Okay, I admit it—I’m gay. Oh, and for those of you who didn’t already know it, I’m HIV-positive. Plus, I’m nearly 50 years old. I’m also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. And along the way, let’s just say I’ve made some choices or developed certain “coping” mechanisms that were not always the wisest or healthiest decisions.
Many of those of us who are gay and HIV-positive share some of these same things in common. Are they co-factors that contribute to the current rates of infection? Or are they pure co-incidence? Are our current prevention messages ineffective? Or have we just grown weary of prevention strategies in general?
Is HIV a gay disease?
If you look at the statistics in the U.S., rates of heterosexual transmission continue to rise. An African American woman is seven times more likely to be HIV-positive than a white woman. And in Africa, heterosexual sex is the main route of transmission, and those most at risk for getting HIV are married women. Nevertheless, gay men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be at high-risk for contracting HIV.
Recent issues of Positively Aware have looked at HIV within the straight community, among people of color, and in our youth. While this issue of Positively Aware only begins to scratch the surface of the question of whether or not HIV is a gay disease, we give you a peek at some of the things that have been going on, at both a local and national level, that hopefully will begin to address some of the concerns of the LGBT community—as well as the people behind the scenes who help make them happen.
In this issue you will hear from retired Illinois State Representative Larry McKeon, as well as his successor Greg Harris, who both tirelessly advocate for the rights of gays and people living with HIV. Turn the pages and find out about a unique program at a Chicago college which blends AIDS, art and activism. Find out why it took so long for Chicago to get its own LGBT community center, and the services that will be provided to those living with HIV. Dr. Marah Lee, a Florida physician with a large number of HIV-positive clients surveys her patients, with some surprising results. A founder of a local gay porn site with dubious practices is run out of town, only to pack up and move elsewhere. Read about the latest statistics on HIV in the gay community, and decide for yourself once and for all whether HIV is a gay disease.
These are just some of the topics covered in this issue of Positively Aware. Whether you are gay or not hopefully shouldn’t make it any more or less compelling to you as a reader or someone who is concerned about HIV. We are all affected by this virus in one way or another. Only when we begin to explore the specific needs, challenges and opportunities that are unique to each of our communities will we start to make some headway in preventing the virus’ spread. It really boils down to basic respect for each other as human beings, without regard to race, gender, religion, age, or sexual orientation.
In a recent reader survey, one of the respondents noted that while Positively Aware was a wonderful publication we should keep it “strictly HIV-related” and the “questionable lifestyles need to stay in [people’s] private homes.” Not to be judgmental, but I can’t help but ask myself, isn’t that what got us here in the first place?
It wasn’t too long ago that segregation existed in this country, “separate but equal.” To this day, in the U.S. and around the world, an undercurrent of racism and intolerance still exists, and seems to rear its ugly head more and more frequently. While we have indeed come a long way, we continually need to fight against the bigotry and injustice, and to educate others lest history repeats itself. Unfortunately there are those who probably would just prefer that it go back to the way it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago—swept under the rug, seen but not heard, and in the “privacy of our own homes.”
The same parallels can be drawn against other marginalized populations, including gays and people with HIV. But dare we retreat? Are we becoming too visible, too vocal, too demanding? Do we risk experiencing a backlash and suffering a setback of many of the basic human rights that we have gained since Stonewall and the early days of ACT UP?
Will there someday be a constitutional amendment that would once and for all settle the question of whether or not we are equal in the eyes of the law?
Let’s hope so.
Take care of yourself, and each other.
Jeff Berry
Editor
publications@tpan.com
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