How to Have Sex in an Epidemic Many gay men were simply glad for any concrete advice in the midst of such confusion, particularly advice that did not present celibacy as the only safe option. As expected, "How to Have Sex" did receive significant criticism from other gay men and gay organizations for its critical take on promiscuity. Callen and Berkowitz had attempted to tone down their critical tone from their first major publication, "We Know Who We Are: Two Gay Men Declare War on Promiscuity" in a 1982 issue of the New York Native, which had harshly condemned the "excessiveness" and "pigging out" that was occurring
How to Have Sex in an Epidemic MSM in New York City and San Francisco had been infected. Retrospective analysis by the CDC found that there were between 250,000-300,000 people living with HIV in the United States in 1983, and the number of people newly infected between `83-`84 was around 150,000). However, the model set forth by Callen and Berkowitz at least provided the possibility of a "return to intimacy" for people with AIDS, which, despite being based on a now-defunct notion of how the syndrome arose, was important in combating the social death that many PWA faced after diagnosis. "How to Have Sex in an Epidemic"