AIDS/QUEERNESS
Nicole Wamalwa Kara Borrman What is aids? Aids stand for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and it is often contracted by people with HIV, an STI which stand for human immunodeficiency virus.
Definitions
Mayo Clinic Def CDC Def
HIV is a virus spread through certain body fluids that attacks the body’s immune system, HIV is a sexually transmitted infection. It can specifically the CD4 cells, often called T cells. Over also be spread by contact with infected blood time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that or from mother to child during pregnancy, the body can’t fight off infections and disease. These special cells help the immune system fight childbirth or breast-feeding. Without off infections. Untreated, HIV reduces the number medication, it may take years before HIV of CD4 cells (T cells) in the body. This damage to weakens your immune system to the point the immune system makes it harder and harder that you have AIDS. Having an HIV infection for the body to fight off infections and some other does not mean you have AIDS. Left diseases. Opportunistic infections or cancers take untreated, the disease typically progresses to advantage of a very weak immune system and AIDS in about 10 years. signal that the person has AIDS. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline
Timeline
June 5th, 1981: The U.S. CDC published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. All the men have other unusual infections as well, indicating that their immune systems are not working; two have already died by the time the report is published. This edition of the MMWR marks the first official reporting of what will become known as the AIDS epidemic. January 1st, 1982: The first American AIDS clinic is established in San Francisco. December 10th, 1982: CDC reports a case of AIDS in an infant who received blood transfusions. The following week, the MMWR reports 22 cases of unexplained immunodeficiency and opportunistic infections in infants. August 18th, 1987: FDA sanctions the first human testing of a candidate vaccine against HIV. Fear Mongering Media A pamphlet produced by the Alert Citizens of Texas opposing homosexuality. Created in 1983. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc276217/m1/2/ Response to Fear Mongering
The aids epidemic, which was often referred to as “the gay plague” or other fear mongering titles, caused for much controversy and panic. There was also a lack of understanding about how it was spread and lead to a popular belief that it was via touch. So in 1987 Princess Diana opened the first hospital in the U.K. for aids and aids research. She also publically shook the hand of aids patients without gloves to fight the false belief.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU0SPrCTwsY
"Around the country, family members shunned infected relatives, doctors were afraid to touch AIDS patients, let alone treat them, and hospital wards filled up with young men covered in lesions, dying excruciating deaths." - Elton John https://wmmr.com/2014/05/26/elton-john-says-the-aids-epidemic-is-still-very-serious/ This video is from such is life videos which is a youtube channel that posts news broadcasts on varying topics. This particular video is an hour of strung together aids broadcasts in the subsection of “Gay History” on their youtube page.
6:31 - 8:08 11:02 - 11:25 11:38 - 12:15 ACT UP
OUR MISSION: In October of 1988, fed up with the lack of information being given out, medical ACT UP — the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power — is results being made and general lack of a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals, united process towards the AIDS crisis, and in anger and committed to direct action to end the organization called ACT UP organized a AIDS crisis. We meet with government officials, we protest. The protest took place on the distribute the latest medical information, we protest anniversary of the first March on and demonstrate. We are not silent. Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights ACT UP was formed in response to social neglect, and again after the second Washington government negligence and the complacency of the Showing of the Names Project quilt. (The medical establishment during the 1980s. Soon it names project quilt was a piece start in found itself needing to fight corporate greed, lack of San Francisco in which people sent quilt solidarity and various forms of stigma and squares with the names of victim of AIDS discrimination at home and abroad. to ensure they were not forgotten) The protest was massive and included a siege of the FDA headquarters. https://actupny.com/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/before-occupy-h “The entire body of ACT UP was schooled ow-aids-activists-seized-control-of-the-fda-in-1988/249302/ in advance with knowledge of https://www.aidsquilt.org/ complicated issues that until then had largely remained in the province of Treatment and Data Committee http://www.thepinktriangle.com/history/symbol.html members.” https://www.newsweek.com/pink-triangles-prison-sentences-nazi-persecutio n-homosexuals-337840 Keith Haring was a visual artist and according to the Keith Haring Foundation…
“Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation, its mandate being to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children’s programs, and to expand the audience for Haring’s work through exhibitions, publications and the licensing of his images. Haring enlisted his imagery during the last years of his life to speak about his own illness and generate activism and awareness about AIDS.” http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/bio#.W8k0_adKiUk Response Art
David Wojnarowicz was a painted, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and activist who was prominent in the New York City art world of the 1980s. He died in 1992 from HIV/AIDS. http://visualaids.org/artis ts
https://www.aidsquilt.org /
http://visualaids.org/projects/detail/the-red-ribbon-project The Broadway Musicalization/ Hollywood adaptation of Aids 2013 1992 1992
1996 1984 2005
Lease: The Musical And Now, For My Next Life 1996 1998 Zero Patience: The Aids Show A Broadway Musical An Unfinished Song 1986 about AIDS 2013 1993 1993
1990 1992 1998 2003
2017 “Broadway Cares was founded in February 1988 by members of The Producers’ Group. Money raised was
awarded to AIDS service organizations nationwide, including Equity Fights AIDS.”
https://broadwayc ares.org/about-br oadway-cares-eq uity-fights-aids/ Broadway Cares HIV/AIDS in the Gay Black Community
HIV diagnoses in the United States have generally plummeted since the 1980’s, and treatment strategies are now so effective that some are beginning to talk about the end of the AIDS epidemic. However, for gay black men in America, the chances of getting HIV in a lifetime are still one in two. In some Southern states, the rates of infection for black men who have sex with men rival rates in underdeveloped countries like Botswana. Once diagnosed with HIV, these men are unable to access the medicine, clinical resources and psychological support they need to keep life threatening AIDS diagnoses at bay
Link to Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOSN1bKG3zQ Moonlights in Homosexuality and HIV
A darling of the awards season, the film Moonlight follows a young Black man growing up amid the ’80s crack epidemic in Miami while coming to terms with being gay. Although HIV isn’t prominent in the movie, it’s prevalent in the backstory. The film’s two creators—Tarell Alvin
McCraney, who penned the original play, and Barry Jenkins, the screenwriter and director—both have mothers who became addicted to crack and contracted HIV.
Today, African Americans in the South are hardest hit by HIV. Yet, as McCraney notes, most
HIV-related films have been about white people. “We’re not allowing the people we want to reach to be at the center of the conversation,” he says. “Where’s the movie about Alvin Ailey?” Let’s hope McCraney writes it because we want to see HIV in a starring role. 21st Century Representation
● The representation of queerness within Hollywood may have advanced as the realms of innuendo and secrecy are no more. We now see lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people represented on television and in mainstream film.
● However even with this wide acceptance of queerness, the long standing link between queer=HIV is still very much present within media today. , This is presented in alto of today's TV shows and media. E.G The ABC series How to get away with murder.
In this series their is the gay character, Connor Walsh, portrayed by Jack Falahee. \ And even though it is progressive for the gay community to be portrayed in a monumentally acclaimed ABC series. There are still a number of people within the LGBT community that are disharted by the portrayal of ‘the gay man’ in HTGAWM a the preconceived notions of en in the LGBT community are still portrayed along side hot and wild sex scenes. How To Get Away From Murder How To Get Away From Murder
In this show the stereotype of the young gay male is that of a promiscuous libertine floating from hook-up to hook-up. The denial of marriage equality for so long reinforced that belief: “Gays just can’t take a relationship seriously and are only interested in sex.” The character is obviously a smart individual, yet he is motivated by sex alone. We have heard that and seen that again and again, and it simply has to stop being reinforced by Hollywood.
The role of carrying HIV within this series is also one thrust upon the gay community, as it is the gay boyfriend that contracts the disease, out of all of the other characters. Thus enforcing the already established belief that HIV is a gay disease. Questions?
● What were your beliefs on HIV/AIDs before this presentation?
● Consider these ads do you think the stigma surrounding LGBTQ and HIV has changed over the years.?