At first glance London’s state-of-the art Dean Street Express sexual health clinic looks a bit like a stylish hotel.
For more than 30 years, condoms were our main HIV prevention method. Although it may not be obvious from where we sit now, it’s worth recognising that the embrace of condoms by the gay community to prevent HIV was an astonishing public health achievement. And it’s one that was pioneered by the community itself – community activists designed the first safe-sex materials and promoted condoms years before politicians and public health officials did.
At the height of a terrifying and devastating epidemic, condoms provided a way for us to continue to enjoy sexual intimacy and to bolster ourselves against moralistic attacks that linked gay sexuality with disease and death. We found an effective way to respond to the crisis that didn’t require us to sacrifice the values of sexual liberation.