Please help: AIDS/HIV Short Questionnaire

[lunar1126]

A friendly hello to all,

     My name is Nadia. I'm an undergrad student studying anthropology, and currently taking a class on medical anthropology. Medical anthropology examines the biological, cultural, social, economic and political factors that lead to health/wellness and illness within, and across different cultures. For my final term project I have chosen to research AIDS/HIV, and am required to obtain an illness narrative. If you are willing to answer the following few questions, I would be more than grateful! I have two sets of questions; one for those who are living with AIDS/HIV, and another set for those who aren't. If you do not feel comfortable posting your answers on this board, please email me your responses: lunar1126@hotmail.com. If you are able to get your answers to me soon, I'd be very grateful indeed! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this!! I appreciate any help you can give me.


Questions for those who are AIDS/HIV positive:
Name: (If you would prefer only to provide your first name, that is acceptable)
Age:
Location:
1. When did you first hear of AIDS/HIV?
2. What was your initial reaction?
3. How long have you had the disease, and has your perception changed now?
4. Do you know of anyone else living with AIDS/HIV?
5. How has living with HIV/AIDS affected your life? (be as specific or as general as you wish)
6.. Would you say that society, in general, is now more a) compassionate, b) tolerant, or c) indifferent towards those living with AIDS/HIV?
7. Any additional information that you would like to share?


Questions for those who do not have AIDS/HIV:
Name: (If you would prefer only to provide your first name, that is acceptable)
Age:
Location:
1. When did you first hear of AIDS/HIV?
2. What was your initial reaction?
3. How has your perception changed since then?
4. Do you know of someone affected by this disease?
5. List any information regarding prevention, transmission and/or symptoms that you are aware of:
6. Would you say that society, in general, is now more a) compassionate, b) tolerant, or c) indifferent towards those living with AIDS/HIV?
7. Any additional information that you would like to share?


Thank you very much!!
~ Nadia

[Iggy]

.

[angels4kelly]

 

[lunar1126]

Wait...I'm sorry...did I do something wrong? What's with all the 'eye rolling' smileys? 

[Joe K]

Hey Nadia,

The reason for the rolling eyes is that we often get requests, just like yours, insisting that we spill our guts to complete stranger, all for the sake of a term paper.  Also, your insistence that these questions be answered ASAP (like today) is confusing to me, because you are asking for a favor and that is not how it is done.

The fact that you are running behind on your paper is not our issue, nor should you attempt to make it so.  There is a saying that "Lack of planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on my part."  I suggest you read the Blogs or search for threads that may help you.

[lunar1126]

Thank you for your explanation, killfoile. I was not aware that you get these type of requests all the time, so I'm sorry. However, this is a discussion board though, after all...so I wouldn't think "spilling your guts" would be an issue (besides...that's not what I'm asking....those who choose to respond can include as little or as much info as they desire). As for the poor planning on my part...yes, I completely agree! No excuses. Perhaps I worded my first post wrong...I'm not trying to pressure anyone into answering my questions. If you would like to take part, wonderful. If not, that's fine too. Thanks to anyone who does take a few minutes to answer.

[Queen Tokelove]

Nadia,

I'm not sure what the eye rolls are for, some may not feel comfortable answering those questions. But I will bite and answer them for you.


Name: Michelle

Location: Pennsylvania

I first heard of HIV/AIDS when I lived in Miami. Due to my ignorance back then, I thought it ran mainly in the gay community and thought I was safe...WRONG. I was infected there by an ex who didn't disclose.

My initial reaction was denial then a bit of depression. As time went on I learn to live with it, what other choice does any of us have? I personally do not see it as a death sentence but it has changed my perception of life. I have been infected for 9 yrs now w/o meds.

I have since had 2 friends who have become poz. It has affected me in some negative ways when it comes to disclosure, I no longer trust disclosing to anyone but am hoping for the day I can and it will be accepted. I'm not sure how society is accepting it. You have the celebs always doing some charity, mainly in Africa but would like to see them doing more here in the States.

I will agree with killfoile on if you are late turning in a paper, you should not demand that the responses be in today, it looks as if you are slacking on your work. It would also be a good thing to look over past posts, I'm sure that would help, try the Intro threads but before using anything from there, I would suggest you ask permission to use the info you may find there. If you have anymore questions, feel free to pm me. Since I am contributing to your paper, I would like to know what grade you get for this. Good Luck!

[DanielMark]

Well no high crime I suppose, but it does seem inapropriate and insensitive that you post this request in a forum that clearly indicates it is for HIV+ individuals and their friends & family.

I doubt you are any of those.

[Dachshund]

Sorry, I only answer questions for cash. Gonna make a cool $150 next week just for a one hour interview with a big pharma rep. Xmas is here and a girls gotta do... what girls gotta do.

There are a lot of Chatty Cathy's on site who should help you out. Me? Show me the money.

[lunar1126]

Thank you Queen Akasha for your thoughtful reply! I really do appreciate you sharing your perspective with me. I will let you know how the paper turns out. I'm sorry if it appeared that I was 'demanding' responses.  I'm a slightly stressed out college student, who sometimes looses the ability to be articulate when under pressure. Forgive me! 

DanielMark, I didn't know the rules were so strict on this board about who can post where. Now that I see the other forums, I probably should have posted this under AIDS Activism.  If a mod would like to move this thread, that's fine.

[Queen Tokelove]

No problem, Nadia. I don't mind helping when I can.


Dash~~

Don't be greedy, show me how to get the money!

[DanielMark]

DanielMark, I didn't know the rules were so strict on this board about who can post where. Now that I see the other forums, I probably should have posted this under AIDS Activism.

No biggie. It happens now and then.

[Joe K]

Hey Nadia,

I like your spirit and honesty and I will be happy to help you out.  My daughter is a senior in college so I know how crazy your schedule can be and your response was spot on in addressing most of my questions.  So to keep me on track I have your questions, followed by my answers.

Name:  Joe Killfoile

Age:  52

Location:  Ft. Lauderdale, FL

1. When did you first hear of AIDS/HIV? Somewhere around 1983.

2. What was your initial reaction?  My first reaction was rather limited as I was not an out gay man.  That however changed in the next year and in March of 85 I became poz.

3. How long have you had the disease, and has your perception changed now?  22 years and my perceptions have changed dramatically.  When I tested there were no drugs and very limited resources for poz people.  My doctor told me to go home, get my affairs in order and await the Grim Reaper.  I was not buying any of it and I enrolled in clinical trials, joined an ASO and volunteered my ass off.  Anything to keep my mind occupied and focused away from my own illness.

4. Do you know of anyone else living with AIDS/HIV?  Yes hundreds upon hundreds of people.  About the same number of friends that I buried from 1985 to present.  HIV still kills even when you do it all right.  A dear friend, a Board Certified HIV Specialist no less, was fastidious in managing his health, but in the end all the drugs failed him.  I lost him last year at the tender age of 40 and his loss hurts just as bad as Chris' did in 85.

5. How has living with HIV/AIDS affected your life?  My infection stopped my life in a heartbeat.  I had just come out gay, which cost me my 9-year marriage and once everyone knew I was poz, well they just vanished.  As I sought support for myself I recognized how much I enjoyed doing it, but the more deaths I witnessed, the angrier I became.  So rather than let it fester I harnessed that anger and became an AIDS activist.  I grew up in Detroit which was a very challenging city for white poz men from the suburbs who tried working with the HIV population.

Maybe I was too stupid to be afraid but I went to the Church's in the ghettos and spoke with any and all who would listen to me.  I went into the Black churches as HIV was killing their young men, yet the church supported an atmosphere that condemned both being gay and being poz.  Yet through it all, there was always enough encouragement that I just keep going.  It was then that I began to realize that maybe I had a gift for communicating with others and soon found myself in leadership positions at my ASO.  As I became more involved I started to see the true horrors of HIV which were hardly confined to the disease itself.

You may not remember him but Ronald Reagan was president and it took him almost 7 years to even utter the word AIDS, let alone acknowledge the death and carnage that surrounded us all.  It is hard to describe the feeling you get when your own president and citizens seem unconcerned about a disease that is killing all of those dear to you.  It was a time when we discovered that the only people who will care for poz people are other pozzies and not much has changed since then, which provides a perfect sequeway into your next question.

6. Would you say that society, in general, is now more a) compassionate, b) tolerant, or c) indifferent towards those living with AIDS/HIV?  Yes to all three.  There is more compassion because HIV not strikes a wide range of people and groups, so it is no longer just someone else's disease.  There is more tolerance for pozzies, again for the above reason, but that tolerance falls off quickly the farther you get away from people who actually have the disease.  It is far too easy these days to just assume someone else will take care of HIV and if it does not affect me personally, then why should I care?

Indifference remains and may actually be growing.  You see them pledge billions to fight HIV worldwide but much of that money has either never been donated, or spent foolishly.  And since so much of the death and dying is done far from America, it is just easier to push it from your mind.

7. Any additional information that you would like to share?

Nadia, I wish I had the time to really give you some background, but if you take nothing from this at least try and understand how different HIV is in terms of all the known diseases.  Because HIV was discovered in the gay and IV communities first it has always carried a stigma that remains today.  For years gay men were demonized for becoming poz and many felt that infection was some form of divine retribution.  As the disease spreads into other communities it still carries the stigma because it is mainly spread through unsafe sex.

The bottom line is that we pozzies are as worthy as any other humans, but much of the world does not share that view.  So, over the years, often in reaction to some horrific treatment, we have developed a HIV community that provides for the needs of the poz population.

It is my hope that through this assignment you will gain a better understanding of the disease and the depth of repercussions that can come from a stinking virus.

[DanielMark]

Nadia,

If this will be of any use to you, I recently posted some background info about me (as many of us seem to be doing lately) here.

Daniel

[Longislander]

I PM'd my responses to you

[Boo Radley]

Questions for those who are AIDS/HIV positive:

Name: Robert
Age: 50
Location: New Orleans, LA
1. When did you first hear of AIDS/HIV?  Probably late 1980 or early 1981
2. What was your initial reaction?     "Oh, god, the shit's gonna hit the fan now"
3. How long have you had the disease, and has your perception changed now?    I think I was infected in December, 1981 but didn't test until late 1989.   My perception of the disease hasn't changed but my perception of the options available has.
4. Do you know of anyone else living with AIDS/HIV?  Yes.
5. How has living with HIV/AIDS affected your life? (be as specific or as general as you wish)  After getting over the initial shock it made me a stronger person and I took better care of myself.  Now it's been so bloody long I slipped and don't get enough exercise and my diet stinks.
6.. Would you say that society, in general, is now more a) compassionate, b) tolerant, or c) indifferent towards those living with AIDS/HIV?  Maybe A but that varies greatly. 
7. Any additional information that you would like to share? Nothing very interesting...

Boo

[Dan J.]

I refuse to answer your questions.

[Strayboy74]

Name: Amos Joseph
Age: 32
Location: San Francisco California
1. When did you first hear of AIDS/HIV?

I first heard of AIDS where I grew up in Southeastern Iowa when I was about 8 or 9.   It was synonymous with the terms fag and queer.  Until High School health class, AIDS was never spoken of unless it was in the form of a joke, or spoken in hushed tones to derrog the only openly known homosexual in my home town of about 8,000.

2. What was your initial reaction?

I was afraid that I would catch AIDS, become gay, buy a Barbara Streisand album and die.  (yes, in that order!)  Ignorance breeds prejudice, and lack of knowledge caused a great deal of fear in the populace of those who lived in my home town.  I was no exception.

3. How long have you had the disease, and has your perception changed now?

I have had HIV for two years.  It is imporatnat to note that there is a difference between HIV and AIDS, and to qualify that although this question tacitly implies that I have AIDS, I do not - I have HIV.  My perceptions have changed through knowledge, learning, and understanding.  I used to serosort (Seek sexual partners of the same HIV status) even before getting HIV.  I had a bias against having sex with HIV positive people, but now find that the reciprocate is true.  I now only have sex with positive partners - and enjoy as much rough and wild sex as I can get. yay!

4. Do you know of anyone else living with AIDS/HIV?

Sure.  I live in the Fag capital of the United States!  I also know a bunch of show tunes!  Imagine that!

5. How has living with HIV/AIDS affected your life? (be as specific or as general as you wish)

It's caused me to face a great many harsh realities about the way I was living my life, and to realize how important a currency my time truly is.

6.. Would you say that society, in general, is now more a) compassionate, b) tolerant, or c) indifferent towards those living with AIDS/HIV?

society is still ignorant with regard to HIV, and prejudices still exist.  Inasmuch as the civil rights movement is still young, the AIDS epidemic is even younger.  The sad reality is until people can see past the blinders of religion, ignorance, intolerance, race, sexual orientation, gender, and hate, HIV to most will remain something spoken of in hushed tones that can only happen to the town homosexual. 

7. Any additional information that you would like to share?

I have not told my family back in Iowa because of concern they would breed panic and seek comfort in those they think might understand.  Before long, if I haven't already, I will have become the next AIDS joke of southeastern Iowa. 

Now there's an aspiration.

-joseph

[Queen Tokelove]

See, Nadia, All it takes is just one to respond and now you have a downpour of responses...