Awareness of Reality

Dear editor,

As an AIDS activist, I read the Sept. 19 issue of the Golden Gater with great interest, for two reasons:

1) The front page story, "Intervention saves lives," by Cara Brancoli, about the group PROMISE (Prevention, Referrals, Outreach, Mentoring and Intervention to end Sexual Exploitation), which assists women prostitutes in San Francisco. The story stated that PROMISE "provides its clients with access to free bus and bathroom tokens, condoms, toiletries and bleach for needles."

This sentence caught my attention because of the word condom. I wondered if PROMISE distributes just the penile condom, or if the group also gives out the Reality Female Condom. The Reality device is a polyurethane pouch that is inserted into the vagina or anus and is more effective at stopping HIV transmission than the latex penile condom. While the Reality Female Condom is currently only marketed for women, it is gaining acceptance in the gay male community because it can comfortably be used during anal sex.

2) The letter from Norma L. McCoy, Ph.D., professor of psychology, "Don't quote me out of context." McCoy wrote that "in response to the high rate of condom use and HIV testing that our SF State survey revealed I said, 'We must be doing something right here at San Francisco State.'" Again, I wanted to know if the reference to condoms was only about the penile condom, or if it also pertained to the female condom, also known as the anal condom.

Since the Reality Female Condom was approved in 1992 by the Food and Drug Administration as a sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy barrier, I believe all Americans must be made aware of its existence. I hope PROMISE is giving away the Reality device, and that the SF State sex survey asked participants about the use of Reality during vaginal and anal sex.

After all, knowledge about and use of Reality will guarantee more people; gays, straights, women and men to remain free of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Reality, what a life-saving concept.

Michael Petrelis

[ Golden Gater Online October 3, 1996 ]

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