I live out in the boonies, so I don’t always get the gay press, unless I happen to remember to check the internet.   But I see we made it to XTRA and Capital XTRA.

The Toronto story is here: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/New_campaign_takes_on_HIV_stigma-5780.aspx  . . . . . . . .

 and the Ottawa story is here: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Trysts_in%20_the_dark-5767.aspx

They’re both essentially balanced coverage - thanks news peeps, we appreciate your support - although the Toronto story gets it wrong on two counts. First, our group, GMSH is NOT a “coalition of AIDS Service Organizations across the province“, so the resulting tirade from one XTRA reader against ASO’s is misplaced. Secondly, and perhaps more seriously, XTRA makes the mistake of informing its readers that our discussion groups “are moderated by HIV-positive gay men.” In actual fact, only some of us are positive; that’s clear if you’re familiar with this site, where there has been lots of discussion around this fact.

I wish XTRA had got their facts right though, because labelling negative guys as positive, given the stigma that’s out there, is a potentially nasty mistake to make - if you are on the receiving end.

I’m not sure how I’d feel being labelled positive if I were actually negative. Would I shrug it off as an honest mistake, be kind of pleased with the implied brotherhood with my poz brothers - or would I be mortified and go in to mad damage control mode?

I think I would actually be OK with it. I’m a facilitator on this site, somewhat well adjusted some of the time. The connection between being poz and shame/stigma is something we’re trying to tear asunder anyway, so it would seem fitting I would shrug it off - and hope my mother didn’t read the column.

But how would you feel?

In other campaign news, I heard that GO Transit won’t handle our ads. The TTC went for them - bless their little red rockets - but GO Transit balked.

Now call me clueless but those images don’t seen all that risqué to me - I mean those two guys aren’t showing dick all, yet alone all dick, and straight images that GO has accepted in the past are far more revealing than this. So is it the fact that it’s two guys, the slogan, the introduction of the topic of HIV in to commuters’ comfortable little lives that offends GO’s uptight asses - or what?