AIDS Campaign Calls HIV A 'Gay Disease'

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/09/093006calhiv.htm

One of Southern California's most influential gay institutions has launched a controversial ad campaign that describes HIV as a ``gay disease.''

The L.A. Gay & 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 tag line ``Own It. End It'' will appear on billboards and in magazines.

The amount of attention from AIDS awareness groups paid on minority women and others has left gay men who still represent most of those infected in the U.S. and Western Europe feeling a false sense of security, proponents of the campaign said.

[HockeyMom]

1. How does a Lesbian gets Aids?

Tell me. It almost like saying you can get Aids from, well, self gratification, to put it in polite terms. From the statistics I have read, lesbians have the lowest rate of Aids infection of the entire population, straight or gay.

[uppityperson]

2. That's too bad. It is a disease that kills all sorts of ages/sexes, etc

It doesn't care if you are homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, asexual, etc. I don't see that is has left gay men with a false sense of security, more like it has left non-gay men wiht a false sense of security. Perhaps another push to get the attention of this new generation of all people is needed. My opinion.

[NMMNG]

3. Idiots

:eyes:

[dsc]

4. I can see both sides here

I very much understand the worry that people have of AIDS being thought of as a purely gay disease but I think more than a few younger gays have forgotten it is still a gay disease to the extent that it is one.

[readmoreoften]

5. I really don't get complacency about AIDS/HIV.

And the whole "dark gift" bullshit... it makes me violent.

[and-justice-for-all]

6. thats a big fucking lie!

If its a Gay disease..if it is as they claim, how the hell did prostitutes in India and Africa get it?

Its not a Gay Disease and they know it.

[Moloch]

7. In the United States, AIDS is a predominately gay disease....

Its only appropriate that most of the prevention materials are aimed at gay audiences. I don't really see the problem with this.

From all I've seen, gay males are much more promiscuous than the general population and the attitude seems to be that AIDS is no longer a terminal illness. Infection rates among gay males are going up because of this and I think The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is correct in trying to prevent the spread of this horrible disease.

I'm gay and think its wrong that so many in the gay community are so much against what they perceive as "airing our dirty laundry" in public.

[bigwillq]

8. MEN are more promiscuous in general

not just gay men.