In an effort to address the disproportionately high new HIV infection rates among gay men and other MSM, the New York City Department of Health last week debuted a 30-second public service awareness advertisement with a tagline line "It's Never Just HIV." It warns viewers that an HIV positive person – even if taking medications – is at higher risk of severe osteoporosis (bone loss), dementia and anal cancer, amongst dozens of diseases. It urges views to “Stay HIV Free” and to “Always Use a Condom.”
To be shown on the Internet, cable and broadcast television for the next two weeks and for two weeks in January next year, the video “speaks directly to the city’s most heavily affected population – gay men and other men who have sex with men – in an effort to combat complacency about HIV,” reads the press statement issued by the Health Department.
The video has however received scathing reviews for what has been described as a “horror movie trailer-style” voice-over (accompanied by a suspenseful soundtrack) and a graphic image of “anal cancer” – not unlike images found on cigarette cartons meant to scare smokers.
A blog posting in the Metropolis section of the Wall Street Journal website quoted the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an HIV/AIDS prevention and advocacy group, and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, as saying that the ad creates a grim portrait of being an HIV patient, which could further stigmatise victims.
Lifelube, a US website which focuses on gay men's health issues, slammed the ad calling it “absolutely hateful and totally stigmatizing to all of us living with HIV” – a view shared by a number of commenters on Youtube and gay blog Towleroad.com.
“Thanks for saying that even if we take our meds, our lives will be hell, with brittle bones and anal cancer. And thanks for the super scary voice-over to make sure we're all appropriately terrorized. Who consulted on this? Focus on the Family? Concerned Women of America? David Bahati, our friendly Ugandan legislator who wants gays imprisoned or dead? Satan?" Read the Lifelube blog.
It continued: "How many guys who don't know their status – and should know their status – will be convinced by this horror show to get tested? Would you want to know your status if this told the truth about what lay in store for you? Negative guys – will the lovely glimpse of anal cancer make you wear a condom every single time, maybe scare you into a full latex body suit? Will this ad make you run for the hills when the guy you're cruising tells you he's POZ (aka DERANGED [and] DISFIGURED)?”
A reader on Towleroad, who signed off as DC05, thought those who criticised the video as being offensive should consider the dire situation facing gay men. “Let's for ONCE get logical instead of emotional about this disease. We so fear offending ourselves that we don't want to protect ourselves. After so many of our very own have been affected by this disease, we should have a more healthy (sic) grasp on it than ANY other demographic and yet recently the rates are skyrocketing, ESPECIALLY with young gay men. That is inexcusable!”
In New York, the number of new diagnoses has increased among those under 30 – from 489 in 2001 to 747 in 2009 while the number has declined among older MSM over the past decade (from 1,190 to 830 in the same period).
Gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) account for more than half of new diagnoses (56%) among men and about 44% of newly diagnosed HIV infections – more than any group – in New York City each year.
“HIV continues to take a major toll on men who have sex with men – regardless of whether they identify as gay – and the virus is spreading more each year in those under 30. This spot should serve as a wake-up call. Unprotected sex is still dangerous, and more partners means more risk,” said Dr Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner.
The press release added: “Unprotected sex holds special risks for MSM, and the reasons are partly biological. Rectal tissue tears more easily than vaginal tissue, enabling HIV to pass readily between partners if one is infected. Rectal tissue also is more permeable than vaginal tissue, meaning that HIV can be absorbed into the body even when the tissue is intact. To make matters riskier, HIV is more prevalent in the MSM community than in other parts of the population – meaning that any given encounter is more likely to result in exposure.”
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Reader's Comments
But if you could understand what it might be like to live with HIV for a minute you will understand that this kind of doomsday scenario doesn't fit the reality of our lives. We are no longer tragic helpless victims and won't live with such sterotypes. Of course I want to stop more HIV infections-- I'm not saying it's fun having HIV but these kind of scare tactics will fail because they don't seem true to those who know positive people and in many respects, they aren't.
What HIV prevention needs is honest communication between partners and this won't happen if HIV-positive people are portrayed- like this-- as scared helpess characters with a futile existence.
Clips like this should have a big impact in Asia where paranoia and fear are so commonplace. Trouble is Asians already have a lack-of-commonsense approach to the whole issue of HIV and safe sex and more fear tactics will only exaggerate the situation
wat a bumer!!
I for one am guilty of once having that midset..
In NYC, the public has generally become very open towards homosexuality, the public generally accepts that it is immoral to discriminate based on sexual orientation, and there are laws to protect against discrimination (including law on Hate Crimes). The MSM community there also know their rights and entitlement, and that HIV treatment can effectively keep viral load under control. While it's a good sign that the public and the law there show relatively more respect for MSM's rights, and that the MSM there have a relatively higher awareness of the available medical intervention for this disease, the other side of the coin is that MSM there might have lost a healthy dose of fear for HIV. If they no longer fear getting infected because they think that, as long as they receive medical treatment, there is nothing to lose even if they become infected, then they may not feel it's important to practice safer sex consistently.
Now, they are right that even if they become infected, they can probably live almost like healthy people as long as they seek treatment early. But the key word is 'almost'. As mentioned in the ad, there are certain diseases to which HIV+ are more susceptible even if they are under medication. This is a BIG reason why there is something to lose by becoming infected, despite that HIV medication is highly effective.
Hence, since there is a need to correct the myth that HIV medication can remove ALL the health consequences of HIV infection, this ad is appropriate in NYC.
But I'd caution that such ads would do more harm in places like Singapore, Malaysia, etc. where the major problem faced in fighting the HIV epidemic isn't what's described above. The problem here is what cities like NYC faced years back: undue fear for HIV to the extent that people would rather not think about it and rather not go for regular screening. The root to such fear here is stigma, discrimination and lack of support for those who are diagnosed of HIV infection. These are problems that NYC and European countries used to face. Now, laws are made to guarantee protection against discrimination and access to medical treatment there. So, they have a new set of problems that I described.
Thus, if such an ad were to be broadcast in, say, Singapore, the fight against HIV would be tougher because it'd propagate stigma and discrimination, worsening the situation.
It seems like no matter what kind of HIV awareness-ad ppl create, someone out there will always have something to complain about. The people who are slamming the ad should make an ad that EVERYONE will be happy with.
Now a generational comment: As a person who participated in some of the sexual craziness in NYC in the late 60's and 70's, it is no surprise I guess from a public health aspect, that some really horrible diseases would not have come about from that behaviour. How could we really be surprised? Places like The Anvil and a walk around what was known as "The Trucks" were pretty gruesome. Then "my generation" the queer part, and women and others in the "developing world" were devastated by the ravages of HIV in Africa especially spread by unprotected sex and that ravage continues with hundreds of villages in Africa and thousands of families with no parents, ALL DEAD. Yes, there are some treatments available if you have access to those medications and health services, most of the devasted areas from HIV/AIDS in Africa sadly do not. And I work in a "lesser developed" country in SE Asia (no not Thailand) and if you/local people do not have money, you don't get treated for anything and if you are poor, you pay and pay for well, nothing much. I know, it's not enough to say, "Oh so many gay men died in the past of HIV/AIDs and we don't want that to happen again." That has no meaning now for the guys in the toilet, or in the dark theatre having unprotected sex (multiple?) and thinking, "oh if I get HIV, it's just a disease like a cold, and I can take an aspirin." No.
Enough already. PEACE!
Governments will do what ever they think appropriate and of course many won't like what they see or hear but really if men are being irresponsible and end up costing the health system billions for some thing that IS avoidable you must expect an eventual backlash and may be even possible homophobic laws rearing their ugly heads in responce some times our greatest enemies are with in you know the stupid and selfish who ruin it for others. the first AIDS add here was the 'GRIM REAPER' it was hard hitting but I think the worst result of that was an increase in gang attacks on perceived homosexual men and a heightening of illogical fear, definately the sexual behavioural cultures of men both straight and homosexual needs to be rethought and changed, I wonder what the socio/economic backgrouds are of the majority of those newly HIV infected males in NYC? boys especially from poor backgrounds should be mentored platonically not sexually exploited as they too often are and given better educational resources to encourage better decision making that will enable them to be more controlled and aware so to navigate their lives better
It should be pointing out the benefits of HIV and the diseases it causes. Being HIV+ is wonderful, isn't it? A barrel of laughs? Isn't it?
And why SHOULD a public health campaign urge a message of safety to prevent people from living with an entirely preventable disease?
Surely the role of public health bodies is to let people risk thie safety and health (and the safety and health of others) by indulging in unsafe sexual practices????????
I personally know a youngish and really nice guy (he's HIV-positive) at my gym who is very good-looking with a great body (he's hot) but he is legally blind and walks around with his seeing-eye dog.
the ad is aimed at preventing new infections, therefore it will upset people who already have HIV, just the same as anti-smoking ads will upset those who have smoking related cancer.
however, the ad IS accurate no matter the presentation style. will it work? almost impossible to know.
hopefully those living with HIV will not suffer in any way as a result of the add, but most importantly, hopefully it will prevent new HIV infections with all of the associated health problems.
The other side of the coin is maybe just as bad. The prissy guys, already convinced that sex is dirty, will be pushed even further into their miserable paranoia that every sexual encounter will inevitably result in some sort of horrible disease. A life full of unreasonable fear, fretting, and caution is a fate almost as tragic as HIV or anal cancer.
#5 / Chris_chek is quite right to call for more persistent education rather than sensationalizing advertising. “Inculcation”, a rarely used word, is exactly the right word when it comes to how we should learn the safe sex message so that no matter how high, how horny, how much in love we are, condoms are automatically slipped on anything and everything that goes up our “fions” (sweet French slang).
The order of wellness (highest to lowest) should be made known to more people:
1) Those who are HIV- and take steps to prevent/detect HIV infection
2) Those who are HIV- but do not take steps to prevent/detect HIV infection
3) Those who are HIV+ and take steps to seek treatment and take medication religiously
4) Those who are HIV+ but do not take steps to seek treatment and take medication religiously
5) Those who are HIV+ and continue to practice unsafe sex.
If a person is in Cat1, this ad is telling him to remain in that category, which makes him generally the healthiest of the 5 cats. Even if a person is in Cat 3, there is still something to gain from this ad. This ad warns him that he is at risk of all those diseases (e.g. anal cancer). What could he do? He could continue to seek treatment and take medication religiously so that he remains in Cat 3, which is not as high as Cat 1 or 2, but certainly higher than 4 or 5. The most anti-social category--Cat5--is deterred legally. Those who know they are HIV+ but do not make known their status to their sex partners and continue to practice unsafe sex are breaking the law in Singapore. If convicted, they could be jailed, which means that not only do they continue to suffer from poor health they also lose their freedom.
Are you hiring?
Thanks to your order, I'm broke again.
if you have ever watched a friend decay and stood by someone's side through the entire deterioration process of being HIV positive, you will know it is even worse than this infomercial
but for crying out loud, even my four year old kids know how to wash their hands before dinner, so why is it still so hard for people not to wear condoms? how much education do people need other than a warning sign and a brochure? are we that stupid? I think sometimes enough is enough and reckless behavior does have consequences, I know we are not suppose to judge but at some point one realizes the problem isnt getting any better and just giving out free condoms isn't doing very much to get to the root cause of matters..............................
I agree with using the same analogy of scary smoking campaigns, we have to see the shocking scenes before we even start thinking about stopping. Here in Australia we have some pretty terrible images in advertisements for Speeding. The net result is that the death toll has come down in many States.
One only has to read the profiles on this site and others like Gaydar to see that there are a lot of younger guys who say when it comes to safe sex, sometimes, rarely or never. This concerns me greatly.
I was a teen in the late 80's and I can assure you it was a combination or the grim reaper ads and seeing a lot of mates die around me, that has me being HIV neg at aged 41.
Thanks for reading my thoughts.
As one who has seen friends and colleagues die as a result of HIV over the years, I would say "horror" describes it very well. If you don't want to be part of the horror, then use your head (and a condom).
But I guess if it really does have the effect of increasing condom use, then its great but I'm wondering if there are different angles of advertising that can be explored.
Do these ads work? Probably with some people as myself... but does it work for all?
I do have one concern though about the perceptions of the young minds imagining these HIV+ folks surely cannot appear healthy with the deck stacked so full of Jokers. So, this healthy muscled up intellectual flamethrower I have been blessed with this eve surely cannot be a risk. Besides, I might ask him............later.
San Diego, CA
You don't take care, you take PAIN (Simple cause & effect rule!!)
Should this (among others) be made into a politically-correct message for a society that demands everything to be PC? ( look here guys, even a christmas tree is not NOT PC anymore !! notice i spelt it with a 'c' and not 'C')
I don't think anyone should be polite when educating (ignorant) people.
#38 don't mind if i quote you
"As one who has seen friends and colleagues die as a result of HIV over the years, I would say "horror" describes it very well. If you don't want to be part of the horror, then use your head (and a condom)"
There fore I would have preferred to have seen images of all sections of society, not just gay. The lesser educated mob of the straight community could read into it that ALL gay men HAVE HIV or are carriers,which could lead to violent attacks on innoccent gays.
This is the worldwe live in today...
Seriously though graphic hard hitting ads do work and maybe its time we had 'em again as the risks are more likely to stick in your mind if you're being pressed, or "negotiated" to have unsafe sex...
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