by Robyn Maguire
News Reporter
The AIDS Foundation of Houston gave a safe-sex seminar to members and guests of the Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Alliance at the University Center Wednesday.
Philip Knowlton, program director at the foundation, told the audience about the importance of safe sex and the specific techniques and items one can use to assure safe sex.
Knowlton led an open discussion with the audience of 15, covering everything from the taste of condoms to the various uses of enemas.
While college students in the '90s have grown up hearing about safe sex, many are not sure exactly how to practice it, Knowlton said. "College students know about HIV and they know how to use a condom. A lot of the time, it's the tricky details (that cause problems)."
Making an informed decision about which condom or lubricant to use can be the difference between safe and unsafe sex, Knowlton explained, stressing the safety of latex condoms and water-based lubricants.
GLOBAL member Greg Worsham, a freshman English major, said he thought the seminar was informative. "Largely because of my religion, I don't know about diseases and safe sex," Worsham said. "The seminar got across some good points."
Knowlton said he has found that a large part of fighting HIV is overcoming the denial associated with it - many people believe they could never be infected. Most people think it only happens to others and do not change their behavior until they meet someone who has HIV or AIDS, he said.
"Meeting someone who had HIV changed my whole attitude. There was a realization that it could happen to me," he said.
Low self-esteem also prevents people from caring enough about themselves to practice safe sex, Knowlton said. Specifically with gay males, there can be trouble caused by homophobia and self-hate that reduces the motivation to practice self-protection.
At the end of the seminar, Knowlton passed out safe-sex packages, which contained latex condoms, lubricant and instructions on how to use them.
He also passed out T-shirts with the slogan, "Think negative."
"You have to feel good enough about yourself, and strong enough about yourself, to protect yourself," Knowlton said. "There's no excuse for not practicing safe sex. It's self-destructive behavior to do otherwise."