Magnet Offers Gay Men STD Testing with Comfort, Style

By Sarah Mcdonald

Occupying a large storefront at 18th and Castro streets, Magnet looks more like a spa than a free health clinic. Walk in through the glass doors and you find yourself in a well-lit room with art on the walls, cafe-style tables in front, and a concierge who greets customers toward the back. “It doesn’t look like your typical clinic,” Director Steve Gibson says.

Magnet opened in 2003 as a free clinic targeting gay men to provide tests for sexually transmitted diseases. They focus on what they call the “Fab Five” of STDs: syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis, and HIV. Gibson said the need for comprehensive STD testing for gay men became apparent after new HIV infection rates increased in the mid-1990s, following decreases since the disease peaked in 1984-1985. At the same time, syphilis infection rates among men who have sex with men rose dramatically. Before Magnet opened, Gibson said, there weren’t many places that offered regular testing for HIV and other STDs.

“You want all those things brought together,” Gibson said, emphasizing the need to normalize and de-stigmatize sexual health among gay men. “There’s a discomfort with gay male sex [at many doctor’s offices].”

Magnet seeks to provide health services in a more sex-positive atmosphere, where staff and volunteers are knowledgeable about and comfortable with gay men’s sexuality. “There’s a comfort in knowing whatever they’re going to say is OK with us,” said Gibson. In addition to STD screening, Magnet also offers holistic health services to its customers free of charge, including counseling, acupuncture, chair massage, and hypnotherapy. Gibson said Magnet seeks to promote overall health rather than just treating diseases.

“The idea was to let gay men redefine health,” he said, adding that this includes supporting a healthy community as well. “I like how they’ve structured the testing center to be an open, welcome space,” said Natesh Daniel, a Castro resident who volunteers at Magnet. Daniel said he came to Magnet to get tested after moving to the neighborhood last year and decided to get involved. “I felt like I clicked with what was going on here.”

Magnet offers a number of community events throughout the month, including art openings, dance classes, and the popular open mic Smack Dab, hosted by local performers Kirk Reed and Larry Bob Roberts on the third Wednesday of every month. Smack Dab will be on hiatus in June. Magnet is also in the process of setting up a bimonthly book club with the nearby A Different Light Book Store. Every month, Magnet features a different artist’s work in its main lobby. June’s artist will be Mary Anderson, whose Glam Community Heroes show will include “sparkly” portraits of icons in San Francisco’s gay community. The show will open June 4 from 8-10 p.m.

On June 20, Magnet will co-host the world premier of “We Were Here: Voices from the AIDS Years in San Francisco,” along with the Frameline Film Festival and Shanti, an organization that provides services to people with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. The film, a documentary by local filmmaker David Weissman, will screen at the Castro Theatre, followed by a reception at Magnet.

On June 26, Magnet will host a stage at Pink Saturday, along with the Gay Artists and Writers Kollective (GAWK), which hosts shows at Magnet several times a year. The lineup will include Video Wine Party, a queer band, and Little Black Bats from Sacramento.

Magnet is located at 4122 18th St.

Copyright 2010 Castro Courier