I work for two infectious disease physicians and have been involved in the HIV community in the past. Our first assignment for our HIV web class was an assignment on thrush. We've had many patients complain of this infection, and every tale is different. Thrush is an oral yeast infection that some HIV positive individuals experience.
The simulation exercise was unpleasant to say the least! Nausea was the least of my worries, and forget about swallowing. It made me realize what people who are infected with HIV have to deal with. It made me feel blessed that I don't have to go through that, but it also made me sad to know others that do. The exercise was a good reminder for me.
Did you know?
This semester I'd like to blog about behaviors within the HIV positive gay community and discrimination following the HIV positive gay community. While strides have been made in regards to the stigma of HIV, many people, particularly those in the gay community, still face discrimination on a daily basis due to their disease. Some may fear the disease, some may fear the gay community, and some may fear what they do not understand. Ignorance is the basis of this discrimination. The more we know about HIV and how it affects the gay community, the less we have to fear.
A good example of this discrimination is shown in the movie Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks. The court case surrounding this drama showed employers that were not only discriminatory towards Hanks' character due to his disease, but also because of his sexual orientation. The gay community in Orlando is a tight knit one, but not every part of the United States shares in this cohesiveness. There are many places tucked away neatly in parts of our country that think nothing of discriminating based on disease or sexual preference alone.
Back in the 80's when HIV was the "gay cancer" and first became news, the gay community mobilized into action. They created groups, gatherings, marches, and peer counseling at the onset of the disease. In California several gay men advocated to their peers to help them understand what was going on in their communities. Sex education was revamped and awareness was taught so that other gay men and women had an ear to bend and a shoulder to lean on.
Through their grass roots efforts spawned numerous organizations to help those infected and affected with HIV today. We can learn from their efforts by educating ourselves about the disease and what it means to be gay and HIV positive today.
www.avert.org/young-gay-men.htm
Did you know?
This semester I'd like to blog about behaviors within the HIV positive gay community and discrimination following the HIV positive gay community. While strides have been made in regards to the stigma of HIV, many people, particularly those in the gay community, still face discrimination on a daily basis due to their disease. Some may fear the disease, some may fear the gay community, and some may fear what they do not understand. Ignorance is the basis of this discrimination. The more we know about HIV and how it affects the gay community, the less we have to fear.
A good example of this discrimination is shown in the movie Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks. The court case surrounding this drama showed employers that were not only discriminatory towards Hanks' character due to his disease, but also because of his sexual orientation. The gay community in Orlando is a tight knit one, but not every part of the United States shares in this cohesiveness. There are many places tucked away neatly in parts of our country that think nothing of discriminating based on disease or sexual preference alone.
Back in the 80's when HIV was the "gay cancer" and first became news, the gay community mobilized into action. They created groups, gatherings, marches, and peer counseling at the onset of the disease. In California several gay men advocated to their peers to help them understand what was going on in their communities. Sex education was revamped and awareness was taught so that other gay men and women had an ear to bend and a shoulder to lean on.
Through their grass roots efforts spawned numerous organizations to help those infected and affected with HIV today. We can learn from their efforts by educating ourselves about the disease and what it means to be gay and HIV positive today.
www.avert.org/young-gay-men.htm
Without the gay community, we wouldn't have what we do today. They marched in the streets demanding their government do something about this disease. They watch a government turn a blind eye to their appeals and watched many of their friends die as a result.
ReplyDeleteThe straight community should be on bended knee thanking them for all their efforts because we reaped the rewards of their suffering. We have drugs available now that can make the virus undetectable. We have people working and living where before we had people out of work and dying.
Now the straight community needs to keep the fight going. They need to be the knights in shining armor and see to it that the government continues to make this a priority. It will be up to students like you to do what is right.
Nice start to your blog, Cindy. I look forward to future blogs.
Hello Cindy,
ReplyDeleteJust looking at the pictures of the cotton balls made my mouth water. The thrush assignment was very hard for me to finish because of my gag reflex. I immediately spit out the first cotton swab, and had to cut them in half to finish. It was an excellent learning experience for me, and I am saddened that people have to go through that.
You chose an excellent topic for your "Did You Know". I'm sure you will not have a problem researching this topic because it is so broad. I was glad to see how organized your facts were, and the movie example really helped me to capture your point.
I look forward to learning about the past and present of the HIV positive community in your "Did You Know". I came to this class because I do not know a lot about HIV, and your topic will help me each week to learn something new.
-Courtney Di Stasio
Cindy I think you did a great job with this post. When I read the introduction to this class and I saw that we were going to have to watch a movie I immediately thought of Philadelphia. I thought that movie was so good and a great example of how cruel some people can be and just like you said, because of their ignorance they discriminate.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about incorporating the aspect of the gay community but I am glad that you brought it to our attention because like Teach said, without their community, we would all not be where we are today. With your knowledge of working for the infectious disease physicians I think you can bring a different perspective than many can because you have experience with HIV positive patients; this is why I signed up for this class. Great job.
Hey Cindy,
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to read your blog! I know we have talked before through the Question of the Week discussion. I was just wondering how you were involved in the HIV community before? I would love to hear more input from you as you are already working in the medical field. I think you would have a unique outlook on what we are learning.
I will also be very interested to read your "Did You Know" feature. I think it is appalling how our government reacted to the gay community and HIV. It is just beyond me that humans can discriminate to the point where they don't care if a person lives or dies.
I look forward to hearing more from you!
Good Luck,
Courtney
Hey Courtney G.,
ReplyDeleteI used to do a lot of volunteer work within the gay community from the mid 90's to around 2002. Working side by side with those afflicted with the disease and seeing them daily at work was commonplace at the time, but I soon realized I could only handle so many funerals and kind of got burnt out.
In 2002 I pulled away from volunteer activities and started working from home. I'll still attend certain events here and there. I still see and talk to a lot of patients because of my work with the doctors, but not as much as I used to. I realized to keep my own sanity it had be be this way, at least for now.
And yes, how our government reacted to the virus in the early days was embarrassing to say the least. I hope to delve into this topic a little more later in the semester. Thank you for your comments!