The drug culture in the gay scene, and the apparent lack of action towards addressing the issue, is making more gay men unhappy, a survey has found.
Results from the online survey involving 135 gay and bisexual men showed that the drug problem in the community was impacting on gay men’s health and wellbeing, with many respondents saying not enough was being done to address the problem.
“One of the interesting things we found were comments on the current social and community issues affecting gay men’s health and wellbeing,” said Principal Researcher Greg Millan.
“And many responded by saying the community is not facing to the drug problem that it’s got. People know there’s a drug problem and they’re feeling that we’re not doing anything about it. That’s really interesting.”
This is highlighted in a range of comments provided by respondents. One participant said his health and wellbeing was being impacted on by “the apparent reluctance of the gay community to tackle widespread illicit drug use in the gay community”.
Another respondent said: “In the community at large – recreational drugs. I have managed to move away from them but many if not all of my friends are into it. From past experience they can be very draining a take a large toll on sleep and work”
The results are part of an ongoing research project conducted by the Men’s Health Information and Research Centre in the University of Western Sydney. The survey was conducted in 2009 between July and December.
It also found that lack of equality, acceptance of gay lifestyles and relationship recognition also had an effect of gay men’s health and wellbeing. A small number of respondents highlighted homophobia and discrimination towards gay seniors in the community.
Millan added that some gay men also said that the pressure to become more involved with the gay marriage debate was making them unhappy.
“We had a lot of people say things like, ‘Gay marriage – I don’t give a hoot and I don’t like the pressure put on me to take it on as an issue. It’s stressing me out’. So that’s kind of interesting about the relationship debate.”
It is the second report in the Gay Men’s Thinking and Action around Health and Wellbeing research project, with the first survey conducted in 2000.
“Back in 2000, there was lot more emphasis on HIV, which isn’t apparent anymore,” Millan said. “In fact, HIV got a pretty low mention in Stage 2.”
Millan said that in 2009, more gay men identified health and wellbeing as being both physical and holistic.
“I think there’s been a shift towards wellbeing and a more holistic look at health. Now, people talked a lot more about things like meditation and yoga, as well as the spiritual and emotional parts of wellbeing. And all of that wasn’t around in 2000.”
“I think most gay men are now more aware of other things that they can do to improve their health and wellbeing.”
As for what made people feel unhealthy, one in four responded with feelings of anxiety and depression.
“What we need is more on the ground workshops for gay men and depression," Millan said. "There are a couple already but I think we can do a lot more in that field.”
The results will be compared with other research into gay men’s health and wellbeing and will be presented at the Health in Difference conference in April.
The drug culture in the gay scene, and the apparent lack of action towards addressing the issue, is making more gay men unhappy, a survey has found.
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