Walt Odets

Walt Odets asserts in the following viewpoint that AIDS education efforts targeting gay men do not motivate them to adopt safe-sex practices. The education programs often contain misrepresentations about which sexual behaviors increase the risk for contracting HIV and the likelihood of becoming infected, he contends. Therefore, he concludes, many gay men come to believe that they will inevitably contract HIV and do not take measures that would reduce their risk. Odets is a clinical psychologist in Berkeley, California.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What is one of the most significant lies perpetuated by AIDS education, in the author’s opinion?
2. In the San Francisco City Clinic study cited by the author, how many HIV infections were potentially caused by oral sex?
3. According to Odets, what is the...