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Clubbed to death?

Gay & Lesbian: Column

By Alex Hopkins Posted: Thu Dec 22 2011

As drug abuse claims another five gay lives, isn't it high time we woke up?

The devastating consequences of excessive hedonism were in the spotlight again last week with the drug-related deaths of a further five gay men in London. Three of these fatalities occurred in Vauxhall's gay village in the space of just one week. The police are sick of it, the hospitals are despairing and, most alarmingly of all, people are still not adequately addressing the problem.

As we enter the new year, maybe it's time we stopped, took a moment to reflect and asked ourselves - how many more lives must be lost before we all take responsibility for our behaviour?

I was 18 when I first found my way to the gay nirvana promised by the scene magazines. I got lost at the busy Vauxhall interchange before finally finding the club and throwing myself into a cruise maze. Ten years later I was still there, clinging to people who were searching for the same fragile sense of belonging I'd been missing my entire life. I knew my way around the clubs and I knew who to get the drugs from. But the stark truth is that I was just as lost as I was the first time I'd made that journey. Where I once felt excited, now I felt jaded and hopeless.

It's a familiar story and one that gay men's health specialist Paul Steinberg encounters on a daily basis. Steinberg has studied the spiralling HIV rates and the toxicology reports and has listened to those who have become consumed by the endless opportunities for sex and recreational drug use - the men who, like me, struggled to find the off button. To tackle the issues he is setting up a Healthy Gay Business Forum which encourages everyone to get involved in gay men's health.

'It's time that we, as a community, collectively come up with safeguards to tackle the problems,' says Steinberg. 'And everyone needs to be accountable - not just gay men, but also the gay venues and the gay organisations. If we were all content to stay in with a DVD instead of clubbing, incident rates would, of course, go down. But that's not in the interests of the gay clubs or the gay media, and nor does it help foster a sense of community. For a long time, nobody has pointed out that gay businesses have as much responsibility for gay men's health as gay men have themselves.
We can't stop the damage if we don't acknowledge its deep-rooted and multiple causes.'

Steinberg has contacted saunas, bars and clubs to create a semi-public forum in which problems can be aired in a constructive, mutually beneficial way. The event is planned for February, but is dependent upon everyone's backing. While the initial verbal response was promising, Steinberg has now been met with a deafening silence.

'This isn't about blaming anyone,' stresses Steinberg. 'But we have to understand that gay men can't do this on their own. The gay market is extremely powerful and has an enormous influence on our lives. It is also in the interests of gay venues to deal with the problem. If they have healthy customers, then they are going to return, which is good for business. We all need to work on this together or it will continue to get worse and the most vulnerable people in our community will suffer.'

As we prepare to enter 2012, it's time for gay men to truly 'man up' and start looking out for one another. Being proactive is the only way forward. Gay bars and clubs displaying posters banning GHB is simply not enough, not when people have little problem finding the drug inside the venues. Promising to provide condoms and then running out of supplies is unacceptable. We can't go on ignoring the kind of self-destructive behaviour that damages our health and takes our lives. We are all stakeholders in our community and we are now at a crisis point. Only by working together can we ensure our survival.

Pace, London's leading charity promoting mental health and emotional wellbeing for LGBT people, offers a range of counselling services. If you're affected by any of the issues raised in this article, contact them. What better way to start 2012 than by taking control of your life?

PACE can be contacted on 7700 1323. www.pacehealth.org.uk

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Comments

By Anthony - Dec 31 2011

As a gay man from NY who has watched drugs and 'party' culture along with "grinder' and other sites suck men into the club and online vaccuum I have myself pulled myself out. Your points are so valid. With all the shame left over from the closet, so many out gay men unconsciously I believe are walking around with the feeling - if you really come to know me, you will reject me - so our 'manliness' of seeking out sex became the default - intimacy in a way without investing feelings - I mean who really wants to feel or knows how to deal with those crazy crush - why didn't he call me back feelings - in their thirties or even later...so much easier to go 'party'. I clubbed for years - but drugs were not my choice of escape...it was the connection - and then the internet came along with all of it's McDonalding of us by creating 'profiles' basically menus - we reduced each other and ourselves to pieces of meat and body parts and stats...and it was never enough....has anyone really seeking connection ever really found 'enough' on line on a hook up site? Or in a bar or club. Two years ago I hit the bottom after a tragedy in my life...I ran into the place of escape that I knew so well - the need to feel validated- the seeking of solace from pain that I didn't even know existed...and then one day I woke up and said - ENOUGH. I realized that I came out and left a huge part of me behind when I did - my personal values- my need for intimacy and I grew into a "chelsea boy' who did all things (almost) all things chelsea boys (from NYC) do...and then one day it was not enough. My creativity was stolen, my heart was numb and I didn't even enjoy the dance anymore... London, 5 deaths in one week? OMG!

I salute your article here and hope your conscious effort will be heard by so many of our community members both here in London and in other major cities. Enjoy the life, enjoy each other - party but do it safely and love yourself and each other. I think so many of us feel no one really gives a d**m about us - so it's easy to just chase the illusion of the club life...and say WTF when the choices of drugs or unsafe sex show up - but when someone you know collapses on the dance floor - it's not so fun anymore. We are all worth SO much more than that.. Stay safe London. Self Respect. Community Respect. Reach out. Dont Isolate. Work together. Together we grow stronger and safe and more sober. Which leads to presence.

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By George Maris - Dec 30 2011

Recognizing the problem is always the first step in recovering from any disease. Clubbing, cruising, and partying in circles that gives a false hope of acceptance and tears down one's dignity is evident. While city's like N.Y, London...that offer support groups, counseling and community outreach programs there's still exists underground venues.Self esteem plays a big roll in the decisions one makes. However it shouldn't come from losing a life. Community efforts hopefully will include education,prevention and awareness. It's a shame that persons have to feel devalued and worthless from their own families, never mind their own community. Seeking drugs,one time stances, while looking only to be loved is often the problem.I do believe "We can't stop the damage if we don't acknowledge its deep-rooted and multiple causes."

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By JAC - Dec 30 2011

I can't help feeling that the root cause of so many of the problems is a complete lack of education and understanding of the issues that are so previlant is certain sections of the gay community. Take GHB for example:

People die from GHB not because they are stupid, but it's because they are uneducated of the dangers of doing it. Speak to anyone on their ideas of dosing, for example, and you soon realise that they come from Chinese Whispers and urban myths, not from fact.

Think about this a bit further and actually the problem is prohibition over education. Because the message is always "dont do it" its impossible to educate about 'how to do it' to poliferate. I certainly don't advocate GHB, in fact I think it's single handed lay eroding parts of our community, but I do know that given people will take it anyway, better they know what they're doing, they do it safely and know the potential consequences of their actions.

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By Larry - Dec 27 2011

I couldn't agree more with some of the comments posted here. Why does the author of this article keep on thinking his lifestyle is representative of all gays? Doesn't he realise that he's not only being simplistic and reductive but also coming across as a tad arrogant?

And so many of the issues discussed in this article can be applied to straight clubbing kids....

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By Sam - Dec 23 2011

I’m in my mid-20s and I’m regularly out on the scene in Soho and Vauxhall. Some drugs are definitely more problematic than others – such as G being particularly dangerous combined with alcohol but the main problem is low self esteem, if not depression and mental health issues: it’s these things that lead to recklessness. Recklessness as in, people not following basic harm reduction strategies, staying up for days and days on end, going to one party after another, barebacking, etc. Excellent article Alex.

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By Barbara Bush - Dec 23 2011

I totaly aggree that some parts of the community could help but the individuals need to deal with their own issues and maybe venues can direct these people in the right direction of where they can get help from. It is not just restricted to Vauxhall although it is perticuerley well known to be an area where there is a issue. I hope that the issue is solved at somepoint but people need to take just as much responsability themselfs as the clubs.. Nobody forces these people to take drugs.. They decide to.. They need to solve their issues.. Once one junkie finds somewhere to hang out the others will soon follow.. If that is a club or a flat. People should go out to enjoy themself and everything in moderation.

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By notallgaysarethesame - Dec 22 2011

I have to say Alex that even though I do see the good intention behind your article, I'm most upset by the generalisation of how 'gays' supposedly behave, we are not all the same! The issues effecting the 'Vauxhall's gay village' and other 'gay villages' are effecting the people in those 'villages' not 'all' gays, not by a mile. 'Gay men's health' is a terrible phrase to use in this context. People who engage in 'excessive hedonism', people who throw themselves 'into a cruise maze', people who are 'clubbing themselves to death' are just those people, people who do 'that', you can't just collectively refer to them as 'gay'! Do I think that clubs and bars and 'gay businesses' (not that I'm managing to find much of what's of interest to me in a Soho sex shop for example....and I AM gay) should be promoting healthier lifestyles and ways of enjoying oneself? Of course I do. But that surely applies to all clubs and bars, not just gay ones.

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By zefrog - Dec 22 2011

I think this is missing the point. The problem is not just "excessive hedonism" or permissiveness from the venues, but rather a deeply ingrained self-destructive behaviour that can probably only be sorted by therapy (or in the longer term better social integration).

Roughly 40% of gay man smoke (normal tobacco), while only 20% of the general population do. This is only one manifestation of a general culture of substance abuse on the scene which, I think, comes from a deep lack of self-esteem from the individuals, coupled with a feeling that, because gay men, to an extend, live (and certainly party) outside social norms, they can do what they want.

Add to that the general binge culture characteristic of this country and you get a very heady mix indeed, that won't be easy to counterbalance.

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By Simon Saunders - Dec 22 2011

"We, as a community"

Discuss.

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