HIVAware – Bad Reputation A feminist pop culture adventure Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6 37601771 A post-World AIDS Day Linkpost: Go Forth And Read /2011/12/02/a-post-world-aids-day-linkpost-go-forth-and-read/ /2011/12/02/a-post-world-aids-day-linkpost-go-forth-and-read/#respond Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:01 +0000 http://www.badreputation.org.uk/?p=8625 So, you’ve read HIV Aware, you’ve mythbusted with us (and thank you, by the way, everyone who linked and RT’d that post on Twitter and elsewhere)… what now?

Image of a giant red AIDS awareness ribbon made by scattering many individual little ribbons on a white sheet in the looped shape of a ribbon. Image by Flickr user lusciousblopster, shared under Creative Commons licenceWhat about stigma? As we tweeted yesterday, Act Aware isn’t, and should never be, about judging and othering people who are living with HIV. It should never be about erasure.

Unfortunately for all of us, the majority of mainstream media approaches to HIV issues in the UK are either woefully ill-informed, groaning under the weight of crappily pieced-together assumptions, often even kind of creepily bigoted, or just plain fifteen years out of date. Even with NAT’s helpful press guide freely available. Hooray.

But here’s a thing: if you’re reading this, you’re in luck. For lo, the internet is as full of glory as it is full of shit. And with very little effort on your part it basically becomes your own PERSONAL BULLSHIT ESCAPE TUNNEL. And we’re about to make it even easier.

So here are some World AIDS Day links you might or might not have seen before, which we’ve been reading at BadRep Towers. Beyond Acting Aware and reading myths and facts, are real people. So go and read about them. Make it so!

So, hey. You have all this stuff at your fingertips! Connect. Discover. Find stuff out. What’s the point of being on a feminist pop culture adventure if you don’t, you know, go forth and read? Exactly.

]]> /2011/12/02/a-post-world-aids-day-linkpost-go-forth-and-read/feed/ 0 8625 Markgraf’s World AIDS Day Rampage /2011/12/01/markgrafs-world-aids-day-rampage/ /2011/12/01/markgrafs-world-aids-day-rampage/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:00:23 +0000 http://www.badreputation.org.uk/?p=8715 HELLO, INTERNET.  My name is Markgraf.  In recognition of World AIDS Day this year, I’ve been rampaging all over Cambridge city centre with FACTS, my talented friend Kirsten (who took the completely amazing photographs) and a whole load of mis-behaving paper!

COLD HARD FACTS ON IRRITATINGLY FLIMSY PAPER

ARE YOU READY FOR THE FACTS?  Of course you are.  Everyone should be ready for facts about HIV transmission and statistics, because it’s ignorance that fuels prejudice, and prejudice that shits on people’s lives.
A photograph of a young man holding a placard in a busy town centre. The crowd is blurred out, and the figure of the young man sharp and colourful in contrast. The placard reads, 'FACT: More people than ever are living with HIV in the UK, but prejudice makes keeps them silent and makes their lives extremely difficult'

Fun fact: there’s effective treatments for both HIV and hideous misinformation and ignorance!

A photograph of a young man posing with a placard against a building. The placard reads, 'FACT: you cannot get HIV from a kiss, or by sharing a cup or a plate or a hug.'

…So hug away! :D

A photograph of a young man crouching on a fountain, holding a placard. The placard reads, 'MYTH: Only gay men can get HIV. In 2010, the majority of new HIV diagnoses were acquired heterosexually.'

Can we stop assuming things about people’s lifestyles, now?  Please?

A photograph of a young man holding a placard above his head while standing on the wall in front of King's College, Cambridge. The placard reads, 'MYTH: Lots of people come to the UK for free HIV treatment. No they don't! Most migrants with HIV don't even know it.'

HIV can be spread regardless of anyone’s background or immigration status.  And you can’t seek out treatment for free for a virus you don’t know you have.  Get yourself screened regularly.

A photograph of a young man looking perplexed while holding a placard in a busy market. The placard reads, 'MYTH: You can get HIV from a fish pedicure. What? No! This has never happened and there is no evidence that it ever could.'

I mean, the fish don’t even get anywhere near your bloodstream. And if they do, YOU HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN HIV TRANSMISSION TO WORRY ABOUT AS YOU ARE PRESUMABLY RECEIVING A SHARK PEDICURE.1

AND THAT’S A WRAP, FOLKS.  Pop over to HIVAware for more.

A photograph of a young man looking determined while holding a placard and stepping dramatically into a red old fashioned phonebox. The placard reads, "FACT: More people than ever are living with HIV in the UK, but prejudice makes keeps them silent and makes their lives extremely difficult."

Spread facts, not fear.  Wear a ribbon.  Get screened.

  1. Ed’s note: For those made curious by the fish pedicure placard, this is a misconception that’s currently so widespread, it has its OWN SECTION on the HIVAware Mythbusting FAQ. Yeah.
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