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Synopsis

In this harrowing memoir of the embattled early days of the AIDS epidemic, Richard Berkowitz, a renegade gay hustler-turned-AIDS activist, vividly recalls the fight to save the lives of gay men by assisting in the conceptualization of the safety precautions that would later be named "safe sex." As commonplace and widely accepted as these practices are today, the notion that gay sex was unsafe ignited a firestorm of controversy among gay men of the time, many of whom railed against the implicit homophobia of such an argument. Undaunted, the author persevered in his quest to raise public awareness. However, it was not Berkowitz's voice alone that sparked contention. Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a controversial virologist and AIDS doctor, postulated that AIDS was more complicated than just a new virus. With Sonnabend's theory in tow, Berkowitz fought, alongside beloved activist and musician Michael Callen, for safer sex practices. Sex Positive explores the explicit bravery of this unrecognized triumvirate and their dire quest to save lives in the midst of unwavering dissent.