June 5, 2021
By Emma Ferschweiler
Editor-in-Chief
This article is part of The Lighthouse’s four-part Pride Month in-depth reporting series.
More than 700,000 have died of AIDS in the United States since the first reported cases appeared in June 1981. Exactly 40 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first warning about a relatively rare form of pneumonia identified in a small group of gay men in Los Angeles. Their illness was later determined to be AIDS-related.
As the virus spread across the globe, minority groups especially affected by AIDS, particularly the LGBTQ+ community, became stigmatized. Many avoided HIV positive people and treated them as outcasts.
History teacher Mr. Spence, who co-advises the Gay Straight Alliance Club, said people were looking for a group to blame so they could feel the disease would not affect them. He said drug addicts were another group that was scapegoated.
“The first thing many people think about when they hear of HIV and AIDS is the LGBTQ+ community and drug users,” Spence said. “That is an unfortunate result of the rhetoric that was used when the disease first came around, and it’s a big misconception nowadays.”
HIV and AIDS can be transmitted to people of any gender or sexual preference; risk of transmission can be lowered by use of protection and safe sex practices.
Spence said in the 80s, the AIDS diagnosis caused rifts in families.
“Parents didn’t want anything to do with their children if they found out they had HIV or AIDS, so healthcare professionals essentially became family members,” Spence said.
While some AIDS patients found solace in healthcare workers, there are stories of people being denied treatment because of the possible transmission of the disease through blood.
Gay men faced the brunt of the discrimination associated with this virus, which led to AIDS gaining the reputation of being a “gay disease.” In fact, it was only five-and-a-half years ago that the Food and Drug Administration eliminated the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men that barred them from donating blood on the basis of presumptions regarding riskier sexual behaviors and because of the prevalence of AIDS in these communities. This reasoning discounts the rigorous tests blood is put through before it is given to a patient. It also disregards the fact that not all straight blood donors practice safe sex. This treatment of gay men as “health risks” or a burden on society presents troubling psychological effects to the LGBTQ+ community.
In December 2015, the FDA reduced the ban so gay and bisexual men would be eligible to donate blood as long as they hadn’t had sex with another man over the past 12 months. Due to national blood shortages, this timeframe was reduced to three months during the pandemic.
The stigma and fear of death surrounding AIDS can lead to depression, anxiety and irritability. There is currently no cure for HIV and AIDS, but modern drugs slow the virus from replicating in the body, so it is no longer a death sentence but rather a manageable health condition.
In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, government-sponsored public service announcements reflected the fear people had about the relatively unknown disease. While the ads caused people to behave more cautiously, it also heightened the ostracism HIV positive people felt. The inadequacy of this campaign to educate about how HIV is transmitted and treated perpetuated the myth that one could contract AIDS simply by being near an HIV positive person.
The Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the world’s oldest HIV/AIDS service organization, was established in 1981 in New York City to combat the burden the disease put on LGBTQ+ people.
Spence said the falsehoods that circulated during the AIDS crisis mirrored the spread of misinformation and disinformation that has occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a new pandemic broke out, there were lots of similarities between the coronavirus and HIV and AIDS. To have public figures deny the problem was kind of like PTSD for the LGBTQ+ community. How could this be happening again? How have we not learnt our lesson,” Spence said.
Gay men faced the brunt of the discrimination associated with this virus, which led to AIDS gaining the reputation of being a “gay disease.”
Recent bigotry against the Asian American community highlights another similarity between the coronavirus and HIV/AIDS. Like LGBTQ+ members, Asian Americans are facing discrimination and being unfairly blamed for the disease.
Films including “Philadelphia” (1993) and “The Ryan White Story” (1989) as well as the Broadway show “Rent” (1996) have brought more attention to the virus and corrected commonly held assumptions. These forms of entertainment humanized the victims of AIDS, changing the narrative of the virus from being the “gay disease” to an illness affecting anybody.
English teacher and musical director Mrs. Ruiz said when she thinks about the depiction of HIV/AIDS in the media, “Rent” immediately comes to mind.
“When I first saw this musical on Broadway [in 2000], I was a senior in high school,” Ruiz said. “Of course, I was aware of what AIDS was, but… this musical opened my eyes to the reality of what this disease could actually do in reference to the lives of everyday people.”
She said although “Rent” is fictional, it is rooted in truth, reality and the emotions surrounding the devastation caused by disease.
“The musical also reinforced some of the different ways in which HIV/AIDS could be spread and [incidentally] addressed some common misconceptions,” Ruiz said.
She said the arts promote greater understanding and awareness about HIV/AIDS.
“It is necessary for people to be educated not only on the disease itself, for safety purposes, but on the ways in which it impacts others who are not infected. By continuing to see all sides of this epidemic in many kinds of media, it will continue to be beneficial for the spread of knowledge about the disease and may create less of a stigma surrounding those with the disease itself,” Ruiz said.
The work of outspoken celebrities has also aided in reducing the stigma surrounding AIDS. Famed Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Magic Johnson announced his HIV diagnosis in 1991, stating that he contracted the virus from a heterosexual relationship. His diagnosis catapulted him into activism. Since then, he has raised more than $20 million for charity and scholarships.
Johnson’s influence extended past his fame and fundraising. His story conveyed that even straight people can contract HIV. It opposed the misconception that only gay, white males could test positive. Johnson has been a beacon of hope since he continues to lead an active lifestyle almost 30 years after announcing his diagnosis.
Other celebrities involved in the fight against AIDS include the late playwright Larry Kramer, who co-founded the GMHC, and singer-songwriter Elton John, who co-founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Both work to raise money and reduce the stigma surrounding the virus.
Senior Emily Acosta, who plans to major in biology and go into a medical field, said HIV/AIDS is still stigmatized in the healthcare community. She said this is problematic because healthcare workers are responsible for caring for the sick.
Acosta said education is the key to reducing stigma in the healthcare profession and believes positive changes are occurring.
“The rising generation is more aware and educated, which should help stop the stigma of HIV and prevent health discrimination,” Acosta said.
She said she hopes HIV and AIDS will be eradicated before she enters the medical field, but she said she understands that making headway in curing the disease will take time.
“It’s important to raise awareness about preventing and stopping AIDS so people don’t forget… to get tested and do their best to slow the spread and hopefully end it,” said Acosta.
