Transgender and HIV/AIDS
The San Antonio Gender Association recognizes that because many transgender people are rejected by families, they wind up on the streets and, sadly, often become HIV positive. We encourage everyone to attend World AIDS Day and to be aware of its significance. World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011, is a moment to educate, reinstate, and reinforce the reality of the pandemic of HIV, one which is not necessarily a fatal affliction. It’s a time to remind people that HIV is not a death sentence; however, this fact doesn’t mean one’s health and everyone else’s should be taken for granted.
In August, 1987, James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter first conceived the idea for World AIDS Day. These two gentlemen were public information officers who worked for the Global Programme on AIDS (now known as UNAIDS) at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. They took their idea to the director, Dr. Jonathan Mann, who liked the concept and approved it. On December 1, 1988, the first World AIDS Day was celebrated.
World Aids Day memorializes the lives of many people who have passed away due to accompanying conditions brought about by the HIV virus. Luckily, the creation of antiviral medications that allow the immune system to fight HIV have saved many lives. However, the effectiveness of these medicines has never fully been actualized. Around the world, there is still resistance to safer sex practices, and the availability of HIV antiviral medicines is limited. These factors have contributed to over 25 million lives being lost since 1981.
HIV is a virus which doesn’t really discriminate against who it infects, and AIDS related complications have led to the passing of many people, regardless of one’s sex, legally recognized sex/gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. HIV and Autoimmune Syndrome (AIDS) have forever altered how people look at intimacy with other people.
The presence of this disease has and still causes much fear and misunderstanding since many people have misconceptions to this very day about how infection occurs. However, I want to focus on the fact that being HIV positive is not a death sentence! In some ways, it has caused many people to value the preciousness of human live and the limited time we all have on this earth. Some HIV positive people have felt motivated to be more productive in following their dreams. In the process, they have not only improved their lives, but the lives of others. Because of the impact HIV has had on many people’s lives, it has motivated them to use their time more effectively than they once did. A friend of mine informed me of this realization about 2 years ago. He has become even more grounded in his life, ever since he was diagnosed HIV positive. He strikes me as a man who enjoys life. I truly admire him.
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