Any gay guys with psoriasis on here??

[pcoll]

I think that the point being made in the earlier post was that the experience for gay guys was "different" ...not "worse".  Furthermore the poster suggested that straight people may not appreciate the difference because of their sexual orientation.

I can entirely empathise with this view from my own experience.

In the past when I have had p on my face or on other parts of my body that are on show (hands, arms, legs) I've received many comments about being an "Aids carrier " - sometimes from straight people, but not exclusively.  HIV isn't restricted to the gay community but the perception by many many people in society is that it is.

For someone to say that the poster was talking cr*p I find offensive. It was clearly his personal experience that has formed his view on this and I would find such a reaction pretty hurtful.

guy, i meant no offense to the first post, just trying to say that p affects all ppl, gay/straight/lesibian/aliens but for someone to say it affects them more is c**p. I too have had ppl look at me at think the same thoughts, 

[SJ]

I think one thing to come out of this discussion is this:

We are all different and our reactions to living with P is different.

No one has said 'because I am gay having P is worse for me'. They are are saying 'because I am gay, having P can be different for me'.

I think this is what Guy was saying?

This post by Mysterious Skin, from this thread a year ago, explains the social norm and gay culture in comparison to straight culture really well:

I can appreciate your assumption that gay blokes meeting is no different from opposite sex straights meeting, however social norms and behaviours associated with gay and straight sexuality are extremely different. For example, how many girls can you whisk off to bed within 5 minutes of meeting them (and not pay for it)?

The idea that psoriasis can create different sets of pressures in different social groups is perhaps better illustrated by considering, as an example, the social difference between men and women.

Women are raised with the expectation that they should be attractive, beautiful, wear makeup etc etc - but here come psoriasis to upset that ideal. Men, on the otherhand, are given different expectations - rugged, gruff, machismo. The impact of psoriasis on these two scenarios would be totally different.

Yes, psoriasis is psoriasis whether you're gay, straight, a women or a man.

However, I contend that because social norms are different the impact of psoriasis is different in each of these social groups

SJ

[flakeyscot]

Yes gay man with psoriasis here - had it for 30+ years but still have managed to enjoy a good life
Feel free to get in touch.
Simon

[corker33]

same here mark and im in manc too, hope u ok ant, feel free to get in touch x

[paul_hugh]

Hey Mark,
I am gay and live in London, also suffering from p.  I too have endured flare ups like most of us on this site.  Remember, although the gay world can seem mostly superficial, it's your friends and family's support that counts.  Superficial preconceptions are not worth wating your time on, regardless of sexuality.

[angel989]

Hello, dear friends!
I am also gay with psoriasis, my name is Angel Katushev , I am 20 ,from Bulgaria,but study and live in Prague,Czech Republic. I have psoriasis since 2005 and it is awful!
It is like hell, 80% of my body is covered,it itches,hearts.
I would like to meet some gay men with psoriasis to find and give love.
........ and ......are my cell phone numbers. Tel numbers removed by moderator


Also you can find me on the Facebook- Angel Katushev .

[down2earthlad1]

Hi Mark

I might be wrong, but personally I think the social experience of being gay with psoriasis is substantially different from that of being straight with psoriasis. Straights might not appreciate this (and I don't mean to cause offence). In a similar way some of your gay mates might not be able to understand the effect that psoriasis has on you - without them having been 'there'.

Being self conscious about your skin is natural, but can be debilitating. Especially in a cruisey environment.

I went for years covered up, afraid of what people might think - HIV, Kaposi's sarcoma, etc etc. And then, of course, there are the genitals to deal with    ... and rejection ... 'Whats that on your male chicken face, bud?'.

But it really is just a reflection of what I might think if I saw someone with a similar skin condition. My thinking had to change.

There are many things to 'come out' about. Coming out as gay is just one of them. I found that not hiding my skin was another liberating 'coming out' experience. Peoples reactions are their problem not mine.

How could my skin be any other way - I have psoriasis - what do you expect?

However I do follow a rigorous regime of applying calcipoitriol, and have recently started methotrexate. Acitretin just didn't do it for me.

I confidently use the gym, and hit those showers not giving a toss that I sometimes look like patchwork. And yes you do sometimes pull - and sometimes you scare them away.

Try not to let psoriasis dampen this exciting time in your life. It is afterall lifelong.

Pip x

Well said but, sometimes change of life style can accommodate this so unwanted condition. As a gay man I could no longer use the bath house, just in case I attracted unwanted looks, but hey, there are still lots of places where you can meet up anonymously and have fun with other guys, like I found on squirt.org, lots of outdoors places where you can park up and have fun then drive off, and not even need to know anyones name or what they do.

[Plum]

>> As a gay man I could no longer use the bath house, just in case I attracted unwanted looks

I have only recently plucked up the courage to explore bath houses as I was fed up of waiting my life away (for the P to disappear!) I was very nervous about what the other guys might think I had wrong with me, but I was pleasantly surprised not to get any dodgy stares at all (this was in London). Seeing someone else with P would have made me feel more at ease though.

Perhaps we are our own worst enemy? It's understandable to want to shy away because of our skin but (to echo the earlier comments about throwing caution to the wind and just wearing shorts and T-shirts whilst P is bad), by hiding ourselves away and not going to bath houses with our P, warts and all, in full view, doesn't this mean that gay society is deprived of experiencing the likes of us and therefore remains ignorant / misinformed?

Hope that doesn't sound too pompous; as you can probably tell, I am still wrestling with substantial confidence and body image issues myself, so please be gentle with me :-)

[Snow Surfin Mike]

I'm a bit stumped with this one...

How does a gay person know it's a different experience having P and being gay, than the straight experience with P? ?

If you're gay you're gay, so how would you know the difference?

Surely it would take someone bi to pass informed comment?...

[down2earthlad1]

I'm a bit stumped with this one...

How does a gay person know it's a different experience having P and being gay, than the straight experience with P? ?

If you're gay you're gay, so how would you know the difference?

Surely it would take someone bi to pass informed comment?...

hi, you would know if you ever been to a bath house!