User:Gshaezoll/HIV/AIDS in the United States

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HIV/AIDS in the United States

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Local health educators found it upon themselves to promote modes of safe sex amongst gay men to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 1987, Les Pappas, an educator from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) spoke at a conference encouraging gay men to use a condom during sexual intercourse. In Pappas' speech, he takes it as the community's responsibility to educate men on using condoms, alluding to the degree of educating gay men as if they had no idea how to use condoms or were even aware of the existence of condoms at all.

Pappas saw opening the eyes of the gay community to condoms would create a successful economic "gay market" that was unprecedented for the San Francisco area. Where he saw bringing attention to buying and using condoms, Pappas also believed that seeing condom paraphernalia would make gay men embrace their sexuality more, thus practicing safer sex. : ~