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 the initial stage of the epidemic was to "cut down" on the frequency of sex, without giving any thought to the type of sex. The authors describe their attempt to correct this incomplete advice by educating people on what types of sexual acts are higher risk as a way to present them with an alternative to abstinence/self-denial and encourage a sex-positive mentality. The example they provide in the pamphlet is a man who decides to limit the number of times he has sex to 12 per year, but does not change what he does with his partners or how he