Two weeks ago, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its Mortality and Morbidity Weekly report, many outlets were quick to jump on one specific statistic: that unprotected anal sex among men is up nearly 20 percent from 2005 to 2011. In the New York Times, Donald McNeil said that the statistic was “spurring HIV fears” and was “heightening concerns among health officials worldwide.” In Slate, Mark Joseph Stern argued that the “case against barebacking with a non-monogamous partner remains as strong as ever,” and cited monogamy as "clearly the gold standard of sexual health.” And in The New Yorker, Michael Specter wrote, “If unprotected anal intercourse is rising among gay men, the rates of HIV infection will surely follow.” He concluded the piece by quoting Larry Kramer’s landmark 1983 New York Native article, “1112 and Counting”: “Our continued existence depends on just how angry you can get… Unless we fight for our lives we shall die.”
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