Longtime Companion

The first movie I watched that talked frankly about AIDS was Longtime Companion. It felt groundbreaking in a way, quaint in others. But it would have a lasting effect on me: I would forever think about it when I wanted to talk to someone about AIDS. By then I've read And the Band Played On and Angels in America, but Longtime Companion was still one of the more accessible portrayals of that time period. If somebody did know about AIDS, I would graduate them to How to Survive a Plague with them. But that's just me. It's always been kind of tricky, trying to explain to someone what AIDS is.

It's 2021 and many still see AIDS the way they see Longtime Companion: as a reminder of an era. But AIDS is as present today in the world as it was in the 90's, when the movie came out:

HIV remains a major public health issue that affects millions of people worldwide.

Although the world has made significant progress in recent decades,  important global targets for 2020 were not met.

Division, disparity and disregard for human rights are among the failures that allowed HIV to become and remain a global health crisis. Now, COVID-19 is exacerbating inequities and disruptions to services,  making the lives of many people living with HIV more challenging.

The theme of World AIDS Day 2021 is “End inequalities. End AIDS”.  With a special focus on reaching people left behind, WHO and its partners are highlighting the growing inequalities in access to essential HIV services. 

@WHO

I currently only have one friend who's been HIV+ for more than twenty years. He's still as active and bright as he was when I met him many years ago. But the fight continues. Nowadays it is not ignorance what drives the growth in cases, it's inequality. Not everybody has access to PreP or testing, and the pandemic has made things even worse for some people. Also, I think that some people have forgotten or do not know what AIDS did to the LGBTQ community in the eighties and nineties. There's a lot of complacency towards it because of the advances in treatment and the availability of drugs that have made contacting the disease less likely. But AIDS is not gone. That's something that people keep forgetting. 

I was recently watching an episode of  Drag Race Italia and Enorma Jean, one of the contestants (and one of my absolute favorites!) was talking in that episode about her struggle with the disease. It got me emotional seeing her get emotional about it. Yes, people can still get HIV and people can still live full, productive lives while being undetectable, but I thought it was a very brave move on her part to disclose her status and start a conversation about AIDS, especially taking into account the state of LGBTQ rights in Italy right now. In 2021 we still have to 'have the conversation'. That Drag Race didn't shy away from the topic was really encouraging. It's not the first time they have done it. Let's hope it's not the last. 

So let's keep talking about it. Because the AIDS epidemic is not over. It won't be over until people find a way to mitigate its terrible effects. It won't be over until everybody is equally capable of accessing information about and treatment for the disease. Notice I'm not talking about a cure. Because I'm a realist. But hope springs eternal, no?

And you, do you have an anecdote about AIDS? A favorite book/movie? Come on, share with us. Today is the perfect day to talk about it...

XOXO