Educate Yourself To Have Safe Sex With Anal Sex Video

Posted by Getiton on July 4th, 2012

Get it On!have produced a How to Have Anal Sex video as part of their safe gay sex information website. While this is intended to be an educational safe sex resource for all gay and bisexual men in New Zealand, the key target audience is young gay men, particularly those young men who have never had anal sex before but have considered it or are about to try it.There has been a substantial increase in condom use by gay and bisexual men at first-time anal sex rising from 6% pre-1976 to 75% in 2005 (Hughes et al 2007). Evidence suggests that condom use at first-time sex increases the likelihood of condom use as a norm in later life and at most recent sex (Shafii et al 2004, Hughes et al 2007).

Before developing the How to Have Anal Sex video, there was a total absence of appropriate, educational, information about anal sex available for young New Zealand gay and bisexual men. One of the very few discreet ways for young gay and bisexual New Zealand men to ‘find out’ information is to view gay porn on the millions of websites available. Some young gay and bisexual men don’t know where to go to find out information about sex and in the absence of appropriate material will view pornography. These websites can create a warped perception of male sexual activity and generally do not promote, endorse or inform the viewers about how to have safe sex in any way. With this in mind Get it On! decided to make a video that celebrates the joy of gay sex, while at the same time normalising condom use.

Previous research has demonstrated that explicit safe sex messages, images and STI/STD prevention interventions are appropriate and readily understood bygay and bisexual men (Rosser 1991, Leonard and Mitchell 2000, Hooper et al 2008, Mackie 2008). In one such American study, Hooper et al (2008) surveyed close to 3,000 men who specifically use the internet to find male sexual partners to develop effective internet-based HIV prevention interventions. Results showed extremely strong and uniform acceptability for highly sexually explicit language, visuals, depictions and media across all the demographic groups surveyed. For example, viewing sexually explicit images of men jerking off through to men having oral and anal sex all had high levels of endorsement when placed in the context of internet-based HIV prevention interventions.

Australian research supports these findings. Leonard and Mitchell (2000) and Mackie (2008) state that employing “everyday language” such as “fucking” instead of “intercourse” in as well as presenting safe sex messages with explicit illustrations within as real as possible sexual situations, increases the effectiveness of safe sex messages to gay and bisexual men. For these researchers, “merely providing information about safe sexual practice is not enough to result in a sustained behaviour change by gay men” (Mackie 2008: 35).

Ultimately the internet provides alternative and vitally important opportunities for communicating safe sex messages to gay and bisexual men. Explicit language and images are acceptable to gay and bisexual men and have the potential to effect sustained behaviour change where potentially risky sexual practices are concerned.

About the Author:

Joe Rich is the Spokesperson of Get it On! Through Get it On! He is trying to encourage all gay and bisexual men to use condoms and lube every time they have sex.  Get it On! is a community-focused, Social Marketing programme that aims to build a condom culture across New Zealand.