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Please Be Safe

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Sexual safety, one step at a time, 1980s

In the 1980s, the threat of AIDS could feel overwhelming: researchers, doctors, public health officials, friends, partners, and the media constantly presented new, and sometimes conflicting, information about the epidemic. The four steps outlined here—encouraging the reader to be a student, salesman, explorer, and fighter—stressed positive prevention strategies and emphasized developing new practices for pleasure.

  • Publisher(s):
    Northwest AIDS Foundation
  • Type:
    Poster
Yellow square road sign that has black outline of a person walking.
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    SEXUAL SAFETY, ONE STEP AT A TIME.

    It is possible to have a safe sex life. Most gay and bisexual men do.

    But some still ask, “How can I make such a change, and then stay with it for years to come?”

    It can be fun, if you take it step by step.

    STEP ONE: BE A STUDENT.
    The first thing is to learn. Learn all you can about AIDS and safe sex. The information is all around you. The AIDS Hotline, 587-4999, can answer most questions during weekdays. And The Northwest AIDS Foundation will be happy to give you all the printed information you need if you’ll send a stamped self-address envelope to: The Northwest AIDS Foundation, 818 East Pike, Seattle, WA 98122. We have volunteers distributing these materials in most of your favorite bars and baths, too, so you may never need to leave your barstool to learn what you need to know. Know which practices are safe and unsafe. Study the Sexual Safety Card below.

    STEP TWO: BE A SALESMAN.
    After you learn about safe sex, learn to talk about it. Like any good salesman you must find ways to direct conversations. You might try the direct approach, or maybe you prefer to let a Safety Pin do some of the talking for you. Safety Pins are free in bars and elsewhere, and they’re a nice quiet way to say that you insist on sexual safety. Either way, always make it a policy to settle the matter before sex. No exceptions.

    STEP THREE: BE AN EXPLORER.
    Once you and your partner have agreed to safe sex, be creative. This is new territory for most gay and bisexual men. You stand on a new sexual frontier, and the adventure has just begun. The ground rules are simple: don’t exchange body fluids, and, most important, don’t practice anal sex without a condom. You take it from there.

    STEP FOUR: BE A FIGHTER.
    Finally, to assure yourself of a safe sex life in the future, you must commit to the new rules of the road. To have unsafe sex is, simply, to surrender to AIDS. So don’t surrender. Be informed, be persuasive, be creative, be tough. And please, be safe.

    THE SEXUAL SAFETY CARD.

    SAFEST
    Mutual masturbation, Dry kissing, Body rubbing, Unshared sex toys

    POSSIBLY SAFE
    Using a condom during intercouse, Deep kissing, External watersports

    UNSAFE
    Intercourse without a condom, Fisting, Rimming, Oral sex, Watersports swallowed, Shared sex toys Any activity that involves the exchange of body fluids may be dangerous. Any activity that weakens the body, such as drug or alcohol use, should be avoided.

    Seattle/King Co. Department of Health, AIDS Information Line 587-4999, Northwest AIDS Foundation Cut out this card to carry as a handy guide.

    PLEASE BE SAFE.
    THE NORTHWEST AIDS FOUNDATION

    818 East Pike, Seattle WA 98122, This advertisement was prepared by Rapp Camp & Wagner Advertising and the Northwest AIDS Foundation with support from the Seattle/King County Department of Health.

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