A word on the condom issue

Recently I received a very nice review for Scrum. The reader enjoyed the story, but snickered a little at the lack of condom=no anal sex business. While this is his right, it also makes me worry. He defined it as “something that appeals to women readers.”

I know, because I have gay friends, gay acquaintances, and read a lot, that condom use and safer sex practices are far from universal. The moment gets away from you, the other guy is so damned hot, you trust what he said about his status, you don’t believe that HIV is a problem, whatever.

Except, it’s not whatever. It’s someone’s life. Many someones.

CDC estimates that approximately 50,000 people in the United States are newly infected with HIV each year. In 2010 (the most recent year that data are available), there were an estimated 47,500 new HIV infections.a Nearly two thirds of these new…