A foolish consistency may be the hobgoblin of small minds, but using condoms every time you have sex isn't foolish. It's the sensible thing to do. Inconsistent condom use simply isn't as effective at preventing STDs.
This issue was recently examined in a paper published in the September issue of the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The scientists looked at the effect of serosorting on the likelihood of HIV seroconversion in men who have sex with men (MSM).
Serosorting is the practice of only practicing safe sex with people of a different serostatus. In other words, HIV negative MSM choose to only use condoms when they're having anal sex with men who are known to be infected. In theory, it sounds great. However, it relies on men accurately knowing their status, and far too many of them don't. Most men don't get checked all that regularly, and even those who do may be infected for some time before they test positive. Therefore, only practicing safe sex with men known to have HIV may reduce risk, but it is far from a guarantee.
Anyway, back to the research. The study found that serosorting did work somewhat well for White MSM in the study population. It dropped their HIV acquisition rate by half, although not to zero. However, serosorting didn't work at all in Black MSM. Scientists are not sure why, since overall the Black MSM had less risky behaviors than their White counterparts. It's possible that Black MSM might be more likely to encounter undiagnosed sex partners, or that their partners may be less willing to disclose a known infection, but there wasn't enough data to be sure.
Source: http://std.about.com/b/2012/09/24/condom-consistency.htm
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