["Four Questions," wheat paste poster, Mark Simpson & Gran Fury, 1993.] 🚿💊💉🌡🚿💊💉🌡🚿 "People no longer saw me as having AIDS or being infected with HIV. Sometimes, I’d even forget about it myself. But there was always something there to remind me: handfuls of pills three times a day, harried trips to the toilet, this sexy Israeli guy with premature salt-and-pepper hair and the body of an underwear model. I’d seen the guy around at the gym, and one day, he came up and introduced himself. By that point, I’d put a little meat back on my bones. I felt a little more like my old self. I passed for healthy. The Israeli and I exchanged names. I did my best to tamp down any trace of desperate enthusiasm in my voice, as well as the hard-on developing in my sweatpants. He smiled warmly, leaned forward, and put his lips beside my ear: “Are you clean?” I was confused. Now? Here? In the middle of my workout? Was he OCD? “I shower pretty regularly,” I answered. He shook his head. His voice dropped to a whisper, “Are you positive?” So this would be my new closet? In a society quick to condemn, being healthy-looking and undetectable gave me another reason to hide. When I passed as a straight man, it was an instinctual mode of survival. Passing as HIV-negative could be seen as criminal" - by Tom Eubanks @tomusphere . #ghostsofstvincents #tomeubanks #hivpositive #aidsmemorial #granfury #marksimpson #actup #stvincentshospital #lgbthistory #nychistory #readitandtweet 💉💊🚿
