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 an Epidemic" was the first sex-positive manuals for safe sex—in other words, it did not present sex in a negative, shameful or moralistic light. Sonnabend writes in the introduction to the booklet that one of their goals was to "explore the many different forms of sexual expression open to gay men." As David France later recounted, the authors actively tried to avoid condescension or arrogance in their writing (despite the fact that Callen himself had acknowledged that telling people how to have sex is inherently an arrogant thing to do), instead attempting to establish a dialogue, "queen to queen," between