The Glamorization of HIV... a call to action
In its rush to redeem itself for its early, unwarranted fears about AIDS the gay community has now accomplished the exact opposite: it has glamorized and made acceptable the idea amongst gay men that HIV is not only inevitable, but sexy and glamorous. Horrifying? Yes, but it's the truth and it's also the dirty little secret that no gay person wants to talk about or admit to.
In the 90's when I came out of the closet contracting HIV was just possibly the worst thing that could happen to a young, gay boy. Our images of HIV-infected gay men were those of wasted, diseased looking skeletons and worse. The message was drilled into our head that we must use a condom, all the time. To not do so was irresponsible and unacceptable and would lead to death. Those images were powerful, with physical attraction a value paramount amongst gay men (including myself) who would want to risk looking like that?
Then in the mid-90's something started to change. Like a dark whisper we heard rumors that with the advent of protease inhibitors. HIV wouldn't be so horrible, it would be an easily manageable disease like diabetes. Around us we began seeing ads for these new drugs filled with hunky looking guys climbing mountains. "It wouldn't be so bad" some of us thought and then the rates of HIV infections began to climb again.
Following the wonder drugs came the stereotype of the "poz" gay guy. There he was, staring from the covers of Out and The Advocate, no longer covered with purple Kaposi Sarcoma lesions but instead bursting with muscles from his weekly, doctor-prescribed injections of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and testosterone. He was the "three h's" that we gay men love, Hot, Hunky and Hung and he was also HIV+ but no longer ashamed. HIV was now an acceptable way of being, no longer did "poz" men have to hide in the dark corners of the dance floors, their bodies wasted and covered with sores. Now they were in the center with the rest of us. They're here, they're Poz, get used to it!
And so we did. In our hunger to accept our Poz brothers we started sending out the message that HIV was no longer so bad, that in a way it was sexy and glamorous and you too could look like those guys on the covers of Out. Poz was the new gay, hip and exciting and kinda exclusive. Boring old gay was no longer the "it girl" she used to be.
And where are we now? HIV infection rates are climbing again, young gay men find it deliciously tantalizing to chose the partner who will "breed" them with HIV, as if they were choosing a surrogate for their baby instead of looking for a disgustingly immoral and developmentally retarded person to infect them with a deadly disease. Our gay organizations stoke the fires higher and higher, preferring to preach the dogma of "inclusivity" rather than state the obvious: that HIV kills and if you're deliberately trying to get infected you need to have your head checked. They should be teaching that HIV is not a wonderful thing for our community but instead a devastating disease which has robbed us of some of our best and brightest, and our failure to stamp it out is our shame.
I'm not willing to accept what many in the gay community consider inevitable, and that is that HIV will be around forever and we should concentrate on making HIV positive men feel better about themselves instead of trying to control the disease and stamp it out. What are we doing when instead of concentrating on promotion of safe-sex we're telling HIV positive men how to find ways to date one another and that choosing to infect another person with HIV is "a private choice?"
We have established the message that life with HIV is no longer something to be avoided but instead can be just as rewarding and fun as life without. We have sent the message, inadvertently or not, that contracting HIV is now just another lifestyle choice, and one that is not only acceptable but subtly encouraged by gay organizations who have 30 meeting groups for "poz" guys but 5 for those that are negative.
Friend after friend of mine is now HIV+ and I thank G-d that I'm not. I have enough self-awareness and self-esteem to see HIV for what it is. A disgusting, dirty little disease that will limit your life choices forever after you contract it. You'll be stuck taking medications for the rest of your life that will eventually destroy your liver and the rest of your body, giving you sunken cheeks and a humpback like a camel. It's not sexy, it's not glamorous and it's not inevitable. I know I know this but what about the 22 year old kid who doesn't?
2:28:25 PM 
|
