... or is the opposite sometimes true? IWWIT invites you to a talk next Wednesday at the German AIDS service organisation's federal office
From sports clubs to cabaret, nightlife and gayromo to fetish parties: the gay scene (in big cities) offers everyone the chance to be happy in their own way. It enables a fulfilling sex life, a stable identity and life in an environment of solidarity. So much for the theory.
In practice, however, many gay men are downright frustrated with the scene: they perceive the gay world as superficial and oversexualised, feel pressured or ostracised by the "body cult" and "youth craze". At the same time, drugs seem to be playing an increasingly important role in nightlife.
Does the gay world fulfil the needs of gay men? Or does it perhaps sometimes make them lonely and ill? Does it lead to "unhealthy" lifestyles? How does a gay teenager feel when he longs for love and ends up in the nightlife of a big city? Does happiness fall by the wayside when everything revolves around lust without limits? And last but not least: What could trendy venues look like where guests feel completely at ease?
These questions will be the subject of a talk in the "Salon Wilhelmstraße" series at the German AIDS service organisation's federal office next Wednesday. Scene fans and organisers as well as critics will have their say. The question of the extent to which a prevention campaign like ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU can and should critically reflect gay lifestyles will also play a role.
In discussion: Prof. Dr Martin Dannecker (sexologist), Dirk Ludigs (journalist), Crispin Prill (managing director of the Berlin scene bars "Große Freiheit" and "Himmelreich"), Stephan Roth (role model of ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU) and Dr Dirk Sander (gay advisor of Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe) as well as a Berlin scene host/party organiser. Moderation: Holger Wicht (journalist and press spokesman for ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU).
After the event, discussions can continue over a light snack.
Salon Wilhelmstraße, 6 October 2010, 7.30 pm, Federal Office of the Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, Wilhelmstraße 138, 10963 Berlin (Kreuzberg). Admission free
