Woman Studies

Our culture is unique in the way that the media gives sympathy towards certain social problems. People who are diagnosed with certain specified cancers such as breast and leukemia are viewed as heroes and true survivors of a never ending struggle to gain back their once healthy lives. I am not trying to say that those who have such illness do not deserve the attention and praise for some many supporters but am merely pointing out that there is only support given to certain social/ physical problems. Just as homeless programs are often criticized and under funded because of the stigma associated with laziness towards the homeless population, the same ideology can be applied to those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Since the majority of the public believes that the average HIV patient is either homosexual, a drug addict, or a prostitute there is little to no support given by the public. Few realize that this disease it no selective to only a certain race or social class. It, unlike the population, is not racist, concerned with how much money a person makes or an individual's sexual orientation.

AIDS or HIV is something that is not talked about among "proper" conversations and is instead sweep under the rug only making a rare appearance during sexual education classes provided by public schools in which parents have the option to not have their child exposed to them. In Chris Bell's article We Do Not Talk About Such Things Here: My Life So Far as an HIV+Academic Bell have an insight into problems over trying to come out to his class in Poland and the type of reaction and criticism that he received from his fellow teachers. In his article that was a repeated mention of what Bell referred to as "coming out" in reference to his HIV positive status and how that the subject of AIDS/HIV was considered a taboo subject at the university. He also mentioned that there is a certain ideology is place that those who are infected with the disease are often told to remain silent instead of talking about in fear of the type of "image" the person will be associated with. Most often times the image or stereotype is often in reference to an individual's sexual orientation. While some may argue that speaking of it may cause infected individuals to become "walking attraction" it would serve to create a support system for an individual because he or she would realize that they do not have to remain silent. Coming out as HIV positive also serves as a personal insight into the disorder because it puts an actual face on an illness instead of image of the "expected" patient is to be like. When speaking about something as serious as AIDS/HIV it is vital that a person who is infected to be seen as a human being with their own dreams and aspirations instead of a patient with A,B, and C symptoms. By associating the illness with a real person it hit the audience on a personal level because it shows that the disease is not prejudice to who it infects.

If AIDS is ever mentioned any movies or TV shows the "patient" is either dying, victim of a murder, drug addict, or a villain who purposely had unprotected sex to infect as many peoples as possible. AIDS/HIV patients are hardly ever shown as being healthy or able to lead a normal life despite the illness but yet those with cancer or often portrayed as being able to. It is evident also, that those who are "infected" are often encouraged to step down from their duties in the workplace, or Chris Bell's case, as depicted in his article AIDS in Academe: A Story of Silence, Struggle, and Success, to step down from his teaching position at an university. By portraying AIDS/HIV individuals as being weak and unable to have a normal life we are only encouraging the separation between "them" and "us" because we are removing them from society by means of isolation. It is strange though, that in the media continues to depict those suffering with cancer, heart conditions, and other serious illness as being able to continue to their lives but yet continues to not give HIV/AIDS such a luxury. On the other hand, many of the educational videos offered to students about HIV awareness are often to simplizied, in many cases looking more like a fairytale than