There is a grave public misperception that the gay community has been saturated with AIDS prevention services. Sometimes, when the newest epidemiological data comes out and shows that young gay/bisexual men are still engaging in risky behavior and contracting HIV, headlines proclaim:“HIV Prevention Efforts Not Working!” Thesemyths ignore the fact that, each year, new young men “come out” as gay or bisexual, and most havenot been exposed to the prevention campaigns of previous years, nor have they been reached by

current HIV prevention efforts. HIV prevention for young gay/bisexual men must be ongoing, funded adequately, and dynamic—ever changing, in order to keep young men’s attention. Furthermore, we know that men who report having had unprotected sex are more likely to have unprotected sex again. For this reason, hearing an HIV prevention message just once isn’t sufficient. To have the greatest impact, HIV prevention programs must intervene at an early point in young men’s sexual initiation and continue to reinforce safer sex over time.