# Opinions from straight and queer people. STD testing -- a big production? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571 "2005-04-09T16:56:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571/41 "2005-04-10T21:59:16Z")
Do they test men front and back, up and down, now? In the old days, they wouldn’t test your backside if you said you were str8! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571/42 "2005-04-10T22:10:58Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > How come everyone skipped over the socially responsible way of getting free blood tests. In Australia at least us regular blood donors get our blood tested everytime we give a bag. I recommend it to every sexually active single I know. You misspelled “irresponsible.” While it’s true that donated blood is checked for disease, donating blood if one suspects one may have a disease is irresponsible. Unlike a real blood test with a medical professional, not all donated blood is tested (some never reaches that stage, for a variety of reasons), and there is no follow-up. But other than that, donating blood is a good thing. To the OP: the first time I had to be tested was by my pediatrician (I was 17 and hadn’t “graduated” to a grown up doctor yet). He was straightforward, didn’t blink or change expression, and so I assumed that the testing was a normal part of adult life. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571/43 "2005-04-10T22:16:28Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > Using blood donations as one’s method of STD testing is frowned upon where I live and I would think in most other areas too. I wouldn’t do it for that purpose, either solely or as an addition to the socially responsible idea of blood donation. Part of the questionaire / screening process in Canada eliminates anyone who says they have had a new partner in the last 12 months and do not know that partner’s complete sexual history. Interesting, since no one ever knows anyone’s sexual history with any degree of certainty (and all blood here is tested for HIV in any case). I am annoyed that doctors here seem reluctant to bring up anything related to sexuality. I’m also stunned at the number of women who _think_ they’ve been tested for STDs because they had a pap test. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571/44 "2005-04-11T19:56:54Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > How come everyone skipped over the socially responsible way of getting free blood tests. In Australia at least us regular blood donors get our blood tested everytime we give a bag. I recommend it to every sexually active single I know. Gee, because the fact that screening isn’t perfect means you may be passing a pint of diseased blood to someone else? I really, really hope that no one else thinks giving blood is a substitute for getting tested. That’s a really terrible thing to do. > [@Hamish](#): > > Most gay men I’ve spoken to about this know that they should either be having safe sex wth their monogamous partners. I’ve heard of gay men who have an arrangement with their partner whereby if they ever sleep around, they put on a condom – neither partner mentions it, and both partners are tested in six months. Every once in awhile I feel like I’m getting over my disillusion with gay men. You snapped me out of it, **Hamish** dear. Getting tested, even if you’re in a relationship, is a good idea. But damn if I’d ever “not mention it” if I thought my boyfriend was cheating on me. Men are capable of acting on more than their most base instincts, and I really hope actual monogamy is not impossible for every man. What can I say? I’ve always had high expectations. And I’m not interested in open relationships. I’m not saying you can trust a college boyfriend as though he were a husband. But I’m with **irishgirl** - one day, I hope to settle down into a nice, monogamous relationship, and when I do, if I’m concerned he’s cheating, the relationship is over. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571/45 "2005-04-12T07:00:21Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Every once in awhile I feel like I’m getting over my disillusion with gay men. You snapped me out of it, **Hamish** dear. > > Getting tested, even if you’re in a relationship, is a good idea. But damn if I’d ever “not mention it” if I thought my boyfriend was cheating on me. Men are capable of acting on more than their most base instincts, and I really hope actual monogamy is not impossible for every man. What can I say? I’ve always had high expectations. And I’m not interested in open relationships. How nice for you. Obviously, then, the arrangement in question will not work for you as described. ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571/46 "2005-04-12T19:11:33Z")
I’ve never been tested–neither my gynecologist nor my GP has ever suggested it, though they both know I’m sexually active. The key factor is that my boyfriend and I are monogamous and are each other’s firsts. While I appreciate that it is always possible for someone to cheat, I trust him not to, as he trusts me, and our birth control methods do not include condoms. Make of this what you will, I feel the risk is _well_ within the bounds of acceptability. My choice may well be different in future relationships, especially if I don’t know the guy well beforehand. That being said: the moment I suspected the BF of anything, I would get tested, and might or might not end the relationship depending on the circumstances. If it was determined that he had cheated but we decided to work things out, I would insist on his being tested as well. I would not consider the testing itself a big deal, nor would I put off doing it once I decided it was prudent. I don’t understand people who feel they can play with their health or that of others in such a silly way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-from-straight-and-queer-people-std-testing-a-big-production/298571.md?page=2)