Talking face to face

[azurelunatic]

I evidently have a reputation at the plasma place. I don't say much, but when I say it, it's hilarious.

Today's hilarious moment: the guy was summarizing the screening questions, as it's end-of-shift and I have the questions memorized. I replied, answering in the same spirit -- "No smallpox, haven't been out of the country... haven't slept with any gay guys..."

This was sufficient to have him crack up laughing. End of shift, and he never suspects it...

This is how I am with strangers. I rarely say much, but I make what I say count. Not that my comment was remarkable out of context. But since I'm so quiet, people I know casually face-to-face don't expect me to say these things...

Comments

[iroshi.livejournal.com]

haven't slept with any gay guys

That would be why I can't give blood. *sigh*

[azurelunatic]

Yeah.

...Ever since I started doing this on a regular basis, I started checking everything I was doing against the list of "Ooops, shouldn't a done that!" </Hagrid> activities.

[iroshi.livejournal.com]

Well, while I hadn't actually slept with a gay guy until last year...the first guy I *ever* slept with had had sex with one other guy. Sort of an experimentation thing in his mid-teens. Still counts, though. *rolling eyes* Doesn't matter that it's been TWENTY years now and he's still HIV-free. As am I, having just had another test for it while I was pregnant. *shrug* Of course, I have a more recent addition to that question now...but I haven't been able to give blood for most of my adult life, since they *started* asking that question.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

Rationality has nothing to do with that particular question. I think it's largely about the unwashed masses having a morbid fear that maybe queerness is contagious. And thus we *must* keep the blood supply pure of tainted drag queen blood.

But apparently turning the entire female population bi would be just hunky-dory with the Powers That Be. :-D

*sigh* That "had sex with a gay man" question took me off the blood-donor list, too.

[azurelunatic]

That, and the idea that gays are more likely to be the sort to have promiscuous unprotected sex with a whole lot of random anonymous partners, rather than a few hand-picked ones.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

Clearly, they don't spend much time in that subset of bars and clubs commonly referred to as "meat markets"....

[azurelunatic]

What's needed, instead of the "a man who has slept with another man since 1977" is "someone who has had penetrative or bodily fluid exchange intercourse with someone whose sexual history you did not know, even once."

That would cut out a LOT of people (me included), but it would make it a lot safer.

... and then the REST of us could go create an alternative blood supply.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

But, see, if you did THAT, a lot of utterly-respectable upper-class straight suburbanites would be stuck with a moral quandary, due to that wild party in college, or the fling with the poolboy, or the one Drunken Episode on a business trip. 'Fess up, or not? Bearing in mind that "getting rejected at the blood drive" is fairly visible to the spouse and might result in Questions Getting Asked....

And on the other side of the fence, the Red Cross would be in a *world* of hurt as the pool of acceptable blood donors abruptly plummeted.

So apparently they've decided that testing every blood donation is an acceptable alternative. (But only if one isn't a fag or a faglover. Yeah, maybe just a *wee* bit of hypocrisy, there....)

Hmm. Thinking about it more, the wording of that question is critical. The way you've written it, if you're sleeping with somebody who you *know* has been involved in frequent unprotected gangbangs for the past decade, then you could answer "No" to that question--after all, you *do* know their sexual history, at least broadly.... *weg*

[azurelunatic]

And we can't have some of those things, no. It would be the end of the world!

[azurelunatic]

Well, there would be another question about "And have you slept with someone who you know to have engaged in $LIST_OF_RISKY_BEHAVIORS?" that would screen too.