I know condoms aren't fail-safe, but shouldn't they be cutting down on the frequency a lot? What are we dealing with here?

People always aren't entirely safe -- BBBJs, "just that once", etc.  Also, many hobbyists are or were quite promiscuous "in the day" when protection wasn't deemed a life-saving thing, and occasional bouts of the clap were about the worse thing that could happen.

A better question would be "how many hobbyists have contracted an STD through interactions with a provider?".

I do not have an active VIP membership, so the only way you can contact me is by saying something here.  If it really must be offline, let me know and I'll set up something semi-anonymous.

Better question might be how many have contacted STD in the last year?  two years or five years?   Perhaps another might be how many learned a lesson after the first encounter with an STD ?

Where are the stats that you drew these conclusions from?

My own research at the cdc website formed an entirely different conclusion in my mind. STD's are highest among groups of people that are low income, drug users, etc.  Most gentlemen in this hobby are neither. I'd love to see some links to some hard info that backs up your conclusion.

Hugs*
Nicole

Why isn't EVERYONE who is sexually active in this day and age poring over the cdc website inch by inch to educate themselves about their bodies and their risk levels? Why isn't EVERYONE who is sexually active taking responsibility for their own sexual health, and instead coming here to either a) try to get their info from an often times misinformed messageboard which is then taken as fact or b) make wild speculations about the dangers of STD's?

Why don't people go find out for themselves? There is a WEALTH of information on the web available to all of us!

Hugs*
Nicole

Much of the "wealth" of information is conflicting, and the web makes it hard to distinguish what is real from what is fact.  Even when it does seem trustworthy (CDC, for example), it may not address our particular niche of the world.  Can they really say what *our* risk is, given the large number of variables that we are dealing with (protected vs. unprotected intercourse, oral, anal, general contact, etc.)?

People get bowled over by the sheer amount of information, and end up throwing up their arms and saying "I just want anecdotal information", which is what probably happens here.

The simple answer is that "people with multiple sex partners are at greater risk", no matter how you slice it.  You can get a whole host of things when you give or recieve unprotected oral.  Even with protected intercourse, you are still at risk of contracting genital herpes, and looking for "open sores" is not going to insulate one much from that risk.  Once you up the number of sex partners, all those risks are magnified.

One can do things to insulate ourselves from the greater risks (i.e. avoiding unprotected intercourse), but the this hole business is a game of trade-offs, where many people are willing to take a small risk to get more pleasure.

As many long-time TER readers may recall, I ended up with herpes and two non-specific UTIs (though I suspect one may have been gonorrhea) as a result of the hobby, and those are just what have been discovered via diagnosis (I do get myself tested on a regular basis, but have yet to find anything via a test alone).  None of them were the result of unprotected course.  I suspect that all were the result of unprotected oral, though other mitigating factors (received some hand action after the hand was on their genitals) *could* have allowed infection as well.  Scared?  You should be.  Is it worth seaing yourself in a plastic bubble?  You make the call.

"People get bowled over by the sheer amount of information, and end up throwing up their arms and saying "I just want anecdotal information", which is what probably happens here."

I don't think that gets them out of the responsibility of finding out and deciding for themselves. I mean sheesh here we are with a thread up there about how every obese person in this country obviously WANTS to be obese... and yet you can let everyone else just push aside the responsibility for their sexual health? Boy this board really does amuse me sometimes!

As for your experiences... I am sorry you went through that.    Ghonnorhea, Chlamydia, and Syphillis, are honestly not my concerns... easily cleared up! Warts, herpes and the mother of them all, HIV, and more recently hepatitis, are the ones I sweat over.

As for myself, no, absolutely I am not going to live in a plastic bubble. I could get hit by a truck crossing the street today. Or hey, SHOT by a guy in a truck as I am in the county that is happening in. (Two days ago, I was getting gas at about the same time as the woman who was shot while vacuuming her car. Scary!) I will live my life, knowing what my risks are, and doing what I can to minimize them... but at least I can make an educated decision because I've chosen to educate myself. It sounds like you have too... but why you would say it's ok for anyone to NOT educate themselves, I still don't get. You're entitled to your opinion though!

Sincerely,
Nicole

Sorry Nicole, the CDC site is virtually useless. It has so much informationt that it is overload. The content is written in scientific bauble.  People want simple answers to simple questions?  What specific risks do I have from receiving oral sex or giving? What are the statistics?  WHich specific STD's do I have the most risk of getting? I can't find those straight answers if you can "your a better man than I Gunga Din..."

Nicole,
I think you are right about everyone being responsible for their education. But I do agree that the information out there is not in a good format to obtain which is why maybe we have a f--kin epidemic in this country. Since you have obviously gone through pains of research and there are enough people going to these boards that are seriously wanting for information perhaps you could share with us all what you have found. (IE. a link to the CDC site does not cut it..) For example would you be able to share what the stats are for transmission of STD's through DATY?
Which ones? WHat is the risk to receiving a BBBJ? How much does the risk go up if customer cums in the mouth of the provider? I doubt that these hard core stats are available but if you can at least find a site that talks in English we would all be the wiser...

Thanks