Did you know?
Most gay men that are HIV positive don’t regret disclosing that they are HIV positive. I was reading an article about a study that was done on men. Some of the participants completely identified as gay, but there were some that said they only had sex with men (Hitti, 2006). This article explained that the average age of the participant was 38 and the men were interviewed every year from 19989-2000. At the end of the study it was concluded that there was a total of 80% of the social networks of the participants who knew they were HIV positive and there was only 4.2% regret status. I thought this was an interesting study, because it made me wonder why people choose not to disclose their status. I was trying to find an article about how many people choose to disclose their status but I was not able to find what I was looking for so if any of you have a source I would love to see it :). I feel that if HIV status was disclosed more often, then it would be less of a big deal and there would be even more awareness. People wouldn’t be as scared of what others might think if they are tested.
Week cuatro!
Ok so this past week I have finished my At Risk book and I was actually very disappointed in the ending. I guess I was expecting more closure. Overall I enjoyed reading the book and it made me analyze my life. Do I treat the unknown with fear like the parents did about HIV? Because I read the book I am now looking at life a little different and I am going to finish of the rest of the books that I bought for the class, because I know that with each page I’ll learn something new.
With this week’s QOTW we were asked to interview 3 people about HIV. One of the people I interviewed was my grandma. She is in her 80’s and lives in Tennessee. When I interviewed her, I asked if she felt that HIV positive people had a negative stigma. Her response made me sick. She stated “Hell yes, and they deserve it!” I wanted to cry, because with everything that I have learned in this class and through life, I know that this is not the case. Needless to say I spent over an hour on the phone with her giving her information from our Module 1 slides, and letting her know that the way she is thinking is contributing to hate crimes and sadness in our country. Over all I know that I didn’t completely change her thoughts on HIV and AIDS, but I know I made a difference and she is not as ready to say that “all people who have HIV were promiscuous and deserve God’s punishment.”
I plan on calling her more often to let her know what we are learning in this class and I have somewhat made her my project. I want her to see that there are so many ways that HIV can be contracted and that it isn’t just people that sleep around and have unprotected sex. I shined some light on the fact that it can be a married man that had an affair and had unprotected sex with his trusting wife, who will in turn catch the virus. She agreed with me that not everyone deserved it and I hope she continues to listen to what I have to say :).
References:
Hitti, M. (2006, May 8). Disclosing HIV Status Without Regrets. Retrieved February 17, 2010, from WebMD Health News: http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/guide/20061101/disclosing-hiv-status-without-regrets
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
To be honest with you, your grandmother is old and set in her ways. She is use to the stereotypes and the misconceptions about what HIV is and how it is contracted. All you can do is continue to educate her and understand that baby steps are necessary.
ReplyDeleteBut there was closure. You knew that she wasn't coming home from the hospital. Ending with her brother and his best friend showed that life goes on, as it should.
ReplyDeleteYou will never completely change the mind of a person in their 80s. They grew up believing in their government; not to question them. So if the government says it is their fault and they deserved it, which they did when they refused to discuss the disease, then she bought into it.
I'll bet if you ask her about babies that get HIV you may hear that it is the sins of the parents being visited upon the child. Many people believe they are just as much to blame as the original sinner. I'm glad you have her to the point where she can admit that not everyone deserves this virus. You will enjoy the panels.