But it is no solution. Then there's self-destructiveness. It is understandable how knowingly risking contracting a potentially lethal virus might be considered such. But in Duncan's case, the emotional reality was far different. What was so erotic and satisfying for him was the feeling of intense intimacy he derived from a particular sexual act that is about as intimate as sexual acts get.
Ignorance is another perennial.
But I doubt it. If there is a primary culprit in the mistransaction between Tony and Duncan, it is their lack of communication. This is not a great discovery. Workshops dealing with communicating about sex, offered at most AIDS service organizations in large cities, attest to practical efforts to address the problem on the part of the prevention community. But clearly the approach is labor-intensive and does not penetrate the community on a necessary scale.