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30 Amazing HIV-Positive Gay Men
Here are 30 great guys who HIV Plus magazine named to its annual list of men who are reinventing what it means to be HIV-positive.
Advocate.com Editors
www.advocate.com/health/here-inspire/2014/12/01/30-amazing-hiv-positive-gay-men
Once, When Gay Men Were Heroes
Queerty contributor Mark S. King posted this World AIDS Day remembrance on his blog My Fabulous Disease.
My brother Richard smiles a lot. He has an easy laugh. But there was a time, years ago, when he held a poisonous drink in his hands and begged his dying lover not to swallow it. A time when Richard held the concoction they had prepared together and wept.
Emil couldn’t wait. He took the drink from Richard quickly, because the release it offered was something more rapturous than the appeals of his lover of thirteen years.
It was Emil’s wish to die on his own terms if living became unbearable, a promise made one to the other. When that time arrived, however, Richard wanted another moment, just a little more time to say, “I love you, Emil,” over and over again, before the drink would close Emil’s eyes and quietly kill him.
Richard has a charming store in my hometown today, where he sells collectibles and does theater in his free time. The drink was consumed over twenty years ago.
There were people who displayed remarkable courage then. People who lived and died by their promises and shared the intimacy of death, and then the world moved forward and grief subsided and lives moved on. But make no mistake, there are heroes among us right now.
There is a shy, friendly man at my gym. There was a time when his sick roommate deliberately overdosed after his father told him that people with unspeakable diseases will suffer in hell. My gym friend performed CPR for an hour before help arrived, but the body never heard a loving word again.
There is courage among us, astonishing courage, and we summoned it and survived. And then years passed. We got new jobs and changed gyms.
There was a time when old friends called to say goodbye, and by “goodbye” they meant forever. When all of us had a file folder marked “Memorial” that outlined how we wanted our service to be conducted. When people shot themselves and jumped off bridges after getting their test results.
There is profound, shocking sadness here, right here among us, but years went by and medicine got better and we found other lives to lead. Our sadness is a distant, dark dream.
My best friend Stephen just bought a new condo. He’s having a ball picking out furniture. But there was a time when he knew all the intensive care nurses by name. When a phone call late at night always meant someone had died. And just who, exactly, was anyone’s guess.
Stephen tested positive in the 1980s, shortly after I did. A few months after the devastating news, he agreed to facilitate a support group with me. We regularly saw men join the group, get sick and die, often within weeks.
Watching them disintegrate felt like a preview of coming attractions. But Stephen was remarkable, a reassuring presence to everyone, and worked with the group for more than a year despite the emotional toll and the high body count.
There is bravery here, still, living all around us. But the bravest time was many years ago, and times change and the yard needs landscaping and there’s a brunch tomorrow.
There was a time when I sat beside friends in their very last minutes of life, and I helped them relax, perhaps surrender, and told them comforting stories. And lied to them.
Jeremy lost his mind weeks before he died. Sometimes he had moments of sanity, when we could have a coherent conversation before his dementia engulfed him again. It was a time when you were given masks and gloves to visit friends in the hospital.
He was agitated with the business of dying, and told me he couldn’t bear to miss what might happen after he’d gone. I had an idea.
“I tell you what,” I offered, “I’m from the future, and I can tell you anything you would like to know.”
“OK then, what happens to my parents?” he asked. I thought it might be a distracting game, but Jeremy’s confused mind took it very seriously.
“They went to Hollywood and won big on a game show, so they never did need your support in their old age,” I answered. He barely took the time to enjoy this thought before his hand grabbed my wrist, tightly, almost frantically. He pulled me closer.
“When…” he began, and a mournful sob swelled inside him in an instant, his eyes begging for relief. “When does this end?” There was an awful, helpless silence. His eyes beckoned for a truth he could die believing.
“It does end,” I finally managed, although nothing suggested it would. “It ends, Jeremy, but not for a really long time.” He digested each word like a revelation, and slowly relaxed into sleep.
There is compassion here, enough for all the world’s deities and saints acting in concert. Infinite compassion for men who lived in fear and checked every spot when they showered for Kaposi sarcoma, and for disowned sons wasting away in the guest room of whoever had the space. But we get older, and friends don’t ask us to hold their hand when they stop breathing, and the fear fades and I bought new leather loafers and the White Party is coming.
The truth is simply this, and no one will convince me otherwise: My most courageous self, the best man that I’ll ever be, lived more than two decades ago during the first years of a horrific plague.
He worked relentlessly alongside a million others who had no choice but to act. He secretly prayed to survive, even above the lives of others, and his horrible prayer was answered with the death of nearly everyone close to him.
To say I miss that brutal decade would only be partially true. I miss the man I was forced to become, when an entire community abandoned tea dances for town hall meetings, when I learned to offer help to those facing what terrified me most.
Today, the lives of those of us who witnessed the horror have become relatively normal again, perhaps mundane. We prefer it. We have new lives in a world that isn’t choking on disease.
But once, there was a time when we were heroes.
Mark
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/0VV7l1bfsr8/once-when-gay-men-were-heroes-20141201
Florida DMV: Married Gays Not Allowed to Drive (VIDEO)
More victories this week in some very conservative states. We’re now closer than ever to the start of marriage in Arkansas and Mississippi. Florida is refusing to issue drivers’ licenses to a couple after they married and changed their last name. And support for marriage has skyrocketed in Wyoming.
This week’s big wins were in Arkansas and Mississippi. In both states, Federal District Court judges ruled that marriage bans are unconstitutional. But they also imposed a stay on their decisions so that the states will have time to appeal. Both of those appeals are going to be a little complicated. The Arkansas case will go to the Eighth Circuit, but there’s also a separate marriage case before the Arkansas Supreme Court right now. They could rule at any time, and it’s hard to say how that decision would affect the federal case.
In Mississippi, the case will go to the Fifth Circuit. Oral argument is already scheduled for early January in the Fifth Circuit for cases in Louisiana and Texas. So if the state moves fast, the Mississippi case might join them. Attorney General Jim Hood and Governor Phil Bryant have already filed a notice of appeal.
There’s a new lawsuit in Florida. The state cancelled the drivers’ licenses of a gay couple after they married in New York and hyphenated their last name. Even though it’s their new legal name, the state of Florida is refusing to recognize it, so they’ve sued. Over in Wyoming, a new survey shows support for marriage equality is up to 53% to 39% opposed. That’s a big jump from ten years ago, when support was just 24%. And in Michigan, Attorney General Bill Schuette has asked the Supreme Court not to take up a marriage case, and allow the state’s marriage ban to remain in place. The Supreme Court could make a decision about whether to hear the Michigan case any day now.
www.huffingtonpost.com/gay-voices/?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices
The Most Influential People in the Fight Against AIDS
There are some amazing people that dedicate their entire lives to preventing AIDS and HIV. But, on December 1st, World AIDS Day, everyone has an opportunity to unite in the fight against the disease, raise awareness and remember those who have lost their lives.
To celebrate this global health day, we’ve partnered with Elizabeth Arden to showcase some of the most influential people and unsung heroes devoted to stopping AIDS in its tracks.
Dr. C. Robert Gallo, Dr. Luc Montagnier & Dr. Jay Levy
In the early 1980s, the world’s medical community raced to discover the cause of the disease now known as AIDS. The debate over who first identified it lives on: three separate research groups separately identified and named the retrovirus. Dr. Robert Gallo and his colleagues at the National Cancer Institute dubbed it HTLV-III, Dr. Luc Montagnier and his French researchers reserved the acronym LAV, and Dr. Jay Levy (not pictured) at the University of California called it ARV. Only later would it be known as human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
In 2008, Montagnier won Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery, yet Gallo — who also pioneered the development of the HIV blood detection test — and Levy went unrecognized.
Rock Hudson
As the first major public figure to succumb to an AIDS-related illness in 1985, Rock Hudson turned AIDS into a global conversation in an unprecedented way. Although the beloved movie star’s publicity team covered up his illness at first, Hudson disclosed he had HIV just before his death, sparking debate and discussion throughout the mass media and the public about homosexuality and HIV.
Geoffrey Bowers
Geoffrey F. Bowers, a gay New York attorney, was the plaintiff in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases to go to public hearing. After being fired from his position with Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie, which he alleged was due to his diagnosis with Kaposi’s sarcoma and AIDS, Bowers filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights. Bowers died just two months after the hearings began in 1987. Yet the court ultimately ruled in his favor, bringing AIDS discrimination to the public eye and establishing a favorable legal precedent. The trial is believed to be the inspiration behind the Tom Hanks’ movie “Philadelphia.”
Donald P. Francis
As the head of the AIDS laboratory at the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in the early 1980s, Donald P. Francis spoke outwardly and candidly about what he believed were roadblocks to prevention. He criticized the Reagan administration for ignoring the disease, challenged the CDC for mishandling the crisis and called out other politicians for slowing funding for AIDS research and prevention. These early efforts were chronicled in Randy Shilts’ investigative book, “And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic.”
Elizabeth Taylor
A child star turned Academy Award-winning actress, Elizabeth Taylor took initiative as an activist, organizing the first major HIV/AIDS fundraiser in Hollywood in September of 1985. She lost her friend, Rock Hudson, to the disease just one month later. Continuing her fight for a cure, Taylor testified before Congress on the need for clinical research in the community setting, faster research on new treatments and access to experimental drugs. Taylor cofounded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) and later established The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF). In 1987, Taylor received the French Legion of Honor Award for her work to raise funds and awareness to fight AIDS, and was later honored with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Clinton. Taylor’s legacy lives on through her White Diamonds perfume. A portion of Taylor’s name and likeness royalties go to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, therefore, every purchase of the best selling fragrance benefits those living with the disease.
Pedro Zamora
As one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed on popular media, Pedro Zamora heightened international awareness of HIV/AIDS and LGBT issues at a time when many people knew little about the disease. Zamora learned he was HIV-positive after donating blood, and decided to pursue a career as an AIDS activist. He argued for improved AIDS education programs before Congress in 1993, before joining the popular MTV series, “The Real World: San Francisco” in 1994. Although Zamora was yielded by AIDS just 22 months after the season aired, he was praised by President Bill Clinton for his ability to humanize individuals living with HIV.
Bono
U2 singer Bono has used his celebrity status to drive awareness for several important causes, including world poverty and AIDS. In 2002, he helped establish DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), an organization dedicated to ending the disease in Africa (it later became advocacy and campaign organization ONE). In 2006, he launched Product (RED) along with Bobby Shriver, giving the private sector a chance to get involved, selling (RED) products and donating a percentage of profits to the cause.
Hannah Gay, Katherine Luzuriaga and Deborah Persaud
Featured in TIME’s 2013 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, these three women were collectively recognized for their incredible and inspiring breakthrough: ‘functionally’ curing a newborn of HIV. Gay, Luzuriaga and Persaud treated the infant — who had contracted the disease from her mother — using anti-HIV drugs within 30 hours of her birth. While the child lived HIV-free, off medication, for several years, traces of HIV in her system resurfaced this past summer. While ultimately a disappointment, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland insist these “failures” bring the medical world closer to finding a cure.
Everyday Heroes
Though they may not have their research published in any medical journals, some of the true unsung heroes in the fight against AIDS are those who get tested, diagnosed and manage it well — keeping themselves healthy and less contagious, thus protecting others. These individuals may go unnoticed, but their daily actions help save lives, too.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Elected Opposition Party Leader
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made headlines recently for his call to repeal the country’s same-sex marriage law that was passed last year, has been elected as leader of the UMP opposition party.
BBC reports:
More than 150,000 party members – over 50% – voted in the election, despite the process being slowed down by a cyber attack.
Mr Le Maire, a former agriculture minister, received just less than 29.2% and a third candidate, MP Herve Mariton 6.3%.
Mr Sarkozy posted a message to supporters on his Facebook page (in French).
“I would like to thank all the UMP members who did me the honour of electing me leader of our political family,” he said.
“Their mobilisation, at a level unequalled in the history of our movement, is the best response to two years of internal quarrels and divisions.”
Back in September, in his first interview since announcing his intention to return to politics, the thrice-married Sarkozy blasted President François Hollande’s socialist government for “humiliating families” by legalizing gay marriage.
Sarkozy is widely expected to mount a campaign in the 2017 presidential election.
Kyler Geoffroy
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/former-french-president-nicolas-sarkozy-elected-opposition-leader.html
Gambian Government Says It Will Continue Persecuting Gays Regardless of Any Western Aid Cuts
The Gambian government has fired back at Western donor nations following the U.S. State Department’s condemnation of the West African nation’s new law imprisioning citizens for homosexual acts, the Associated Press reports:
The European Union and the United States recently expressed dismay at the law and discrimination against gay people in the West African country. Both provide aid to impoverishedGambia and have used that position to encourage respect for human rights.
The Gambian government will not allow acceptance of gay people to be a pre-condition for receiving aid “no matter how much aid is involved,” Foreign Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa said in a nationally televised addressed late Saturday.
“We are no longer going to entertain any dialogue on the issue with the European Union or any other foreign power,” he said.
Earlier this month, the AP reported that the new law:
…criminalizes “aggravated homosexuality,” which targets “serial offenders” and people living with HIV or AIDS. Suspects can also be charged with aggravated homosexuality for engaging in homosexual acts with someone who is under 18, disabled or who has been drugged. The term also applies when the suspect is the parent or guardian of the other person or is “in authority over” him or her.
Kyler Geoffroy
Reports: ISIS Executes Two Gay Men In First Antigay Attacks
Reports out of Syria show that members of ISIS have killed two men who opposed the extremist group, alleging they were executed because they were gay.
Michelle Garcia
www.advocate.com/world/2014/11/30/reports-isis-executes-two-gay-men-first-antigay-attacks
World AIDS Day Events Near You
December 1 is World AIDS Day. It’s an opportunity to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, show your support for those living with the dieasese, and commemorate those who have lost hteir lives to it. Currently, an estimated 34 million people are living with AIDS, and 35 million have died from the virus.
Explore the list of events near you to find out how to participate…
Learn more about World AIDS Day
Gabe Cooper
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/9LMy4vLw_fU/world-aids-day-events-near-you-20141130
Relive Your Favorite Middle-Earth Moments in 'The Hobbit' Legacy Trailer: VIDEO
With the sixth and (presumably) final trip to Middle-earth right around the corner, what better time than now to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the great characters and scenes from Peter Jackson’s epic cinematic masterpiece – as well as some new shots from the upcoming The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies.
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…
And for more Hobbit goodness, be sure and check the new Empire magazine images AFTER THE JUMP featuring Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Richard Armitage and other stars from the fantasy series.
Kyler Geoffroy
'True Trans' Premieres Final Episodes: Transparenting And Acceptance
Over the past several weeks, AOL has aired an incredible docuseries with the intention of educating and informing the public about the lives of transgender and gender-variant individuals.
Called “True Trans,” the docuseries stars Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace and incorporates the experiences of trans and gender-variant people from all walks of life. Now, “True Trans” is coming to a close, with the final two installments focusing on parenting when it comes to transgender individuals and the road to acceptance surrounding their identity — both by others and by themselves.
“I just hope that other parents of transgender children support them on their journeys and don’t view it as a negative thing,” Bonnie Grace, Laura Jane Grace’s mother, says in the video below. “It’s a great thing — this is someone who’s made such a sacrifice to grab their life and you should view it with joy and make sure they know that and that they have your total support.”
Check out the episode about parenting above and the final episode about acceptance below. Missed the previous episodes in “True Trans”? Head here.
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