Hard and Soft AIDS Activism in the United States
How different activist groups have used their unique methods to help the AIDS crisis.
When looking at activist groups, one can see how each group presents their activism differently from each other, no matter what their cause for activism has been. Some forms of activism are viewed more positively than others, based usually on whether they are “soft” or “hard” in the world of activism. In the case of HIV/AIDS activism, there were three primary AIDS activist groups for when the crisis first began to occur in the 1980’s, each taking their activism in extremely different directions. ACT UP of New York tended to take the more “radical” (or “hard”) approach to activism, where as the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt could be said to show the peaceful (or “softer”) side of activism. Although both were effective in what they were trying to achieve, it is important to look at why each movement worked in the way that they did, and how that contributed to the over image and effectiveness of “AIDS Activism”.
Hard Activism
An example of a more radical or “hard” side of activism could relate to the activism of ACT UP, as they focused on multiple forms of confrontational activism. ACT UP, which stands for “AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power”, demanded answers from pharmaceutical companies, the medical community, as well as the government when it related to HIV/AIDS. Although they were strictly non-violent, their actions were certainly confrontational, and caused them to get the recognition they needed to move forward in the AIDS crisis.
ACT UP NY held die-in’s, demonstrations where people pretend to be dead by lying down on the ground. Often ACT UP made these highly disruptive because of the fact that they were in active public spaces, so therefore it was difficult for people to not pay attention to them. In this, they were presenting a form of activism which replicated the dead of the AIDS crisis, an issue that was not being addressed at the time. This can be considered a “hard” form of activism simply because of how much it could interfere in the lives of others despite efforts to ignore it, and how it highlighted an aspect of the AIDS crisis that no one seemed to want to talk about in society. General Protesting was always a large part of ACT UP, and they carried out protests that lasted four days long, protests where 3,000 people participated, and protests where large numbers of people were arrested. Often during these protests, people would literally be carried out by police, simply because they would not move from the scene during their non-violent and necessary protest. Protests by ACT UP often involved shouting chants such as “ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!” and “GAYS AND LESBIANS UNDER ATTACK. WHAT DO WE DO? ACT UP! FIGHT BACK!” to make the public and the institutions they were protesting aware of what exactly they were fighting for.
The amount that ACT UP was able to achieve in the end was truly astonishing. ACT UP caused the FDA to expedite the drug approval process as well as get people access to the drugs that were unable to have them previously. They successfully pushed the medical community perform research on more groups such as women and people of color, who were primarily being ignored during the AIDS crisis until activist groups came into play. They were able to force pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices of AIDS drugs that people needed to live, and they helped open the discussion about HIV/AIDS to the public. In all, ACT UP did so much to help people with HIV/AIDS multiple different communities.
Soft Activism
If someone were to think about the “softer” side of activism, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt could be seen as highly effective and emotionally stimulating in the world of AIDS activism as well. Although the quilt is not specifically “in your face” such as the activism presented by ACT UP, it still is able to hold so much value to the activism for AIDS. Cleve Jones, activist for HIV/AIDS, was inspired by place cards he and his friends had created in honor of people who had passed away from AIDS at an event, because after the event, Jones, as well as other people, taped these place cards onto the walls of the San Francisco Federal Building. Jones said that they looked as though they were a part of a quilt square as they were taped onto the wall, thus forming the idea for the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
As a “soft” form of activism, it still is able to accomplish quite a lot. One aspect of the AIDS Memorial Quilt that should be addressed is how anyone can submit a quilt square to it, and it can be of anyone that has passed away from AIDS. This makes the quilt inclusive, and ideally anyone has the ability to perform this version of activism. The quilt itself is a statement, as it is made to resemble the graves of people, consisting of 3-by-6-foot memorial panels. Although it is a quilt, this is bringing attention to the fact that people are dying because of AIDS, and it is a lot of people. There is over 48,000 quilt panels today, and the number is growing. Just having the AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed is a lot of effort due to it’s shear weight and size, and when people view it, it can be a very emotional experience whether they have personal connections to HIV/AIDS or not.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is also a positive aspect of “soft” form of activism because it is more accessible to people who may not want to be involved with the “harder” sides of activism. If someone does not want to be specifically confrontational, have the possibility of getting arrested during the time when ACT UP often involved the police, or someone is unable to be at events due to the possibility of being outed, or simply not being able to make it to events, creating a quilt square to honor people who have passed away from AIDS might me a more fitting statement to make. Even former president Bill Clinton was able to interact with the AIDS Memorial Quilt, being the first president to address the situation at hand.
Gran Fury
Gran Fury is an activist group that came out of ACT UP, and is specifically connected to art. This activist group creates bold art associated with AIDS in order to make a statement, similar to the statement that ACT UP also makes. Gran Fury is the creator of “SILENCE=DEATH”, one of the main logos of ACT UP and their vital AIDS activist movement. “The potency of the SILENCE=DEATH piece lies in its concentration of political, psychological, and historical insights into a highly abbreviated form so that it is not so much read or viewed as it is experienced.” (3) Their art caused people to feel, to experience, and connect to the AIDS crisis. Not only that, but it actually demanded that people think about the AIDS epidemic, and screamed that message though posters, and other multi-media art forms.
Although the image may no longer circulate as it did 15 to 20 years ago, its legacy continues to benefit persons living with AIDS throughout the world.
Although their AIDS activism is different from groups such as ACT UP because it is primarily about the art, it is also different than the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt because of the fact that their art demands answers, and change. Their Posters addressed the government, political leaders, and they did it in a way which pushed the boundaries, for both art and activism.
In all, AIDS activist groups may have different forms of activism that they utilize, but whether they are “soft” or “hard” forms of activism doesn’t make one or the other less valid. Although ACT UP took a more aggressive approach that accomplished a lot for the AIDS movement does not mean that the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt did not accomplish anything. The AIDS Memorial Quilt allowed a more accessible to some form of activism, and connected itself to a peaceful approach to the AIDS epidemic. Gran Fury rested itself in the middle of the two, being primarily focused on the art, but its art making extremely bold statements for the time it was being created. For whatever form of activism you participate in, know that you are making a difference.
References:
- “The Names Project — AIDS Memorial Quilt.” The Names Project. Accessed April 23, 2018. http://www.aidsquilt.org/.
- “30TH ANNIVERSARY We’re Not Celebrating.” ACT UP New York. Accessed April 24, 2018. http://www.actupny.org/.
- Sember, Robert and David Gere. “”Let the Record show . . .”: Art Activism and the AIDS Epidemic.” American Journal of Public Health 96, no. 6 (06, 2006): 967–9, http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2443/docview/215087348?accountid=28748 (accessed April 24, 2018).
- Gill-Peterson, Julian. “HAUNTING THE QUEER SPACES OF AIDS.” GLQ: A Journal Of Lesbian & Gay Studies 19, no. 3 (July 2013): 279–300. LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2018).
- Fee, Elizabeth. “The AIDS Memorial Quilt.” American Journal of Public Health 96 (June 2006): 6. Accessed April 23, 2018. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.088575.
