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Since I 840

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PHONE 658-0333

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A Full Service Salon
I50 Church Street Burlington 0 across from City Hall

864-2088

Polly Menendez MS, PT
Nurturing Therapeutic Massage
Physical therapy

Exerdse Consultation

 

Burlington VT -- call 859 0788
The Mountains Y 0 u '
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jackie Marina

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”Out” and Servin our
Community since 989

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

first learned four years ago

that gay men, or men who

have had sex with men, are
not allowed to give blood. A
-friend mentioned it off-hand
while talking about donation
and completely shocked me. I
did a little research and
learned that-if a man has had
“sexual contact” with another
man after 1970, he was for-
bidden from ever giving °
blood.

It struck me as some-
thing that people should be
riled up about. After all, giv-
ing blood helps people and
there are often blood short-
ages. As far as I knew, all
blood products were tested
between donation and distri-
bution. I was certain that the

a Red Crusade    

 

the Red Cross has routinely
ignored other FDA regula-
tions, but kept true to the one
barring gay men from
donation.

By this time I was
pissed. A man could shoot
heroin, then have uprotected
sex with prostitutes, wait two
years and then donate like
anyone else. I, on the other
hand, am forbidden because of
sexual contact with another
man. _

“Sexual contact” isn’t
even defined. By some defini-
tions, it could mean holding
hands or kissing. Oral and
anal sex are covered, too,
regardless of safety measures.
How could getting a safe
blowjob from a virgin possi-

The Red Cross has routinely
ignored other FDA regulations,
but held true to the one
barring gay men from making

a donation.

American Red Cross would
want as many people as possi-
ble to donate, and that there
would be few restrictions
because of testing.

I understand some
restrictions: if you’ve slept
with a prostitute, gotten a tat-
too recently, traveled exten-
sively in diseased areas of the
world, or had unsafe sex, the
American Red Cross needs to
be careful. Funnily enough,
these restrictions have expira-
tion dates, so you only have to
wait a while if you’ve had
straight sex with a prostitute
or been to a malarial area.

A little more research
told me that the restrictions
against MSMs were from the
Food and Drug
Administration, not the Red
Cross. I felt better about the
organization and resented
them less. Then I learned that

bly be as dangerous as unpro-
tected intercourse with prosti-
tutes? Why is it that men who
can prove HIV-negative status

.are denied?

I started volunteering
outside of blood drives, asking
people to read and sign a letter
to the FDA that called for an
end to the boycott. I found out
that almost everyone I talked
to was also surprised that gay
men and MSMs were denied
without qualification. There is
no way around it: any sexual
contact with another man dis-
qualifies.

Any women who have
had sex with MSMS are also
barred from giving blood for-
ever. So many of my friends
are now forbidden from giving
blood that it’s hard to think of
more than two or three who
could go to an American Red
Cross blood drive and donate.

Some of my friends
and acquaintances lie. During
the pre-donation question-
naire, they just deny ever hav-
ing sex with men. They know
that their blood is safe and
feel a duty to help out. I, on
the other hand, feel a duty to
try and change the regulation.

Discrimination based
on groups rather than risk fac-
tors is a shame. I would have
no problem barring men who
have had unprotected anal or
oral sex with other men and
forcing them to wait the same
amount of time straight people
do. I also would welcome a
definition of “sexual contact”
that clearly defined what the
FDA thinks is safe or not. The
vagueness of the restriction is
a way of piling on more
shame to gay sex. The mes-
sage to me is: it’s notjust butt
fucking that you have to 7'
worry about, it’s kissing and
hand holding and perhaps
even “intimate looks.”

It reminds me of the’ if 0
 strengthening of the German

law against homosexuals
(Paragraph 175) by the Nazis.
Before Hitler, the law forbade
sodomy, during the Third
Reich, men could be arresting
for associating with gay men
or casting a passionate glance
in the way of another man.
This example is not to equate
the FDA with Nazis, only to
show how shame and crimi-
nalization can go hand in
hand.

I saw a banner for a
blood drive in Rutland yester-
day, and I’m sure they’re pop-
ping up all over the state. I
beg you not to deny yourself
and lie in order to give blood.
Don’t hide because you’re
queer. Be vigilant for your
rights. Withhold your blood
donation until they really need
it, until supplies are so low
that the white men in suits beg
gays to give it. We can’t
afford to play by their rules
until we have all the same
rights. v

Joel Nichols is withholding his
blood donation in Brandon.
You can reach him at

janichols@wesleyan. edu.