BLOG PROJECT: The Change in Public Perception of HIV and AIDS (after efforts to put faces and names to the disease)
POST I: Introduction
This blog will be going in depth to examine the change in public perception of HIV and AIDS after efforts were made to put faces and names to the disease.
Particularly relevant to LGBTQ studies, this time was an important catalyst for the movement towards public acceptance for the LGBTQ community. The AIDS epidemic of the 80’s / 90’s propelled homosexuality onto center stage and forced a voice onto gay men specifically, who may have remained closeted, or at least less vocal, had there not been a death sentence attached.
This issue matters to all communities because that period in time brought out the very worst in people, yet we recovered and are better for it.
I am interested in this topic specifically because I lived the period. I watched once rational people, empathetic people, medical professionals, everyone - lose their minds. There was a common belief that the HIV virus, and therefore AIDS, could be spread through kissing and hugging. During the initial epidemic, we truly witnessed a panic mentality in many of those who were uninfected.
I think it was through mainstream media, providing faces on the victims, that common sense eventually prevailed.
POST II: Analysis of a Web Source
In the December 4, 2013 article entitled “The Confusing and At-Times Counterproductive 1980s Response to the AIDS Epidemic“ [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-confusing-and-at-times-counterproductive-1980s-response-to-the-aids-epidemic-180948611/?no-ist], Natasha Geiling sheds light on the social aspect of HIV and AIDS. The public perception that pervaded the 1980′s, is juxtaposed against the medical community’s handling of the disease. Geiling reflects on the 80’s AIDS epidemic by showcasing the sexual education posters and pamphlets of the time, as found in the exhibit - Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics and Culture. Curated by the National Library of Medicine, the exhibit “explores the rise of AIDS in the early 1980s, as well as the medical and social responses to the disease since.”
What began as five cases of an unknown form of pneumonia in Los Angeles in 1981, was known to have killed at least 121 by year end. It would take five years to name the virus. By the end of the 1980’s, over 27,000 had died of the disease.
This article, and the National Library of Medicine exhibit, tell a larger story about perception of the disease and what came finally in the form of prevention. Sexual education targeted at those most affected by AIDS – gay men - was often very real and graphic, to the distress of the many in the U. S. Government. In 1987, federal funds were pulled from campaigns which "[promoted] or [encouraged], directly or indirectly, homosexual activities" – courtesy of a law signed into law by then president Ronald Reagan. Additionally, the exhibit showcases many posters labeled as ‘fear mongering’ – reminding their audience of the death sentence then attached to the disease.
I found this article and the corresponding graphics, a great visual representation of the mindset of the time. The exhibit paints the picture, while Geiling further elaborates on what is unseen – the medical community’s reaction and our government’s intervention (or rather lack thereof.) It is a great piece to illuminate the mindset of the early 80’s. The very act of providing information to those at risk, had a reverse effect on those who knew little about the disease and actually misinformed the public at large on how the disease was spread.
I didn’t like the reminder how little things have changed today in the area of sex ed. The suggestion to use a clean needle back then is viewed similarly today at the suggestion to use a condom or birth control. It is considered by many to be encouraging the act which is just ludicrous.
The LGBTQ community and its allies should ask themselves, what has really changed in our government’s stubbornness to align themselves with certain groups within the population, when they take an oath to represent the people.
POST III: Analysis of a Scholarly Source
Gregory M. Herek documented his study of the pervasive stigma attached to AIDS, in relation to other diseases - in “AIDS and Stigma” – which appeared in a 1999 issue of American Behavioral Scientist. [http://abs.sagepub.com/content/42/7/1106.full.pdf+html] Here exists a detailed account of global stigma that still existed for those infected, almost two decades later.
The article stresses that 1997 survey revealed a lowered public support of quarantine, compared to 1991, however there is still a misconception of how the disease is spread, especially in racial and ethnic communities where mistrust in the medical community is more prevalent.
I did appreciate the four distinctions Herek makes regarding AIDS in comparison to other diseases, citing several studies. First, stigma is associated one where the victim’s behavior is blamed for contracting the disease and HIV / AIDS is often still perceived to be the result of high risk behavior. Second, greater stigma is tied to conditions which are degenerative and AIDS is still perceived as a death sentence. A tertiary concern is the fear of contagion, and AIDS is still overestimated in its risk of infection. Lastly, a greater stigma exists when infection is physically apparent and AIDS “often dramatically affect an individuals’ physical appearance….”
I did appreciate how this article did elaborate in the distinction the public still overall associates with how HIV / AIDS is contracted. Also, the demographics of those more accepting versus less tolerant seemed to, not surprisingly, be reflected in the respondents’ age and education.
I didn’t like necessarily how this article focused on a more global approach, where I am trying to limit my focus of this blog to the United States. Additionally, I felt the very isolated examples in the late 90’s used in the introduction, in contrast to the more pervasive handling overall of those infected in the early 80’s gave a misleading assessment of what the study would find.
I was rather shocked by the mentality of someone beating to death an individual infected with HIV, when exposure to infected blood is a sure way to contract the disease. It is difficult to speculate how much is just enough time passing. Like the Ebola scare, once time elapses without an epidemic occurring – the panic went away. With HIV and AIDS, the epidemic seems less scary in the United States these days – now that medical advances have occurred. It’s also less talked about.
This study is a great piece to accompany my web source, showing the outcome perhaps of the public awareness brought to light in the 80’s, and how progress is happening but rather slow moving.
POST IV: Analysis of a Second Scholarly Source
In “The AIDS Epidemic – Considerations for the 21st Century”, Dr. Fouci writes about the changing face of the AIDS epidemic, and recommendations for the medical community. While a vaccine still eludes scientists, antiretroviral therapies and prevention in utero are the necessary focus as the world wide impact of HIV / AIDS was heading towards 40 million when this article was written. (According to a story published online yesterday by ABC News, that number is 36.9 million - http://news.yahoo.com/world-aids-day-see-much-changed-fight-against-202004255.html;_ylt=A0LEVibNp19WE5QA86onnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw)
The United States has seen a change in the demographic of AIDS victims, as well. It is no longer focused within the gay community, and now results “predominantly from injection-drug use and heterosexual contact ….” Additionally, minorities are over 75% of the infected population, while female infection has tripled from 1985 to 1998. According to 1994 CDC estimates, half of the 40,000 or so new infections each year are believed to be under 25 and to have contracted it sexually.
This is an older article, and yet I struggled to find anything relatively current that met the source requirements and fell within the scope of my blog. This does show a trend developing at the turn of the century which is still in place. AIDS is global. AIDS is heterosexual. AIDS is taking an astronomical toll on the developing world especially. This blends well with things we’ve discussed in class, such as the influence of the medical community, and this articles transitions well from my last post – showing the numbers.
As an ally of the LGBTQ community, my concern is that a resurgence of HIV / AIDS will occur within the gay community with so many resources and focus attending to global concerns.
POST V: Discussion of a Real Example
My blog focus involves a few real life examples. Below I have provided some clips and hope these can speak to their lives more than I can summarize them.
Pedro Zamora was a 22-year-old Cuban American who was on the Real World San Francisco in 1994. Zamora was openly gay and very outspoken about HIV /AIDS education. He died on November 11, 1994 of complications due to AIDS, hours after the final episode of the MTV series aired. Below is the a 4-part reflection on Zamora’s life and activism.
https://youtu.be/KA4ZZImS4Qs
Ryan White, a white Indiana teen, contracted the virus from tainted blood. White’s story gained national exposure as he suffered horrible oppression in his community and at school due to ignorance about the disease. White was infected in 1984 and died in 1990, one month before his high school graduation in a new and accepting community. Below are various clips compiled about White’s death, and his experiences in his own words.
https://youtu.be/TNWCo-pIyPE
Magic Johnson is an NBA star who admitted to being HIV positive in 1991. Johnson became infected after treatments were available and still lives today. Below is Johnson’s announcement.
https://youtu.be/VbdOQUARrEU
I think these men of different backgrounds, and different modes of infection, provide a well-rounded picture of the 80’s AIDS epidemic and the public reaction.
What I remember was just adoring Pedro Zamora on Real World San Fransisco – the first and only season I watched. His vitality and optimism. I’d never personally known an openly gay man before. (Classmates and friends that are out of the closet now, weren’t then.) I specifically remember when Pedro died and President Clinton spoke – “now we can all say we know someone who’s had AIDS” or something like that – I cannot find any clip of it, but it was true. Pedro was in my living room every week and I felt like I knew him.
POST VI: Discussion of Power Structures
There are many power structures which influenced the 1980’s AIDS epidemic. The most obvious being the government. As previously reflected in my prior posts and also in class readings, the government has been instrumental in keeping sex ed in the dark ages, which has never had the death toll attributed to it, as during the AIDS crisis. The government (Congress, President Reagan) pulled their funding on necessary public information campaigns. The United States government avoided discussing HIV and AIDS until it had reached catastrophic levels. Until it could no longer be ignored.
The medical establishment was shunning this part of the population as well. Doctors and scientists took their time identifying the disease, then the virus, then working towards a treatment. Fear prevented some in the medical community from treating those with the infection. (Mandatory testing was attempted.) Once possible treatments were discovered, the FDA kept the hurdles in place on trial meds that could have saved lives.
Another institution I would like to specifically mention is the public school system. Ryan White suffered from ignorance and fear while attempting to attend public school. Although the law was on his side and attendance was supposed to be his right, those within his Indiana school (and community) – teachers, administrators, parents, students – treated White like an outcast.
It says so much about our society how those in power – those who we elect, those who we trust with our health and our children – are capable of treating another human.
There is a quote from How to Survive a Plague that I wrote down: “What does a decent society do with people who hurt themselves because they’re human?”
Isn’t that a great question?
POST VII: How the Problem is an Intersectional Issue
The 80’s AIDS crisis is an intersectional issue, and yet in the documentary How to Survive a Plague, it was white men of affluence who were portrayed in the film. ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), became “taken over by a lunatic fringe.” TAG (Treatment Action Group) was formed and became a more educated and clean-cut approach to creating a dialogue with officials.
The victims of AIDS in the early 80’s were primarily men, however, men of all races and social classes. It is important to view the epidemic within the lens of intersectionality. It was men of affluence that were able to get time off work and be engaged in activism. As with all social justice, it is often times hard for those most impacted by a cause to advocate for themselves, due to financial constraints.
Additionally, men of different ethnic groups may have been less likely to risk exposure and the stigma due to cultural beliefs.
As expensive treatments became available, it was the wealthier and the insured who were able to maintain their health (and life.)
POST VIII: Summary
I hope with the constraints of the project itself and required sources, I was able to adequately show what I intended. While it is clear that the perception of HIV / AIDS has changed in the 30 + years – as the face of AIDS has changed, I am not sure I was able to convey it was the faces that were put on AIDS that caused that transition.
I believe now it was a process. It was time elapsing. It was treatments being made available. It was real life faces. It was characters added on popular television shows – such as Jesse on Life Goes On. Or Tom Hanks character in the movie Philadelphia. My perception from growing up in that period, is going to be different than someone else’s.
The AIDS epidemic is still a concern globally. The face of it has changed, but it still exists. In some countries it is absolutely a death sentence.
The handling of the 1980’s AIDS epidemic is a lesson our society has failed to learn. It is rather disconcerting. Treatments took so much longer to be discovered and tested due to the government’s reaction to public hysteria. While great strides have been made towards lgbtq rights, following public sympathies, it wasn’t too long ago our government participated in a type of extermination. How far off is to believe something similar could happen again, given the loudest voices today in the right’s “lunatic fringe?”
POST IX: Recommendations
Obviously, we need to continue to look for a vaccine for HIV. Additionally, we need to make preventative meds readily available and affordable to all those who desire them, and treatments need to available and affordable to those infected.
HIV / AIDS is still a threat to the health and prosperity of our country. It is a distraction we should not have to face still in 2015. This threat affects us all.
Complete and ongoing sex ed need to be made available in all schools. We need to remove these road blocks – especially governmental – to educating our children. There is no room in the 21st Century for backward thinkers who would have us catapulted back to the 1950’s, while we’re still forced to deal with modern problems. That change, unfortunately, requires people to become more politically active and to get out there and vote.
We all have a part to play in change, and change is going to happen whether we like it not. We have to stay engaged in the process, and control the narrative or it won’t be the change we want.
POST X: Annotated List of Additional Resources
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-confusing-and-at-times-counterproductive-1980s-response-to-the-aids-epidemic-180948611/?no-ist
A reflection on the 80’s AIDS epidemic by showcasing the sexual education posters and pamphlets of the time, as found in the exhibit - Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics and Culture - Curated by the National Library of Medicine.
http://abs.sagepub.com/content/42/7/1106.full.pdf+html
1999 Article in American Behavioral Scientist detailing the change in stigma attached to the infection, almost two decades later.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm199909303411406GWS 203
1999 New England Journal of Medicine Article “The AIDS Epidemic — Considerations for the 21st Century” detailing the state of the epidemic, the trend should it continue, and the recommendations for the medical community.
https://youtu.be/KA4ZZImS4Qs
You Tube video tribute to Pedro Zamora
https://youtu.be/VbdOQUARrEU
Magic Johnson’s 1991 Press Conference, announcing he is HIV positive
https://youtu.be/TNWCo-pIyPE
News clips of Ryan White
Gay Men’s Health Crisis – gmhc.org – provides a great wealth of information about sexual education
http://www.gmhc.org/files/editor/file/perceptions_klein3.pdf
With a foreword by Sean Cahill, this piece provides more recent 2007 statistics on AIDS and public perception.
http://news.yahoo.com/world-aids-day-see-much-changed-fight-against-202004255.html;_ylt=A0LEVibNp19WE5QA86onnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw)
December 1, 2015 article on the current state of AIDS on this World’s AIDS Day
