Smearing the queer : medical bias in the health care of gay men

216 Pages·2011·3.529 MB·English

by  Scarce, Michael

Medical
Bias
in the
Health
Care
Smearing the Queer
Medical Bias
the Health Care of Gay Men
This page intentionally left blank
Smearing the Queer
Medical Bias
the Health Care of Gay Men
Michael Scarce
RRoutledge
Taylor & Francis Group
NEW YORK AND LONDON
First published by
Harrington Park Press, an imprint d! The HMVdrtl Press, Inc,
10 Alice Stmt Birmingham. NY 13904 *1580
Tills edition published 2011 by Routiedge
711 Third Awnue, New York. NY 10017, USA
2 Park Square, Milton Park. Abingdon, O*on OXt4 4RN
Routledge Is an imprint of the Taylor & Fnarxrls Group, an informa business
|t|Q9 i>y THr tta*o*fh Prate. Inc All rights ft:served. No pirt of ihr* wu»k may be Kpn. kJuccJ
or unlived in any form or by any mean*, electron*: or mechanical, including ptoolocopyiM.
microfilm, and recording., or h> nn> information storageand retrieval xvsiem. wiitoui permeation
in writing from ihc puMi$te«
Cover an by I jftda HivamkI.
Cover design by Monica L. Seiferl.
The Library of Comgrtss ha* cataloged the hardcover edition of this book as:
Scarce, Michael
Smearing ihe queer: medical bias in ifee health care of gav men Michael Scarce,
p. cm
Includes bibliographical references and indes.
ISRN 0.7390-04HM)
1 Oty men—Medical cant. 2, HcttfOftttisnn. I. Tick-
RA564.9.1I65S28 1999
3rKtr0ftf»ri4—dc2l 99-23095
HP
ISBN 1-56023-926-3 <pbk)
This book is dedicated to Matt Brown
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Scarce is a doctoral student in medical sociology and
Coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resources
at the University of California, San Francisco. Serving as a national
consultant and lecturer on sexual health, he is also the author of
Male on Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma and Shame. His
work has appeared in publications such as the Journal of Homo­
sexuality, Journal of American College Health, POZ magazine, and
Diseased Pariah News.
CONTENTS
Foreword xi
Eric Rofes
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Fucking with Technology 1
SECTION I: SMEAR AS DEFAMATION
Dr. Kazal’s Ace in the Hole 9
Chapter 1. Harbinger of Plague:
A Bad Case of Gay Bowel Syndrome 11
Gaying the Bowel 19
Siting the Bowel 23
Speaking in Syndromes 24
Dual Diagnoses 27
Prevention 28
In the Bowels of the Other 29
AIDS and Gay Bowel Syndrome: Causation, Correlation,
and Conflation 32
The Homosexual Menace: Gay Bowel Syndrome
As Grounds for Antigay Discrimination 36
Conclusions 41
SECTION II: SMEARING TO SPREAD A WET
SUBSTANCE
The Plumber’s Applause 49
Chapter 2. Gay Men and the Female Condom:
Is Rectal Reality Getting a Bum Wrap? 51
Historical Reality 53
Sexual Governance 56
Feminizing Safer Sex Technology 59
Instructing the Anus 62
Queering Reality 68
The San Francisco Controversy 73
The Appropriateness of Appropriation 77
Threadbare Back 83
Chapter 3. Condomless Condoms: The Politics
and Prospects of Rectal Microbicides 85
The Need for Rectal Harm Reduction 87
Rectal Microbicide Research and Development 95
Gendered and Anatomical Comparisons 98
Types of Microbicides 101
Prospective Politics 104
Left to Our Own Devices 108
SECTION III: THE SMEAR FOR MICROSCOPIC
EXAMINATION
A Recipe for Rectal Tarts (or, Just Add Feces and Stir) 113
Chapter 4. Queering the Smear: A Detective Named Pap 115
Carcinogenic Homosexuality 118
Smearing the Anus 121
Behind the Screen 122
Comparative Sex 128
Negotiating the Smear 133
Adviser 135
Chapter 5. Something Borrowed, Something Blue:
Viagra Use Among Gay Men 137
Recreational Erections 141
Sex As a Class Act 144
Criminal Aids and Criminal AIDS 145
Conversion Therapy: Bottoms Become Tops 147
How Hard Is Hard Enough? 149
Real Men Don’t Need Viagra 151
SECTION IV: CLEARING THE SMEAR
Immaculate Infection 157
Chapter 6. Heterocopulative Syndrome:
Clinico-Pathologic Correlation in 260 Cases 159
Problem and Literature Review 160
Method 161
Results 162
Discussion 162
Conclusion 163
Chapter 7. Smear-Resistant Strategies 165
Notes 173
Index 189