What are you, a doctor or something? You clearly didn't read my post properly and have jumped to two false conclusions. For a start, I never said 'I've been doing this for twenty years'. I said there have been two short-ish bursts of unrestrained sexual activity in my life - one in the early 1980s and ther other in the mid 2000s - where condom use ended up being negligible. When not on one of these sexual benders, I've always been either celibate or in a committed relationship (other than occasional visits to WGs where full rig has always been worn).
As regards the testing, it seems you've not been through the fertility and prostate thing yourself. If you did, you'd know that they DO test you for STIs, including HIV, as a matter of course. Now because I've ended up being in and out of doctors' surgeries, clinics and hospitals a fair old bit in the last few years (and for good measure, I've also visited a GUM clinic and had the full monty in there) it's all been a bit of a blur and I couldn't give you a comprehensive list of every damn thing I've been tested for, but I'm pretty sure it was everything known to man.
Perhaps I do have good immunity. I know I rarely get ill. But that's sort of beside the point. The way I look at it is like this: take Elton John. Here's a guy who in his wild heyday, was far worse than me, or any of us. He shagged anything that moved - men and women - and took whatever marching powder, booze and Lord knows what else he could get his hands on. And in the 70s and up to the mid 80s, let's face it, people didn't use condoms. And look at him now.
Being gay and promiscious doesn't automatically equal HIV. Being hetero and promiscious doesn't automatically mean you're going to get diseased either. I am certainly not condoning condom-free sex, and I fully admit I've been irresponsible in the past and as I said in another post, I may well have dodged several bullets. I was just trying to shed a bit of light on a debate that usually never rises above panic- and fear-driven assertions and 'theories' that anyone who might dare have hetero sex without a condom is some sort of weirdo or pariah.
The fear that we're going to get some sort of disease from having sex with women is a very ancient one. I think Germaine Greer said something profound about this in her book 'The Whole Woman' but I can't find the quote for now. But it's a recurring theme in history, borne out in part by men's ambivalent attitude to prostitution. We totally accept and praise WGs who offer us condoms and despise those who don't. Why? Not for their sake, that's for sure. But for ours.
What you actually said was:
"I've spent several periods in my life having random, casual, and condom-free sex with many different women (non-WGs), and the last time was as recently as 2002-4 in my internet dating phase. And I can tell you, I've never caught a damn thing. Not once. Not ever. So, was I lucky?"
"Several" being more than two; so to be fair both of us read your original post incorrectly.
Yes they probably do test you for STI's and D's but only the ones that are likely to affect your fertility or prostate. That's not every STD or I that exists just as the GUM don't test you for every STD/I. I, therefore, doubt its everything known to man.
As for Elton John; how do you know what he has got or has not got? Just because he may not have HIV (why are people so obsessed with HIV as though it is the only STI??? - and how do you know Elton John doesn't have it?) does not mean that he has not caught other STI/D's. He may have STD/I's and not know about the same. That is the point I am trying to make.
So far as I am concerned having some of these STD/I's is not so bad for you to take it so personally. We all carry hundreds of bacteria/ virus's on us or in our body which have nothing to do with us having sex with anybody. We catch them by touching other people/ objects other people have touched or even the air we breathe. Does that make you weird or some sort of Pariah? A wart can grow on your finger after you have shook hands with someone who has a wart on their finger. Does that mean you would never shake hands with anyone? STD/I's are only passed to us when we have sex with someone. The number of STD's and the risk of contracting STI's increases significantly when you have unprotected sex. Holding up people who may not have contracted many or significant STD/I's from having unprotected sex to show that unprotected sex is not risky is like saying "my great aunt smoked her whole life until she was 90, therefore, smoking is not that bad"; you are talking about the minor exceptions and not the reality.
I accept that you are as likely (actually probably more likely) to catch an STD/ I if you sleep with people who's sexual history you are not sure about as much as if you sleep with a prostitute. What I find misleading is to say that you have slept with numerous people who's sexual history you are not sure of and you know for sure that you have not caught anything. That's not slagging of heterosexuality or promiscuity in any way.
And no ... I am not a doctor so do not take anything I say as gospel ... check it yourself if you want to be sure. However, I like to think to myself that I have properly explored the risks of punting when embarking on a punt. I am happy to be enlightened where I may be wrong.