I think it probably happens with heterosexual couples as well hey.
Yes, but I don't think with the social aspect, so much. That's the difference.
That's certainly not how it is in Sydney. I know a few gay and lesbians and they aren't meth users, but I also know some dudes who are straight that are. I guess it depends where you are and stuff.
Sure there is plenty of drugs in 'parts' of the gay community in certain circles, but flip side there is plenty of drugs in 'some' straight circles.
There's plenty of meth in some Asian circles here too. This whole discussion is pointless imo.
I can't speak for the gay community, not leaning in that direction, but I can say that from socializing with gay friends and buying off gay dealers (it's ''well known'' - and also true in my experience - that they tend to have the best stuff, if you're on the town on the weekend looking for meth in particular or drugs in general), that there is a lot of meth in the gay scene and that this kind of thing (meth fuelled sex, often in social settings, not so sure about the needles) does happen in that scene.
Of course there's meth in the straight scene, drugs aren't divided by sexual preference, but there it's more of an enhancement to the general experience, shared between a group on a night out, although if that night out leads to some amenable company of the opposite gender (generally the goal in mainstream clubs), then they can split off and enjoy together while they enjoy eachother, so to speak. It's also less open and accepted (in the mainstream club scene, less so in the underground scenes, where the sexual focus is lessened and it's more about fueling long hours of dancing - in theory anyway, in reality what it tends to fuel is long hours of sitting in the car park passing a pipe around, arguing over who's having too large a toke and hogging the gear, missing much of the music you paid to come dance to).
My suspicion is that there is more meth in the gay scene, it's certainly easier to find there than in mainstream straight clubs, even for straight people.
I think it boils down to a couple of factors (I don't have hard numbers, this is just going off my observations and conversations with people):
- Gay men tend to be more open and blunt about sex (Compare Grindr to Tinder, in popularity, content and when they emerged). I don't think this is because gay men are inherently more sexual or promiscuous than straight men, but because men in general tend to take that approach to sex, whereas women in general tend to be more careful, more reserved. I don't see any point in arguing about nature v. nurture or gender roles or whether it's because the evil patriarchy suppresses female sexuality, but basic observation will show that this is the way it is in the Western world. Mostly, men play the active role and women play the passive role and women are less inclined to casual sex with more or less strangers. Remove that passive role (in terms of finding partners) and that lack of inclination, and you get gay men having access to what straight men would kill for, easy, cut the bullshit, no strings attached sex.
- Gay men are a minority of the population, and a minority which faces a degree of discrimination (and historically, a much greater degree) as such, they're far less likely to find partners, or even friends sharing their sexuality, in the wider world. So they go to spaces occupied by other gay men, which in most cities tend to be nightclubs and bars, places designed for music, intoxication, and often locating sexual partners. Especially for those young 18 - 20 types, just finding a community of people like themselves for the first time and wanting to dive in, but also for older gay men (which imo is why the quality is high, you have a customer base who know what they want and are able to pay for it, as opposed to a teenage clubber or raver spending what's left over of his pay check from his part time job in fast food/waiting tables/retail on what he's assured is ''the best shit around'' and without the experience to have any clue whether that's true or not. Getting ripped off or sold dud product is basically a rite of passage for 17/18 year olds entering the club or rave scene.
- Meth, as a drug, makes a lot of things feel great, and it tends to make you want do those things repetitively for long periods of time. Sex is no exception. It also lowers inhibition and increasing your focus on your immediate situation (reducing long term thinking), especially when consumed with alcohol, GHB (itself well known for enhancing sex). Here I absolutely can speak from personal experience. Before I realized the drug just wasn't for me, I did a ton of dumb shit I wouldn't have done and acted in ways I absolutely wouldn't have otherwise acted because I was on meth or meth combined with a GABAergic drug.
- Finally, at the darker end of the spectrum, being a part of a minority which faces discrimination tends to lead to factors which tend to lead to increased drug abuse and addiction, and self destructive and risk taking behavior in general.
That's how I see it anyway. We can accept that there might well be a problem with meth and dangerous sexual behavior in the gay community without the inherent assumption that gay men are self destructive drug fueled sex maniacs if we're willing to examine the intersection of the huge pile of circumstances leading to all this. Gay men don't need to feel that they're being accused of aforementioned ''self destructive drug fueled sex mania'' and well meaning but misguided straight people don't need to leap into action and get all facetious about how nope, no dangerous sex or drug abuse here, no sir, in an attempt to prove how not homophobic they are.
It really interests me the way chemicals which have a global presence tend to morph into different forms in random places around the world.
