March 05, 2009

Gay sex in a recession

The Red Queen has been worried lately about the impact of the economic recession/meltdown/growth correction on LBGT life - possibly the worst acronym ever invented, I prefer it to mean a Large, Big Gin & Tonic.
So he's been asking angsty questions on how ever will we cope with these dark times:

1. What happens to our sex lives when recession hits? Do our sexual habits change?
I'm unsure whether it would change much, perhaps the frequency would be higher since it’s a free activity and we have more spare time after having to cut back on paid leisure activities.

2. What about gay men’s sex on site venues? Are they affected by the onset of a recession, which might mean that low income MSMs prefer outside cruising routes in preference to having to fork out cash?
Sex on site venues suffer not from recession but from that endless email ping pong on dating sites that in the end gets you nowhere (or nowhere fast in my experience) compared to the quick, easy, fast, in out in out at, say, Lateshift.

3. What happens to sex workers if fewer punters have the disposable income required to pay for them? Will this affect brothel viability, producing more worker-run, self-managed home-based escort services? Will trans street workers be especially hard hit? How will the government’s ninety day provisional employment bill affect new sex workers?
You do what every small and large business does: entice with different offerings, products and options, i.e. frequent fucker cards, Sunday morning discounts, Tuesday two-for-one specials etc. Anything to get the edge over the competition.

4. Will redundancy leave some lesbians or gay men too emotionally depressed to have sex? Might low self-esteem lead people to take risks with sex and/or drugs?
If you got more time, use it to experiment and perfect your craft and skills in the sack.

5. Given that lesbians get paid less than gay men do, how will their personal economic situation affect the viability of women’s venues and events that rely on their disposable incomes?
There are no female sex on site venues, only potluck dinner parties

6. Given the costs of long-term relationships, will there be more one-night stands across the board?
Au contraire, sharing your life is cheaper than living alone, you can even share one-night stands if your flatmate has your stamina

7. How will the recession affect civil unions? Or, do we deliberate more about that major phase in our lives, given the stability of civil unions compared to heterosexual marriages?
Economising on aping hetero examples is aways a good idea. Lesbian marriage always seemed like a permanent potluck dinner arrangement to me

8. What about LGBT-led families? Will their relative incomes decline compared to their straight family counterparts, and/or single LGBTs?
Why should LGBT families be exempt from the general recession? The credo is the same for everyone: work hard, get out of debt and be nice to your mother.

9. How will the recession particularly affect transgender/whakawahine/fa’afafine, whose anti-discrimination protection is still ambiguous? Will they suffer greater problems with employment stability, accommodation, and access to the medical services needed for transitioning?
Buy a nice frock and show off those new puppies.

10. How will a contracting economy affect the cost of protease inhibitors for PLWAs and Herceptin and other preventative drugs for lesbian and bisexual female cancer survivors?
Why should those minority patients be singled out as deserving extra special treatment? Sick is sick and we all should qualify equitably for public health services.

No comments: