Reflection 1: "The Gay Disease"—On the '80s AIDS Crisis

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, doctors began reporting sharp increases in rare types of pneumonia, cancer, and other illnesses in gay men in New York City and Los Angeles. By 1983, a new virus—HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)—had been identified. And the syndrome resulting from infection of HIV was called AIDS. As public health officials began to piece together the AIDS puzzle, the disease was already devastating gay male populations in major US cities. Compounding an already tense situation were the public’s escalating fears and misconceptions about the virus—and those who carried it. AIDS was quickly dubbed a “gay disease,” and those inflicted with the virus, already no strangers to homophobia, faced increased discrimination. By decade’s end, the scope of AIDS grew to include heterosexuals, and slowly a new consciousness about the disease arose. For your first reflection, look back at AIDS in the '80s. What are your impressions of that time? And what do you believe that era can teach us about today? How has American society progressed since those days, and what has remained stubbornly the same?

Choose at least two of the following for your discussion:

• "HIV in the '80s: 'People Didn't Want to Kiss You on the Cheek'" (CNN)
• "[Serious] Gay Men Who Lived Through the HIV Epidemic of the 1980s, What Was it Like?" (Reddit) 
• "These Posters Show what AIDS Meant in the 1980s" (Buzzfeed)
• "Hollywood's Struggle to Deal with AIDS in the '80s" (CNN)
• "Survivors of 1980s AIDS Crisis Reveal What Happened to Them" (GayStarNews)
• "Remembering Ryan White, the Teen Who Fought Against the Stigma of AIDS" (Newshour)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: Th 9.8