Fighting HIV Stigma

Fighting HIV Stigma

by Todd Heywood

  

The folks at the AIDS Taskforce in Cleveland, Ohio have launched a new program to fight HIV-stigma.

The group has printed up some 4,000 bright red t-shirts emblazoned in black and white HIV-Positive. Those who get the shirt are encouraged to wear it in public. One columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer did just that, choosing to wear his shirt to a gun show.

Tony Brown wrote of the experience on Thursday, noting that he "had no trouble parting the huge crowds," and he noted that he was prevented from touching merchandise that others had been handling.

The "stunt" is a powerful reminder of the impact of being HIV-positive in America. While many folks would like us all to believe that being HIV-positive is just like being a diabetic, this kind of exercise shows in all the simple ugliness, that the two are nothing alike. Besides, show me a law in the U.S. that makes it a crime to not disclose your diabetes to intimate partners. And when was the last time a diabetic was charged with bioterrorism for being who they are and allegedly defending themselves, like Daniel Allen of Clinton Township Michigan?

And the comments on Brown's column are telling as well.

"I do not want the stigma of being even remotely connected to HIV," wrote Callisto.

"Yes, let's remove the stigma of AIDS. Why not go ahead and make AIDS cool," wrote spellchecker99. "Then everybody will want to get AIDS. Actually in some cases a stigma is a good thing. It makes people think twice about doing something if it's going to bring them shame and ridicule."

"I respect the people who are brave enough to participate in this because they are facing prejudice head-on. I had no idea that HIV+ people were treated this way," wrote Gofuzzy. "Even reading these comments here, I'm surprised to see so much hate. No, these t-shirts are NOT trying to make it look cool or desirable to have AIDS, they're just trying to make life easier for the people who are infected. I can't imagine what life would be like having an incurable disease, yet having everyone hate me for it. What's the point? Why do people feel that way?"

So what do you think? Would you spend a day -- regardless of your HIV-status -- walking around your hometown with a t-shirt emblazoned with the words HIV Positive?