"Sex Panic!’s" critical stance on "Sexual Ecology" received widespread attention in the media. The "New York Times" reported "“"The volleying has deeply divided the gay intelligentsia. For the first time since the publication in 1987 of ""And The Band Played On"" by Randy Shilts, there is open debate among homosexuals about promiscuity's role in AIDS.” The article cited Michael Warner as arguing that, “...promiscuous sex is the essence of gay liberation, and that any attempt to fight AIDS by changing the culture is doomed. ‘It is an absurd fantasy to expect gay men to live without a sexual culture when we have almost nothing else that brings us together,' Mr. Warner said.”