A Queer Education: HIV/AIDS

Editor’s note: Okay, before we start, I did make an Instagram post briefly talking about this - but it was hard to keep it short and relevant and still pack enough info in. So here goes. Also, you can probably find better sources than little old me with a few google searches but I appreciate how overwhelming that can be so I want to give you the important facts in this blog.

Also I am obviously building off the momentum created by It's a Sin and I would strongly recommend watching that as it paints a stunning picture of what it would have been like to experience the AIDS epidemic.

I'm gonna keep this as short as I possibly can so it's easy to read...

What are HIV and AIDS?

Well, dear reader, I don't blame you if you don't know. For a long, long time, HIV and AIDS have been ignored and stigmatised. It was only acknowledged at the peak of the epidemic and since then it has been ignored as something of the past.

Here's some jargon:

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the name used to describe a number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that happen when your immune system has been severely damaged by the HIV virus.

In other words, you can catch HIV like any other STI, or via sharing needles, and this is perfectly treatable in 2021, but if HIV goes untreated it will most likely go on to develop into AIDS, from which there is very little chance of survival.

Lets be clear: If you were to contract HIV, you will still be able to live a perfectly healthy and long life as long as you identify it early by getting regular testing. We have come a long way since the AIDS Pandemic.

After contracting HIV, you may be asymptomatic for around 3 years, which is why it is so important to get tested regularly.

Wait... there was another Pandemic?

Yes! Again, it's not something we are really taught about in school, but it happened, and we lost a whole generation of LGBTQ adults to a disease that they didn't need to be affected by.

This was a direct result of homophobia.

The AIDS pandemic/epidemic is largely considered to have begun in 1981 when gay men in large cities in the US began dying due to a rare lung infection similar to pneumonia. It was the first time this kind of disease would adversely affect young, healthy people.

For a long time, this was played off as a "gay plague", and many people said that it was punishment for a gay man's sins. It was eventually realised that people of any gender and sexuality could contract HIV,

By 1990, there was though to be up to 10 million people living with HIV worldwide.

By 1999, global deaths hit 14 million, AIDS was the fourth largest cause of death in the world, and the top cause of death in Africa.

As of 2019, over 38 million people across the globe living with HIV, with almost 2 million individuals testing positive that year.

How did this happen?

Homophobia, mainly!

Things like Section 28 (in place 1988-2003) was introduced by Margaret Thatcher and had a momentous impact on the way LGBTQ people in the UK were treated, it meant that schools could not "promote" homosexuality, and it had the effect of homophobic bullying massively increasing because teachers were powerless to get involved in defending a potentially queer pupil.

In the UK, it has been argued many times (notably in Channel 4's ground-breaking series It's a Sin) that a lot of the reason gay men ignored life-saving advice and continued to have unprotected sex whilst being aware of theoretical risks is because they were raised in a society that undermined the value of the lives of gay men and told them they deserved to die for leading sinful lives, and that they were going to hell regardless. This attitude still exists today and is something we can all work to deconstruct.

On top of this, there was a lot of mis-information spreading the same way that it does now about the COVID-19 pandemic, but back then there was a lack of government attention and support.

Can I catch HIV?

Short answer: Yes. No matter who you are having sex with, no matter your sexuality, if you have unprotected sex you are exposing your self and/or your sexual partner to HIV, among other sexually transmitted infections. Other than unprotected or vaginal sex, HIV can be transmitted through sharing needles and through birth/breastfeeding. You cannot contract HIV via spit or toilet seats!

There are many ways to prevent transmission of HIV. Including but not limited to using condoms and PrEP.

Current targets predict that AIDS can be eliminated as a global threat as soon as 2030 as long as we all do our part and get tested regularly.

Even if you do test positive for HIV, if you are on effective treatment you literally can not pass it on to sexual partners.

So what's PrEP?

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, is medication you can take if you think you may be at risk for contracting HIV. If you are planning on having unprotected sex, PrEP reduces your chance of transmission down by 99%, and it is available on the NHS, which is absolutely amazing.

Obviously, I can not recommend having unprotected sex with anyone, especially if you do not know their HIV status. Even if you are on PrEP, you should continue to get tested every three months or with every new sexual partner, as it does not reduce transmission of other STI's.

What can I do now?

Along with donating money to many organisations aiming to help stopping the spread of HIV, you can help to destigmatise HIV by getting tested regularly, having open conversations with your peers about sex and educating people as best you can (Maybe you can even send them this blog post hehe).

In my experience, there has already been a lot of work done to destigmatise getting tested for HIV. I am lucky to live in a big city with a high LGBT population, but there were several places to get tested before the COVID-19 pandemic, and even now you can likely order an easy-to-use home testing kit here.

Stay safe, and talk openly if you have any concerns, feel free to message me here.

Naz