently released an intriguing issue brief on LGBT healthcare entitled “Health and Access to Care and Coverage for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Individuals in the U.S.” The report is chock-full of fascinating statistics from a variety of recent studies. Check out the full report for sources.

 

As we’ve known and talked about for a long time, the report summarized the huge disparities in HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases between the MSM (men who have sex with men) population and the US population.

  • 56% of all US citizens living with HIV are among MSM.
  • 66% of new HIV infections are among MSM.
    • Keep in mind that MSM make up only 2-3% of the entire US population.
  • Black MSM accounted for 36% of new HIV infections in 2010.
  • MSM account for 72% of new syphilis cases.
  • MSM account for 15-25% of new Hepatitis B cases.
  • MSM are 17 times more likely to develop anal cancer than heterosexual men.

Project INFORM's First Anniversary Party

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

First-Anniversary-Party-InvitationCelebrate Project INFORM’s first year of being out in the community! Project INFORM is ARCS’ outreach program for the MSM community of the Hudson Valley.

Saturday, November 24, 2012 from 8 pm – 2 am at the Out Bar,  206 Main Street’ Poughkeepsie

Food, music, games and prizes
Hosted by the Hudson Valley Bears
Special Guests: Lilly Sa’vage & Patty Lee
Music by Prephab

For more info, contact Tony or Naomi at (845) 471-0707.

Anti-Bullying Youth Summit

Thursday, October 11th, 2012

Save the date: Anti-Bullying Youth Summit

Turning Conflict Into Conversation

Sponsored by the Mediation Center of Dutchess County

Grades 7 – 12

Registration is limited to 125 students and adults

8 am – 2:30 pm

Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church

2381 New Hackensack Rd.

For registration or information, contact Bonnie: ballen@dutchessmediation.org

Visit them at www.dutchessmediation.org.

Ulster Bear-a-POOL-ooza

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Saturday April 7, 5 – 8:30 pm: Ulster Bear-a-POOL-ooza at Juliet Billiards Café

Ulster Bear LogoAll men who identify as Bears or Bear Admirers are welcome to join Ulster Bear for a great night of Bear Billiards at Juliet Billiards Cafe, 60 Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie.  $16 per person includes three and a half hours of pool, plus pizza and soda; beer and spirits are available for purchase.  For details, contact UlsterBearGroup@yahoo.com.

PS: The Ulster Bears are forming a team for the Hudson Valley AIDS Walk! Email them to find out how to join and start raising funds with this great group of guys!

B Magazine Launch Party

Monday, December 5th, 2011

bmag_coverThe new national “gay magazine of the future,” called simply B, launches on Friday, December 16th from 10 pm to 1 am at Out Bar in Poughkeepsie, NY!

ARCS Prevention Specialist to Receive Health Commissioner's Award

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Yesterday, ARCS was informed by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute that Paul Moccio, CHAPS Prevention Specialist, will receive the NYSDOH AIDS Institute’s Commissioner’s Award for his efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention and education among youth. Paul will receive this award on November 30, 2011 in Albany, NY. We are very proud of Paul’s work over the past few years, and feel this award is very deserved. Congratulations, Paul!

For more about the CHAPS program, read this.

US Gay and Bisexual Men's National Sex Study

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

November 1 – CAMBRIDGE, MA:  A new web-based community report from Online Buddies, Inc., parent company of Manhunt™ and DList™, celebrates the diversity of gay and bisexual men’s sexual behaviors.  This first of its kind website provides scientific data in an entirely virtual manner.

The community report, based on a recently published study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine which analyzed responses from nearly 25,000 users of Manhunt™ and DList™, is in the form of an interactive website where visitors can learn more about the study results in a user-friendly and contemporary manner.  “As the only online company that has a dedicated Research Institute which promotes an annual sex study with our members, we felt it important to translate conventional academic data into an easily digestible format for our members.” says David S. Novak, Managing Director of the OLB Research Institute and Senior Health Strategist, at Online Buddies, Inc.

“While many people are familiar with our family of brands, they often overlook the work that we are engaged in related to health and research.  Through the use of platforms such as www.manhuntcares.com and collaborations with leading sexual health experts, we strive to give back to the community by promoting scientific research that is both sex positive and innovative,” says Todd Sowers, Chief Marketing Officer of Online Buddies, Inc.

According to the OLB Research Institute, to date, Manhunt™ and DList™ members have participated in over 100 studies worldwide, with this year’s national sex study being the largest in the United States.  The study itself, which focused on men’s most recent sexual event, found the sexual repertoires of participants to be varied, suggesting the need to rethink some common misconceptions about the sexual behaviors of gay and bisexual men.

“As highlighted in the community report, the sexual experiences that men are having are not all homogenous.  For example, less than 40% of men engaged in anal intercourse during their last sexual event, challenging the notion that ‘gay sex always = anal sex.’   By providing this information to our members, we hope to normalize their sexual behaviors and ultimately reduce existing stereotypes about gay and bisexual men,” says Novak.

The community report examines in detail a variety of sexual behavior topics from the larger study and can be found in it’s entirety at www.mensnationalsexstudy.com.

"Rose By Any Other Name" Viewing & Director's Q&A

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Rose is a series all about modern love and manners in which a comfortably out and proud woman who identifies as lesbias, and a nice progressive straight man serendipitously meet and then unexpectedly find themselves falling for each other.  This viewing party is followed by a Q&A session with producer, writer and director Kyle Schickner.

LGBT Professional's Mixer at B Lounge

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

The LOFT joins forces again with Out Professionals for a business mixer at B Lounge. Come for complimentary food, reduced-price drinks, fun and meeting new clients, associates and business contacts. B Lounge is located at 4 Broadway in Valhalla.

LOFT LGBT Center Loses Hotline Funding – Act Now to Help!

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Via the LOFT:

Westchester County Cuts Important LGBT Funding
The LOFT Needs Your Help!

Westchester County has funded The LOFT’s Helpline since the early 1990s, and has been one of the first counties in the entire nation to offer acknowledgment much less resources to the LGBT community through The LOFT’s Helpline.

However, this all unexpectedly changed yesterday when, without advance notice, The LOFT received notification from the Westchester County Department of Social Services that the grant was immediateley terminated due to county budget cuts. Although the $22,000 annual grant is small in comparison to the rest of the county’s budget, to The LOFT it is much, and what is done with it helps a community that now more than ever needs these services. With little movement on equality for the LGBT community in many areas, and with LGBT youth bullied to the point of suicide, now is not the time to terminate funding for The LOFT Helpline.

What You Can Do:
If you’re a Westchester resident, please contact your County Legislator, and ask them to restore The LOFT’s Helpine Funding. Although it was not the County Legislature that caused the cut, they are now in possession of the County Budget, and may have the power to restore it. This grant is vitally important to The LOFT and its ability to provide the Helpline services our community has needed.

Click Here for a list of contact information of Westchester County Legislators.

Click Here for text to use if you’re going to email your County Legislator.

The LOFT’s Helpline has been an asset to the LGBT community for over thirty years. Last year, The Helpline received 3,764 contacts, ranging from crisis calls from LGBT youth, to parents whose children have just come out to them, from LGBT seniors looking for doctors who might be gay-friendly, to those looking for information on HIV/AIDS.