HIVaids?

If I were to tell you that HIV/AIDS has been one of the worst global public health disasters we’ve seen, would you nod in agreement? And if I were to tell you that HIV/AIDS has proven to be one of the strongest biological and social weapons we’ve faced, would you remember and recognize the bodily and societal destruction it caused? And, finally, if I were to tell you that HIV/AIDS, in it’s unfortunate feat over the marginalized communities of gay people, prostitutes, and drug users actually provided a platform for society to finally take an interest in their health and well being, would you believe me?

The HIV/AIDS epidemic that swept the globe caused undeniable death, destruction, and despair, as it continues to do today in many parts of the world. I find HIV one of the most fascinating and awe-inducing organisms for reasons that include and extend past it’s biological intelligence. First of all there is no cure for HIV/AIDS and there is no vaccine (there may, in fact, never be a vaccine). The virus is brilliantly smart, a chameleon within our own body and a master of trickery. When learning about the many ways that HIV evades the immune system I decided that if I were ever to become a warlord, I would design my strategy off that of HIV. The thing is outstanding! A true example of nature’s superior engineering skills. But HIV does more than just destroy the bodies of those it inhabits, it destroys the societies it infects and the families it becomes a part of. Its very nature of transmission took advantage of the practices society was most afraid of: intravenous drug use, gay sex, and sex work. And so here we have one of the most destructive viruses killing some of the least visible people, with a ten-year asymptomatic phase. Yes, ten years. A decade of silent transmission. And thus we have the basics of HIV, perhaps one of the most terrifying diseases to ever plague society.

I return to the third question I asked at the beginning of this post. Having heard the ruthless nature of HIV would you still consider that this epidemic allowed for empowerment? That HIVaided anyone? I cannot answer this question fully yet, but there is substantial evidence to consider this. Due to it’s infectious nature, in many ways HIV/AIDS forced the public to take an interest in the health of individuals who were affected. This meant that it was suddenly in everyone’s best interest to care if intravenous drug users were using clean needles, to care if sex workers could exercise the freedom to wear a condom, and to care if gay people were engaging in safe sex. This of course was not the immediate response, but it grew out of a growing concern for the health and wellbeing of everyone because, as we soon learnt, HIV/AIDS is not a disease sent by God to kill those who do not live by His teachings. Narrowing the focus to the gay population specifically, I ask if we as a society have made any improvements on issues of sexual orientation since the rise of HIV/AIDS? Have these changes happened because of, or regardless of, this epidemic? Would the gay rights movement be as successful today without the effects of HIV/AIDS? Would we have marriage equality? To what extent did the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US provide a platform for gay rights?

Over the course of the next few months I will attempt to answer these questions and to take a deeper look into the relationship between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the gay rights movement. I hope to uncover a deeper understanding of issues of power struggles, marginalization, and social perceptions, as they pertain to the health of individuals.