Health News
2006-10-07
L.A. Gay and
Lesbian Center tells gay men to "own" HIV
One of Southern
California's most influential gay institutions has
launched a controversial ad campaign that describes HIV
One of Southern
California's most influential gay institutions has
launched a controversial ad campaign that describes HIV as a
"gay disease.''
The Los Angeles
Gay and Lesbian Center's departure from 20 years of
countering the idea of AIDS as a gay plague is designed to
reach gay men who have grown complacent about the
illness. The message "HIV is a gay disease'' and the
tagline "Own It. End It'' is part of a billboard and
magazine ad campaign.
The amount of
attention from AIDS awareness groups paid to minority women
and others has left gay men, who still represent many of
those infected in the United States and Western
Europe, feeling a false sense of security, proponents
of the campaign said.
"A very alarming
silence has descended over our community with regard
to HIV and AIDS,'' said Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of
the Gay and Lesbian Center. "We believe that most
people in our community do not understand the degree
to which this epidemic continues to be in Los Angeles
largely an epidemic among gay and bisexual men.''
Apathy about AIDS
among gay men is a serious problem on the West Coast,
where most HIV transmission is among men having sex with
other men, public-health officials said.
The ads, however,
have drawn criticism from some, who worry that the
campaign could further stigmatize the disease and make
heterosexual men and women less likely to seek
treatment.
"I applaud the
desire to have more personal responsibility in the gay
community, but this is not the way to achieve it,'' said
Michael Weinstein, head of the Los
Angeles–based AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "AIDS
is not a gay disease. It's not an African-American disease.
It's not a Latino disease. It is a disease of the immune
system.''
In Los Angeles
County about 75% of HIV cases are among men who have had
sex with other men. But nationwide, gay and bisexual men
account for about half of recent HIV transmissions,
according to the national Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta.
Activist Cynthia
Davis said the Los Angeles center's campaign could
erase years of progress in removing the stigma of AIDS among
blacks, a community that is skittish about
homosexuality and at high risk for the disease. "This
is ludicrous. It's ridiculous,'' Davis said. "It's
going backward.'' (AP)
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