World Aids Day: AIDS and LGBTQ+ Relationships
hello everyone! in case you don't know me, i am kate, the Community Mentor Leader of the LGBTQ+ subcommunity!
Since today is World AIDS Day, the CML of the R&F subcommunity and I have collaborated and co-written this discussion regarding AIDS and LGBTQ+ relationships :)
What is AIDS?
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Through the damage that HIV causes to the body's immune system, HIV hinders the body from fighting off infection and disease. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It can also be spread by contact with infected blood or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. In the absence of medication, it can take years before HIV weakens your immune system to the point of AIDS. There's no cure for HIV/AIDS, but medications can dramatically slow the progression of the disease. These medications have helped reduce AIDS-related deaths in developed countries.
Possible signs and symptoms include:
Fever
Headache
Muscle aches and joint pain
Rash
Sore throat and painful mouth sores
Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Cough
-
Night sweats
AIDS and LGBTQ+ Relationships
There has been an ongoing health epidemic that has plagued the LGBTQ+ community. The spread of AIDS within the community has been an issue for them since the 1980s. During the early days of the AIDS epidemic, gay and bisexual men were among the hardest hit groups in the United States.
In most states, it is perfectly legal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their sexual orientation or their gender identity in one or more aspects of their life, including employment, housing, and public accommodations. Explicit non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity do not exist at the federal level either. Dealing with the potential consequences of bias and discrimination – job loss, homelessness, lack of healthcare insurance – often results in LGBTQ people engaging in behaviors that facilitate the spread of HIV. For example, in the face of persistent employment discrimination, many transgender women are left with few other options but to engage in survival sex work in order to meet their most basic needs.
Gay and bisexual men and women are still marginalized in a society that privileges heterosexuality and denigrates nonheterosexual relationships, behaviors, and identities, despite increased visibility, acceptance, and recent social advances. As a result, their population continues to face stigma rarely encountered by their heterosexual counterparts. Oppressive social structures and inequalities affecting gay and bisexual men have been implicated in perpetuating not only the HIV epidemic but other health-related issues for the LGBTQ community. For gay and bisexual youth who are just beginning to explore their sexuality, homophobia and other forms of anti-LGBTQ bias help explain why so many young people in our community are unaware of their HIV status.
Exposure to and experiences of homophobia have been implicated in substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, negative body image, suicide attempts, increased stress, and limited social support among the community.
HIV prevention
Following decades of inadequate funding, the US nation’s public health infrastructure lacks the resources it needs to respond aggressively to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. This arrangement has been devastating for members of the LGBTQ community since the little funding that does exist for HIV prevention, treatment, and care has not been focused on or funded in the communities most impacted by HIV. The Ryan White Care Program, for instance, has been flat-funded (i.e, remained the same) since its reauthorization in 2009 despite an increasing number of people living with HIV in the U.S. coming to rely on it for medical and social support.
Federal and state programs are also hampered by policy decisions grounded in ideology rather than science such as the allocation of more than $1 billion to failed abstinence-only sex education programs or the enactment of outdated HIV criminalization statutes. In more than 30 states, people living with HIV can be tried and imprisoned simply because a partner accuses them of withholding their HIV status. There’s no proof these laws work, and they run counter to public health by perpetuating stigma and subsequently deterring people from getting tested or treated for HIV.
Questions for you to answer (if you're comfortable)!:
1. do you know anyone who is HIV/AIDS positive? if yes, do you know how they feel about being positive and how it has impacted their life?
2. how educated would you say you are regarding HIV/AIDS? has your school ever discussed that topic?
Co-written by the R&F subcommunity CML @CheeryMango and the LGBTQ+ subcommunity CML @KateDoskocilova
sources used for this discussion:
HIV/AIDS - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
https://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/exchange/2012/04/discrimination-homophobia
How HIV Impacts LGBTQ+ People - HRC
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/aids-epidemic-lasting-impact-gay-men/
https://www.lgbtmap.org/HIV-AIDS
https://www.hivlegalnetwork.ca/site/our-work/lgbtq-rights/?lang=en
https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/hivaids-and-education-lessons-1980s-and-gay-male-com
https://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/resources/pdfs/TenThingsHIV.pdf
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Thank you so much @CheeryMango and @KateDoskocilova for creating such an informative and well-researched post and spreading awareness!
@KateDoskocilova
1. Do you know anyone who is HIV/AIDS? If yes, do you know how they feel about being positive and how it has impacted their life?
Given the nature of my occupation, I have known many people who are HIV/AIDS positive over the decades. It is amazing to me how far the field of investigational medicine has come in the treatment of people with HIV/AIDS. I remember so many who took the first AIDS drug zidovudine (AZT) to extend their lives. Where I work we have investigated many different substances to see if they were candidates for clinical trials for the treatment of this terrible disease. Many of the people I have met who are HIV/AIDS positive at first felt as though a horrible injustice had been done to them. But many have now come to realize that being an advocate for others in their condition can become a positive happening and be a fulfilling experience.
2. How educated would you say you are regarding HIVI/AIDS? Has your school discussed this topic?
I would say I am rather knowledgeable about this topic since I have worked with the virus at its inception into society in the early 1980's. Societal mores being what they are; it is difficult to reach those who need information on this topic because of how some people view those who are at risk of this disease. My high school had no information since I attended when there was no virus in society. 🏥