Sexually Adventurous Men (SAM) Report

SExually adventurous MEN (SAM) PROJECT

Report compiled by the ACON SAM Project Team August 2012

Table of contents

Acknowledgements 2 The Team 2 Recommendations/Actions 3 The Sam project report 4 What We knew about SAM? 4 stage/project process 5 howhard.com.au development 6 market research online community (mroc) 6 the mroc engagement process 6 findings 7 being sam 8 language and imagery used by sam 13 conclusion 16

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THE TEAM

This Report on the ACON Sexually Adventurous Men (SAM) project describes a SAM community initiative made possible solely by the participation and contributions of over 200 Sydney gay men.

The SAM Stage I Project Team was comprised of SAM peers working in gay men’s program engagement at ACON together with peer contract staff and community representatives.

Thank you guys for your trust in us and for the insights you’ve shared.

Andrew Little and Steve Atkins were peer contractors for stage one implementation.

Thanks also to Ben Bavinton, Ben Tart, Yves Calmette, Garrett Prestage, Ross Duffin, Phillip Keen, and Kathy Triffitt, for their contributions as staff and steering group members over a number of years.

Andrew has significant Australian and international HIV health promotion and sector experience and Steve is the founder and promoter of the Woofclub parties, and a well-known identity in Sydney and international SAM culture.

Extra special thanks to Craig Cooper for inspiring our reconnection with the men at the heart of our community and for his work as a project mentor. Richard Savvy was also generous enough to volunteer his services as a project mentor in what was a very busy time for him during the run up to International Mr Leather 2012, in which he represented Sydney.

I’d like to thank Paul Gifford who was the initial SAM Project Officer prior to departing in 2011 and acknowledge his contribution.

My thanks to my team members at ACON: Lance Schema who led the project with me and Dermot Ryan, Steve Moran, Terry Walkinshaw and Brent Clifton who developed and ran the Market Research Online Community (MROC), collated the data and contributed to the development of the Report. Brent will lead the SAM Project from this point and I know he’ll do it very effectively.

Thanks also to ACON Communications Officer, Marvin Mico, who designed the Report - and did an excellent job - and to our CEO, Nic Parkhill who has been incredibly supportive of this initiative throughout, as has the ACON Board.

Last but by no means least, I’d like to acknowledge the invaluable input provided by our contract project staff, Andrew Little and Steve Atkins. Their wisdom, skill and patience kept the project on track, kept us focussed and ensured that we stayed true to the culture and spirit of our community Geoff Honnor Director, HIV/Sexual Health ACON August 2012

Their expertise, community standing and knowledge blended very effectively with the remainder of the team and with the technical skills offered by Ben White from market research agency, Ruby Cha Cha, who was commissioned to provide the infrastructure and reporting mechanisms for the MROC.

3 RECOMMENDATIONS and ACTIONS Key recommendations and actions emerging from the SAM Needs Assessment Project are as follows:

Establish and maintain a dedicated online point of connection and information for Sydney SAM • Sexually adventurous men want a site that tells it like it is, with information presented clearly, nonjudgementally and in the language that they use.

• While the ACON website is recognised by SAM as a good general source of information and services, they felt that a more specific and targeted site is needed to effectively engage with SAM. The How Hard website, developed as an initial point of contact for men interested in participating in the Project, offers an ideal interactive platform for doing this and will be developed accordingly.

• We’re committed to providing information that is authentic, accurate and offered in a ‘sex and pleasure positive’ framing.

• We’re committed to ensuring that the site is directly relevant to SAM and provides an opportunity for men to get into issues that don’t generally get discussed elsewhere, whether it be sexual health issues or topics often perceived as taboo outside peer-based discussion.

A Space [Place] to Be The continuing absence of a welcoming, culturally appropriate physical space/venue to accommodate Sydney SAM socialising and networking was universally identified by participants as the major challenge to community cohesion and a significant gay cultural deficit for Sydney.

A wide range of space possibilities were suggested including: sex on premises venue, pub, nightclub or a multipurpose site or club. ACON funding doesn’t run to the provision of Leather Bars/SAM venues per se; however, we’re committed to working with community members and business owners in search of a solution.

Peer Mentor Development SAM place significant value in peer based learning and the fostering of knowledge within community.

A number of participants noted that SAM community members are a repository of knowledge that could/ should be passed on in the community; we agree.

We’ll work with the SAM community to develop peer educators - and peer education models – as a priority.

This approach offers the potential for providing much more effective support - and ultimately, better health outcomes – for men who would not normally engage with staff in organisations like ACON. We’re committed to working with SAM to develop partnership-based responses around issues that SAM themselves identify as priorities, noting that our willingness and ability to work within a SAM cultural framing will be crucial.

4 The SAM Project Report

What we knew about SAM

Background

SAM is simply an HIV sector acronym for ‘sexually adventurous man’ and like many HIV sector acronyms, doesn’t have much currency beyond the HIV sector. Other terms like ‘sex pigs’, ‘pigs’, ‘down and dirty’, ‘filthy’, and ‘nasty’ are some of the descriptions SAM use to refer to each other and the practices they engage in.

Sexually adventurous men are at the heart of gay sex culture. In fact, they’ve been described as the engine room that drives gay sex culture. It therefore follows that SAM should also represent a core component of the HIV and sexual health response to gay men in NSW, however it’s been many years since that core centrality has been transparently acknowledged in ACON’s health promotion engagement.

ACON identified the pressing need to re-connect with SAM a number of years ago. However, identifying the best strategy for delivering that outcome proved elusive.

The aim of this project was to deliver that ‘connecting’ process and in doing so, to create a sustained relationship with SAM. The current project initiative was conceptualised by the previous Director of the ACON HIV and Sexual Health Division, Craig Cooper. Shortly before leaving the agency in 2010, Craig offered a vision for SAM engagement in an options paper aptly (and characteristically) titled ‘Let’s Fuck’.

Current Director of HIV and Sexual Health, Geoff Honnor and Associate Director of HIV and Sexual Health, Lance Schema commenced implementation of the vision in 2011.

Research findings support a case for around a third of all HIV diagnoses in Australian gay men arising from what’s known in the literature as sexually adventurous and/or high-risk sexual practice.

Not all the men who engage in SAM culture would necessarily identify with all - or many - of these labels, nor is it essential that they do so in order to be considered part of it. For some guys, sexual adventurism is something they do episodically, not something they ‘live’ and SAM sub-culture, like all sexual subcultures, is probably best understood as a core group of committed players in a midst of ’visitors passing through.’ The takeout point is that SAM culture isn’t fixed, discrete or sealed off from gay culture more generally.

Some of the core defining characteristics of SAM: • Identification with ‘hot and dirty’ over ‘young and beautiful’ • I dentification with the leather scene, bear scene or similar to some extent • S trong identification with and ideation of masculine prototypes • Multiple sex partners • Broad sexual repertoire The proliferation of online hook-up/contact sites (a marked feature of SAM subcultural engagement) also fosters national and international SAM travel networks that can extend from Sydney and Melbourne through North American metropolitan centres like San Francisco, LA, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and Montreal to European SAM culture hubs like Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, London and Paris.

SAM tend to be highly engaged socially and sexually with other gay men, they can be frequent users of recreational drugs and are more likely to inject drugs than non-SAM gay men. They are also more likely to use drugs specifically to enhance sexual pleasure.

5 Stage / Project Process Research demonstrates that SAM are more likely to use risk reduction strategies other than condoms, and in general are more inclined to prioritise pleasure over risk than other gay men.

Given that most (but by no means all) SAM-affiliated men tend to journey into sub cultural/tribal affiliation over time, they’re more likely to be older (>35, 40’s) than younger (20’s, <35). They’re also more likely to be inner metro-based and as previously mentioned, prime users of SAM-aligned online hook up sites such as Scruff, Recon, BBRT, etc.

Scoping Exercise In November 2010 a meeting was held to initiate the development of the ACON SAM program response. The meeting considered three questions: 1. Why do we want (need) to engage with these men?

2. What do we have to offer to them and with what aim?

3. What model(s) of engagement/process do we want to use?

The key messages from this meeting were that:

HIV positive gay men are disproportionately represented within SAM subcultural settings; however HIV negative gay men are represented in significant numbers.

• Attempting to initiate an engagement with SAM solely on the basis of their ‘risk’ behaviour won’t work. Perceptions of ACON as safe sex police are widespread in SAM culture and reversing those perceptions will take time.

Behavioural research undertaken by the Kirby Institute (Three or More (TOMS) Study; Pleasure and Sexual Health (PASH) Study) and the National Centre for HIV Social Research (Sexual Adventurism) provides a significant SAM evidence base.

• T hese men are our community. These men are us. We have a cultural and a tribal responsibility for and to them.

Health Promotion campaign engagement with SAM

by Positive Life NSW in from 2006 (Sex Pigs, Wrapped or Raw) and subsequent program initiatives by the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC) and PLWHAVIC in Melbourne have also added significant value in terms of understanding ‘what works’ in SAM engagement.

The SAM Project (Stage I) dimension that emerged from this forum shaped as a community needs assessment exercise. In short, go to our community to listen and learn about what (if anything) they need or want from us and then report back to them on what we’ve found.

• G reat sex is a primary motivator for SAM and we need to make our commitment to sex positivity manifest.

The major activities of this exercise were projected to be: • Setting up a prototype HowHard.com.au website and facebook page • Engaging SAM to participate in an online survey • Undertaking an in-depth online community discussion forum with a subset of the survey respondents • Analysing the data and reporting back

6 HowHard.com.au Development

MROC Engagement process

A key focus of the project was the development of the How Hard website, designed to appeal specifically to SAM. This component was a crucial factor in creating a relevant and appealing point of engagement and access to the Project.

Recruitment

The site titled www.HowHard.com.au was designed by Steve Atkins to profile the subcultural framing of SAM and offer the potential to position health promotion content in an innovative and creative context.

The HowHard website and an associated face book page were used to announce and promote the Project and survey. The survey was developed in the format of an application form for the site, and was specifically designed to appeal to SAM. The survey needed to have the feel of ‘more to come’ and encourage the visitor to return to the website.

Market Research Online Community [MROC]

The team worked in partnership with Sydney-based Market Research agency, Ruby Cha Cha, to create an online platform known as a Market Research Online Community (MROC) to explore the experiences and needs of this community. MROC is basically a software package that provides an in depth online focus testing experience over several days with the ability to engage in much more extended exploration and investigation of issues than would normally be the case.

The specific objectives of the MROC exercise were: • To hear from SAM about their perceptions of ACON • To understand the needs of SAM in relation to sexual health and lifestyle support • To identify whether or not there’s a redefined partnership role for ACON in the mix

An application form was developed aimed at recruiting approximately 100 SAM to the How Hard website through ‘culturally contained’ email snowballing techniques. A conscious decision was taken not to use ‘traditional’ public advertising or community media recruitment channels. The application form also functioned to identify the prospective participants for the MROC and collected information on self-reported cultural practices, activities and identity.

The format of the application form was similar to that of many online sites such as Recon or BBRT and was designed to ‘feel’ like a membership signup to the HowHard.com.au site.

Of the 100 respondents, approximately 60% indicated that they would be willing to participate in the online community forum. Some 22 respondents eventually did so.

Participants were selected based on their answers to the questions, general demographics; heath information provided and assessed ability to articulate thoughts and feelings in the online dimension. A wealth of de-identified data was provided through the application process which has been retained in confidential storage.

Online Forum Participants were allocated unique identifier names on joining the Forum (‘Blue 8,’ etc.). The forum was moderated by SAM Project Team members with the primary aim of drawing out and encouraging participant discussion on pre-planned topics.

A series of questions were posted over a two week period.

After an initial introduction exercise participants were given daily tasks to complete with new questions posted every two days.

The daily tasks consisted of participants keeping a record of their thoughts and activities in their Pig Notes which was a basic daily diary reflection exercise.

During the course of the forum, participants expressed a desire to communicate with each other (in the unique identifier context only). This led to development of a sharing space within the online community which allowed for and encouraged some debate and discussion amongst the members of the community. This peer led and developed innovation proved to be the most popular area of the online community

7 Findings The 100 men who completed application forms ranged from 20’s to 60’s however over 75% were aged >40.

Table 1 - Survey participants by age bracket The applicants included a higher than anticipated proportion of HIV negative men which was also reflected in online forum participants.

UNDER 40 21%

OVER 40 79%

Table 2 - Survey participants by HIV status While a significant majority (68%) of applicants reported being HIV negative, HIV positive men were still disproportionately represented (28%) compared to the average 7/8% sero-prevalence among Sydney gay men.

HIV Positive 28% Don’t know 4%

HIV Negative 68%

table 3 - participants who practice chemsex

Yes 64%

No 36%

8 Being SAM’

‘

The SAM Project Team identified four key themes in which to frame the online community.

PERSONAL

TRUST

ACON

CONNECTION

Information from these four themes is presented below, and will be used to frame future development of the SAM project.

The Personal Life, Sex, Identity, Place What makes you the man you are? What’s important to you?

What do you think men like us see/regard as important?

At the outset, men were more likely to see sexual adventurism as what they did rather than who they were.

Identity was more likely to be associated with established gay subcultural framings – leather, bears, etc - than with ‘SAM.’ However by the end of the exercise ‘men like us’ – SAM had become the established collective identity norm, no doubt for a variety of reasons.

PARTICIPANT RESPONSES: “Men like us? Who are we?”

“Men like us” - I think there’s lots of diversity amongst us as far as our other interests - so there will be lots of differences - but as far as our common interests -[it’s about] having places and spaces where we can meet like minded people and play the way we like.”

“What bothers me at present is the state of the gay community in Sydney. What was once a vibrant, alive and attractive community is now about a false vision of “acceptance” which I see as only a means of divide and conquer. The community needs to defend its position and diversity, to stand out and not let itself be pushed into the background. Demand our space and keep it as ours only.”

“Umm Men like us are important because we push boundaries and sexuality in areas that really excite me. I see that as kinship that is unique to people who are into kink.”

“I assume you mean ‘men that like sex’ …. isn’t that what being gay is about? Isn’t that what our community is about? Sex with men has always raised visions about something that is far different from the stereotypic version of heterosexual behaviour. It’s wild and passionate, intense, mysterious almost anything goes, adventurous and animalistic, gladiators in leather and chains, masculine, muscle and brains.”

“Umm men like us? I don’t know. I’m not really sure.”

‘Respect, honesty, approachability, and a piggy streak a mile wide.’

“Until I joined this project I never thought of myself as being a sexually adventurous man”.

Some men saw SAM identity as a very individual concept “For me it’s individual………..no one person’s fantasies are the same as the next.”

“I recognize I’m a bit different from the main stream. I don’t look at porn. I rarely find pics of others having sex a turn on………………….. I have to be in the picture. I have to be the guy having sex……………..”

“Everything is individual but the sex, the type of sex, the pursuit of sex is what we share” Most of the men offered similar perspectives on the centrality of sex to SAM identity and there was unanimous agreement about masculine imagery and energy as the core of the SAM concept.

9

TRUST Information, Sources, People

ACON Opinion, perception, ideas for change

Who /what do you trust and for what? Why do you trust them/him/it?

What do you think when you hear ‘ACON’ and why? What do men like us think of ACON and why? Does ACON need to change do you think and why?

Most men mentioned peers as the first point of information, especially in relation to sex/drugs issues..

PARTICIPANT RESPONSES: “Most of the useful advice [about drugs] has been from those I have used with”.

“Where I went for advice, online sexual communities or social networking sites were my resources. My first ever real resource was Gaydar” Almost all HIV+, participants spoke about their GP’s as trusted sources of information, about sexual health.

“GP’s like at the Albion St Centre “ “I’ve been going to Sydney Sexual Health Centre for years.

They’re very good with gay men’s sexual health issues.”

“RPA Sexual Health Clinic is excellent” Only 1 participant mentioned ACON as a source of advice that they have previously used. “….So I contacted ACON and actually asked to speak to a counsellor, the guy was great, and really taught me the REAL facts about HIV/AIDS and all other STD’s“.

Participants were asked who or where they sought advice on matters to do with both sex in general, sexual health and drug use. Peers, be them friends or fuck buddies, were the most trusted source of information for participants when asked about sex and drugs. Doctors and GP’s were most trusted on sexual health, but did not rate highly on sex and drugs. Similarly ACON was a trusted source on sexual health, not so for Sex and Drugs.

Social networking sites and the internet were mentioned by some participants as a trusted source on advice on sex and drugs.

It’s important to note that no-one expressed overt hostility or animosity towards ACON. Some thought that ACON did a good job for – and was useful to - other gay men and….” GLBT, mainstream, vanilla. No men reported feeling that ACON was targeted at them A number of men commented that they believed that it was, principally, funding parameters that prevented ACON from operating as the sort of community-based organisation that might reflect them and that the move into a broader health agenda was also funder-driven.

“It’s not what gay guys want so much as what NSW Health wants isn’t it?…“ “These days ACON’s message is still the same [as in the beginning] but due to funding constraints etc they are forced into expanding services.”

“ACON is restricted by funding constraints and has to take a corporate approach. SAMs are probably too risky to interact with for funding reason.“ However, the key perceptions of what ACON is - and ‘does’- still frames around ‘legacy’ areas like HIV services and gay men’s HIV prevention and associated advocacy and policy.

In relation to “GLBT,” there was less direct opposition to the concept so much as a disinclination for the men to see themselves within it.

“It’s more, ‘GLBT, ’now. I get why it is, but it’s not me. I’m not a GLBT.“ “I reckon that ACON’s role should be more policy development and advocacy, especially around HIV”

10

“When did they hold the vote on disappearing “gay man”into GLBT whatever anyway?”

“I personally did not find anything I would use [on the ACON website] but maybe for others it could be a good reference if you don’t know where to go to get some support.“ “I don’t think I would go back because it is a tsunami of ‘information’ without easy means of access.”

“I realise it has to struggle with uniting the multiplicity of interests under its umbrella but it is so overcrowded with stuff I’m not interested in I can’t waste time finding what may be hidden there for me.”

“The ACON site provides a good source of information and services that cover a range of things that can be accessed by SAM…but, as far as being a forum for meeting and discussing issues I don’t think so. An anonymous blogspot or website where people can be invited to join would be more appropriate with links to the acon site for reference or access to services if needed.”

Participants reflected upon how ACON interacts both with the wider GLBT community and SAM subculture.

“Yes I think it is very relevant. ACON has become a specialist agency for the GLBT community” “I don’t interact with it as an organisation, I think because nothing they are currently doing resonates with me.

Except of course, this project!”

“Yes this [ACON] is relevant to me as information is important in my ability to make the right decisions.

Without this information the decisions are not going to be the best decisions I could make. Knowledge is everything.”

this field. I also think that because their role is about the prevention of HIV infection they may be responsible for the changes that we see in our environment. Namely the way in which public toilets are now locked at sundown, the closure of many of the long-term beats, changes in the law that now see security checking toilets in pubs/ clubs/parties etc.”

“SAM’s are definitely ignored by ACON (too scary?) and the colourful balloons scattered through the website signify children’s birthday parties rather than mature guys who are sexually active.”

“More recognition and attention to the interests of SAM tribe.” “‘Don’t know and don’t care’ is a philosophy I can’t understand so a service like ACON is helpful but I would like to find it brave enough to shine some light into the darker places to keep my brotherhood informed.”

“Perhaps the best way to deal with the SAM’s issues is to have it out of the mainstream- get it out from this giant “umbrella” (which as I’ve said is quite vanilla). I realise that for funding and to keep the politicians happy we have to offer the appearance of ‘normalcy’.”

“Darker places maybe should be kept in the dark and therefore, as with the notions later emerging in this forum about tribalism, they are the behind closed doors secrets of the perverse. However if bravery and honesty are valued then the praxis connected with any and all BDSM beliefs and actions could be evaluated for their safety and health impacts.” “perhaps making a presence in real time at known (SAM specific SOPV) and dance parties and any other relevant tribal gatherings.”

There were some interesting misconceptions about the agency’s supposed role in shutting down ‘public sex’ ( in fact the complete reverse of ACON’s history/position on this issue).

There is very clear opportunity and potential emerging for ACON to construct a sustained SAM program of engagement.

“When I hear ‘ACON’ I have mixed reactions. Firstly as an organisation dealing with HIV I have a lot of respect for their work and believe that they do a tremendous job in

Overwhelmingly, men did not think ACON currently offered them anything specifically but, in near equal numbers, welcomed the idea of ACON changing to accommodate them.

11

“Partnership” was used quite often to describe this concept and it was offered as the preferred approach over the prospect of ACON going it alone.

“Yes they (ACON) could be in a position to provide useful information and support but if their intentions are more sinister like, “stop having unsafe sex” then forget it, everybody goes underground….. I decide what’s right for me….”

“I know from experience in London that there is a wider variety of gay men’s workshops that ACON could explore ... from memory there was self- defence, guys getting into arse play...”

“More interactive information/groups that connects us types of men together. Educational topics like those provided by places like Uber or Ropes Dojo. But also interactive online discussion groups that people can sign up to who have similar interests. “ “...maybe forums held in sex on premises venues could get the message out.” “...the realities of the SAM scene may shock them and present with a far greater problem than is realised.”

When asked about the ACON website, men acknowledged that although there is a lot of useful information to be found on the site, there was little to offer around SAM specific content. Some men also commented that specific information is not easy to find. Overwhelmingly, the men did not relate to the design and feel of the site.

“I know that it is a source of information if I find later that I need something different.”

“I realise it has to struggle with uniting the multiplicity of interests under its umbrella but it is so overcrowded with stuff I’m not interested in, I can’t waste time finding what may be hidden there for me.

“I understand that ACON has to cater to a wide audience.

However, the intended audience for the website seems to be the mainstream homogenised idea of a gay man “

“I’m not knocking the earnestness of ACON in the provision of a vast range of information and although it takes a lot of hunting to find what one wants in the huge spectrum of interests covered it does provide a good service. Sexual health is a big focus and the safe sex message is there in vanilla abundance but there is a serious need for the more adventurous to both be acknowledged and better catered for” “as far as being a forum for meeting and discussing issues I don’t think so. An anonymous blogspot or website where people can be invited to join would be more appropriate with links to the ACON site for reference or access to services if needed. ... In a blog anything can be discussed, but you could set a lead similar to the way things are being presented in this project” “I think some of the pop ups around health could be interesting to alert you to health issues that may be on the rise anal cancer for example” In response to “Do you think there could or should be anything else aimed directly at or for sexually adventurous men?” “... could be information about health issues around certain sexual practices” “...Care for ageing gay men” “Another thought why not be able to register on line on the site and you would be asked to list your sexual practices that you would like information on and the site would email you when some relevant information was posted, this way you could start to target different risk groups with health messages etc or warnings etc etc you could have a menu where u just tick the boxes. could be info on safe fisting or whatever so people could have info sent to them” “I don’t think I would go back because it is a tsunami of ‘information’ without easy means of access.”

12

CONNECTING WITH THE TRIBE belonging, spaces, places Is tribal connection important to you and why? How do men like us stay connected at the moment? What are possible ways for men like us to stay connected? Which ways of connecting do you prefer?

The strongest message that came through was about ‘belonging’ or ‘a place to be’ or connecting with the ‘tribe’. The loss of physical gathering spaces such as Manacle or the Barracks was continually raised as a major omission to the scene in Sydney.

RESPONSES: “Tribal membership and identity is difficult to attain (and sustain) and the loss of any dedicated venue in Sydney is significant.“ “In terms of connecting with other sexually adventurous men I would say that Headquarters and their parties and WoofClub provide the best experience.“ “A venue like Manacle at Taylor Square where sex on the premises was allowed? [Presumably Barracks?] A space for open discussion and interaction would be great.”

In the absence of a “physical” space, men offered some suggestions of possible spaces in the future.

“Safe and secure means that the space is limited to only those that are invited or members only, something like that. The idea that venues are unable to discriminate is to be challenged, entry is not open to all and sundry. To be invited you need to pass some sort of screening to weed out any person who is likely to cause problems for participants. The venue would also have its own security personnel.”

“A place or places where tribes or clubs can meet and memberships then can guard their territory and use it for agreed activities.”

Men also supported an on-line space in which to connect with other SAM. “More interactive information/groups that connects us types of men together. Educational topics like those provided by places like Uber or Ropes Dojo. But also interactive online discussion groups that people can sign up to who have similar interests.”

“I think that the ACON site provides a good source of information and services that cover a range of things that can be accessed by SAM, as far as being a forum for meeting and discussing issues I don’t think so. An anonymous blogspot or website where people can be invited to join would be more appropriate with links to the ACON site for reference or access to services if needed.“ The ‘belonging’ theme was inextricably linked by the men to the current lack of a dedicated space for this to occur in Sydney. Some men expressed shame about a supposedly ‘Great Gay Metropolis’ not offering something as fundamental to gay culture as a gathering place for sexually adventurous/masculine-identified gay men .

13 Language and imagery used by SAM Tasks were set where men were asked to upload images that they associated with certain themes. They were; • Sex • Pulling Trade • Partying • Playing • What does SAM look like The images provided by the men in the Online Community Tool, were overwhelmingly masculine and where they showed sex, it was unmistakably sexually adventurous sex. Where men provided images that were somewhat more intimate in nature, men still used masculine males to convey that intimacy. ACON has no ownership over the images and makes no claims, suggestions, or implications about those appearing in the photos on the following pages.

14 Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex

Pulling trade Pulling trade Pulling trade Pulling trade

Partying Partying Partying Partying Partying Partying Partying partying

15 playing playing playing playing playing playing playing playing playing

A range of imagery was presented by participants to represent

who or what is SAM looks like to them

Disclaimer: These photos and images were taken online from the public domain. ACON has no ownership over the images and makes no claims, suggestions, or implications about those appearing in the photos.

16 CONCLUSION

The intention of the needs assessment was to identify what, if anything ACON can and should do to meet the needs of sexually adventurous men and in doing so, initiate a sustainable dialogue with these men.

The consistent message, however, is that despite the enormous amount of information, advice and services made available by ACON, that there was nothing existing that specifically targeted or met the needs of sexually adventurous men in Sydney.

The needs assessment initiative was welcomed by participants as a much needed change and a move in the right direction by ACON. Most of the participants in the forum enjoyed the experience and offered assistance or showed a willingness to participate in any future initiatives following this exercise.

Consistently throughout the process, men reflected upon the lack of spaces, both on-line and physical, that spoke to their identity, and offered a point of connection. This may seem counter-intuitive given the significance of online hook-up sites to SAM sexual connection but as many men reported…’that’s different.’

It is crucial that the next stage of the Project be peer led and directed; by SAM for SAM. There is a demonstrable need for ACON to pursue the development of SAM specific services and information.

Development of HowHard.com.au website and the HowHard facebook page in the on-line space, and facilitation of physical spaces through events or workshops, are the key ways forward for Sydney’s SAM community.

As previously mentioned ,“Let’s Fuck!” is the evocative title of a paper – or maybe, cri du coeur - by ACON’s former Director of HIV/Sexual Health, Craig Cooper. Part anthem to tribal power, part frustrated roar, it provided the kick-start impetus for ACON’s long overdue reengagement with SAM, as described in this Report The Report maps the first stage of the SAM Project Stage 1 journey but can’t really do justice to the often unanticipated and always revealing twists in the journey to delivering on our re-engagement commitment - and beyond.

What began as a search for an effective frame of sustained program engagement with SAM, delivered a much more far reaching outcome for ACON; a reimagining of who we are and subsequently, a sometimes brutally honest - re-examination of what we do and don’t do as gay men’s sexual health promoters.

So in essence, our pledge to work with SAM resulted in the reinvention of what we do and how we do it in order that we can deliver on that pledge: from health promoters working with gay men to gay men working with our community in health promotion.

In the midst of 21st century normalisation, homogeneisation and acronymisation, the sex we have with other men still men still sets us apart, defines us, affirms us and sets us free You’d think that would be self-evident – but it’s not .You’d think that wouldn’t seem all that dangerous – but it is!

17

So, what Next?

Over the coming months the SAM Project team will undertake further consultation with SAM community to make sure we are on the right track with the activities we are offering. Activities will be based around the findings from the online community tool.

We will be developing the How Hard website into an on-line space that speaks to SAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in New South Wales, focusing on health, community, sex and physical spaces for SAM to be.

At any point we encourage every SAM to provide us with feedback about the direction the project is moving in.

They can do that by calling our SAM project officer on 02 9206 2102 or emailing us at samproject @acon.org.au.

How Hard is by SAM for SAM and it is crucial for the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success that we continue to hear what SAM are thinking.

18

HOWHARD.COM.AU