HIGH TECH GAZETTE - August 1996 (a publication of High Tech Gays)
Newsletter Editor: Mike Bromberg
On-Line Formatting: Dale Benjamin
== IN THIS ISSUE ==
á New Directions for HIV Prevention
á Calendar
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will
hold a public hearing and vote on the county's proposed Domestic Partnership
Registry on the evening of Tuesday, August 13th, beginning at 6:30PM.
Supporters of the registry are encouraged to attend. There will be groups
handing out signs that you can wear, saying "I Support Domsetic
Partnership". Just being in the audience wearing a sign will send an
effective message to the board. Supporters wishing to speak are urged to
prepare their remarks in advance, as they will probably be limited to two
minutes. Same-sex couples raising children together, senior citizens, disabled
persons, and clergy are especially encouraged to speak.
The
hearing will be held in the Board of Supervisors chambers on the ground floor of
the County Administration Building, 70 W. Hedding St (near First St.) in San
Jose. Seating will be limited, so arrive early, by 5:30 if possible.
-- by Jim Dugan
New Directions for HIV Prevention
In mid-July over 1,000 people participated in the
18th National Lesbian and Gay Health Conference and 14th National AIDS/HIV
Forum organized by the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association (NLGHA) held
in Seattle, Washington.
During
the conference there were many discussions and presentations on the future of
HIV prevention. Many experts feel that although safer sex and condom use
campaigns have been necessary strategies, it is no longer enough to maintain
safety. A significant study presented by Simon Rosser, Ph.D., associate
professor at the University of Minnesota, demonstrated the link between
homophobia and unsafe sexual behaviors in gay men.
"We
studied 200 homosexually active gay men by asking them to fill out a new scale
on internalized homophobia developed by myself and Dr. Michael Ross at the
University of Texas in Houston," said Rosser. "By looking at their
sexual behaviors in the last two months we were able to demonstrate that those
with higher levels of internalized homophobia were 5-7 times more likely to
report engaging in unsafe sexual behaviors.
"Particularly
those whose internalized homophobia is morally or religiously based are at
greatest risk. The preliminary results indicate that 'If I believe I am already
dammed before God and I believe my sexuality is immoral, then I'm not going to
bother practicing safer sex.'"
Through
their Human Sexuality department at the University of Minnesota, Rosser
conducts sexual health seminars for gay men. They have analyzed the pre-test,
post-test, and six month follow-up questionnaires answered by the gay men
attending the sexual health seminars. "The good news is that there is a
strong indication that after attending these seminars there is a significant
reduction in internalized homophobia," says Rosser.
"What
this means is that homophobia can be treated through psycho-sexual
education," says Rosser. "Not only does it make a significant
difference, but also the level of homophobia stays down. Once gay people work
through internalized homophobia they never look back. That's exciting to me
because it suggests we have the capacity to build healthy gay
communities."
Dr.
Simon Rosser has written and implements a gay positive curriculum
which trains gay men to be comfortable with their sexuality and gives
them the ability to build healthier and more sexually alive relationships.
Rosser is an associate professor and licensed psychologist at the University of
Minnesota, Program in Human Sexuality, Medical School.
National
Lesbian and Gay Health Association
1407 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009
(202) 939-7880
Local
HIV Prevention Programs for Gay Men:
ARIS: Marty Grimes (408) 293-2747
Santa Clara County, AIDS Health Services:
Gabrielle Antolovich (408) 885-7712
Free
Anonymous HIV Testing
now at
2400 Moorpark Ave., Suite 316A
San Jose CA 95128
(408) 885-7000
-- by Gabrielle
Antolovich
This year the annuall HTG Picnic will be held at
Kelly Park located at Senter and Keyes in San Jose. The picnic area is the
Maple leaf area located between the Japanese Friendship garden and the
historical Museum, next to the parking lot. HTG will provide briquettes and
lighter fluid for BBQ and cold soft drinks. Please bring a picnic type dish
(e.g. a salad, meat, whatever) to share. Starts at noon,
lasts until whenever. as with all HTG
functions, alcoholic beverages are not appropriate.
To
find the park, drive east on Keyes to its dead end at Senter. The park is right
in front of you. Where is Keyes? Travel south on Second Street in San jose and Keyes is the last cross street before Second merges
with Monterey Highway.
We will once again have one of the favorite HTG
activities with a Movie Night at 7:30 on Friday, August 23 at Steve and Phil's
home. The evening will feature two films identified in "The Celluloid
Closet" as notable gay works.
For
directions, come to the August meeting, or leave a message on voicemail (408)
AUX-1-HTG. Bring your own beverage and some munchies to share. See you there!
-- by Gene
August 19 - Newsletter Deadline
All articles to mxbrombe@comdisco.com
August 22 - Newsletter Collating Party
6:30 at the Center in San Jose. Come on down and help lick
and stuff.
August
23 - Movie night
Two films identified in the "The Celluloid Closet". See previous
article.
-- by Gene
Well, HTG marched in the SF Pride Parade, having
been adopted by the Apple Lambda contingent - #86. Despite word being placed on
the web page and the voicemail, the HTG president was the entire HTG contingent.
I recognized several HTG folks in the crowd watching the parade nonetheless.
Things
fell apart for program for the July meeting, but we pulled an impromptu round
table discussion about where we should go from here.
In
the past I have asked for suggestions and have been met with blank stares. This
time was different. We had visitors down from Concord and they were full of
energy and ideas.
One
thing that HTG has always been is a service organization. We are looking for
community service projects to work on.
Meanwhile,
the picnic is still on for August. Being an election year and knowing that
political programs attract people for our meetings, we have such programs in
store for September and October. Both the GOP and the Democrats have much to
answer for and it's time we called them on the carpet. The Democrats promised
to be friendly to the gay community and many feel that they have renegged on
the deal. Should be two rather interesting programs. We are still looking for a
program on womens' issues for November. Ideas are welcome.
We
aren't dead yet!
-- by Texx
HTG
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HIGH TECH GAYS -- professionals in high
technology industry
Contributors
Gabrielle Antolovich
Dean Dennison
Jim Dugan
Gene Smith
Texx
HTG Officers
President: Texx Woodward
(408) 289-1484
Secretary: Derek Benn (408)
289-1484
Treasurer: Dean Denison (408)
289-1484
Other HTG Contacts
HTG Voicemail recording &
messages: (408) 289-1484
e-mail:
info@htg.org
HTG/Outreach BBS (300 bps -
14.4kbps/v.32bis/V.42bis/MNP, calendar, jobs, messages, & more!) Allan
Hurst, Sysop
- - (415) 572-9594 (public
line)
- - (408) 374-6608
(contributor line)
Newsletter Editor: Mike
Bromberg (408) 297-9781
- - - - - - - - - - mxbromberg@comdisco.com
Women's Caucus: Gabrielle
Antolovich (408) 289-1484
Copyright and published monthly by:
High Tech Gays
P.O.BOX 6777
San Jose, CA 95150
Phone: (408) 289-1484
(AUX-1-HTG)
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Tech Gays is a Cooperating Organization Member of NGLTF