Petrelis Files

(Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.)
















NYT's About.com Lies: "Gay Bowel Syndrome"

It never ceases to amaze me how otherwise intelligent people, including well-educated medical professionals and New York Times Company employees, still think there's a disease called "gay bowel syndrome."

One of the latest general information web sites to buy into the false premise about this alleged syndrome is none other than the New York Times' About.com site.

Dr. Jerry Kennard, a British psychologist who serves as the guide for the men's health section of About.com, posts this b.s. entry about "gay bowel syndrome":

Gay bowel syndrome is a condition that most frequently affects gay men who practice fisting. Read more about gay bowel syndrome.

Sure, that's a very short entry, but it can have a big (negative) impact on people searching the web for accurate information on gay men and gay health issues, and the folks at the New York Times and About.com should immediately remove this offensive and incorrect entry.

You may recall that last November, I found a different "gay bowel syndrome" listing on About.com and the New York Times quickly removed it, but for some reason, another entry has made it on to the site.

The New York Times, About.com and Dr. Kennard are in bed on this non-existent disease with none other than the long-discredited psychologist Paul Cameron, a rabid homo-hater. Cameron recently was the subject of an article on AlterNet.com that noted this bit of information:

Cameron took his act to the national stage in the mid-'80s against the backdrop of the escalating AIDS panic. In 1986, he co-authored the book "Special Report: AIDS," which advocated establishing concentration camps immediately for "sexually active homosexuals," theorized that HIV is transmissible by casual contact and popularized a fictional medical condition labeled "Gay Bowel Syndrome."

What it is going to take to finally and conclusively persuade all health care professionals and every editor at information portals that "gay bowel syndrome" is just one more way of spreading lies and ignorance about gay men?

The New York Times, About.com and Dr. Kennard owe the gay community an apology, after they remove the entry from their site.