Oprah Show - HIV/AIDS in America

So I just got done watching Oprah that I had DVR'd from last week featuring Magic Johnson his wife Cookie, 6 women living with HIV and a group of African American men living on the D/L (Down Low). The show was called HIV/AIDS in America.

It was amazing to me to see that the number one cause of death for African American women aged 18-35 is HIV/AIDS. And the CDC suggests that there are a quarter of a million (250,000) people who are infected with the virus and unaware. For this reason in the last few weeks the CDC has made a recommendation that EVERYONE aged 13-65 be tested at least once for HIV, regardless of believed risk.

POZ magazine (September 2006)shared information regarding a poll they ran on poz.com in July 2006. The question asked of those living with HIV was - "Have you ever withheld your [HIV] status in order to have sex with someone?" 45% responded YES and 55% responded NO. So basically nearly half of those living with HIV have not shared their HIV status with a sexual partner at some time. This is particularly troubling and scary information, especially for our younger gay men or anyone for that matter.

Contributing risk issues for may gay men include: A poor sense of self (lower self esteem) so often seen in any marginalized group; A desire for emotional and physical connection with another, often times at a cost of giving up important aspects of themselves in order to be connected to another; alcohol and or other recreational drug use; and the perception that 'this cannot happen to me' or a misperception of risk with a novel partner.

We can all spread the word to our friends and in particular take on the responsibility of educating younger gay men we may meet along the way. If you are with a sexual partner and the issue of safer sex or condom use has not come up, rest assured it has not come up in his past sexual experiences either, leaving you potentially at risk.

You are worthy, deserving and a valuable human being. Take responsibility to raise the bar for self-love and self-care. When we care enough about ourself we take action to care for our bodies, relationships and life. For more information check out my website on this topic - HIV Resources and Testing Locations in RI

Your comments always welcome.