HIV/AIDS Special Reports

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  Running For a Cure

  Since coming out last year as HIV-positive, silver medal-winning Olympian gymnast Ji Wallace has been a tireless advocate for HIV education and prevention. Recently Ji agreed to lend his voice and boundless energy to support APLA’s Team to End AIDS, which will be running the L.A. Marathon Sunday, March 17.Can you tell me about the events that led to you coming out about your HIV status?I was overseas and wanted to tell my parents, but didn’t want to do it by phone. So I had to wait until I made it back to Australia. Then I thought for ...

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  Positively Anti-Stigma

  Anti-HIV stigma has a profound impact on the epidemic and the lives of gay men. It’s a destructive force that can prevent people from getting tested or seeking treatment, and it decreases quality of life. PositiveFrontiers.com teamed up with The Stigma Project to create an anti-stigma marketing campaign to be launched on World AIDS Day. The Stigma Project is a grassroots organization that aims to reduce stigma through education via social media. Through this collaboration we hope to reduce stigma, empower HIV-positive individuals and help bring an end to the epidemic.Stigma is encountered in all parts of our lives, ...

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  State of HIV

  There have been a number of significant changes in HIV since the beginning of the epidemic. One of the most significant changes occurred with the advent of treatment cocktails and protease inhibitors—the number of deaths from AIDS plummeted and HIV went from being a death sentence to a chronic and manageable illness.Last year the HPTN 052 study demonstrated that if an HIV-positive individual is on antiretrovirals and has an undetectable viral load, their chances of transmitting the virus are reduced by 96 percent. That was the second game change in the epidemic, and ‘treatment as prevention’ was born.Treatment ...

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  United States Conference on AIDS Continues the Conversation

  The National Minority AIDS Council’s United States Conference on AIDS will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 3 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The USCA is the largest AIDS conference in the U.S., and it brings together thousands of people working in various areas of HIV. The conference allows participants the opportunity to build networks, exchange the latest information and learn about cutting-edge resources being used to fight HIV.This gathering will have particular significance as it comes closely after the International AIDS Conference. The organizers expect to build on the momentum from that conference and help participants apply the various ...

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  AIDS Conference Wraps Up Amid Cautious Optimism

  The weeklong 19th International AIDS Conference wrapped up in Washington, D.C., on July 27, the first time the event has been held on U.S. soil since 1990.The conference is “the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic,” according to the conference’s website, AIDS2012.org. “It is a chance to assess where we are, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learned, and collectively chart a course forward.”Speakers included former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Health ...

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  Thriving With HIV

  The face of HIV is constantly evolving. However, one thing that hasn’t really changed much is the stigma associated with HIV. For the first installment in an ongoing series on stigma, we brought together a diverse group of HIV-positive gay men to demonstrate that HIV is nothing to be ashamed of. These men are artists, businessmen, athletes and poets, and are working to make our communities a better place. The epidemic has changed, and people can live long and healthy lives, create families and build communities. It’s a new world. Go ahead—thrive.Corey Saucier is a queer-spirited 35-year-old Los Angeles ...

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  The Men's Room

  The Institute for Sexual Health has started a new program called The Men’s Room. It’s described as “a series of frank, challenging and enlightening seminars.” The Institute’s Diverse Sexuality and Gender Program works with marginalized communities in a sexually affirmative way, and created The Men’s Room to foster psychological and sexual health.The first meeting of The Men’s Room is sure to be a provocative and penetrating discussion, as it’s titled “In Deep: The Psychology of Barebacking.” I had the opportunity to talk with two of the therapists working on The Men’s Room—Michael Liberatore, MFT, and Rick Coons, Psy.D. What ...

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  Revolutionizing Culture: Herb Ritts

  ‘Cherish’—that is the word that comes to mind when contemplating the breathtaking Herb Ritts exhibit at the Getty Center. Herb Ritts L.A. Style is on display until the end of August, and it features some of the photographer’s most stunning work. The Getty describes Ritts quite succinctly—“He revolutionized fashion photography, modernized the nude and transformed celebrities into icons.” More than that, Herb Ritts, an extraordinarily talented gay man, had a profound impact on American culture.‘Cherish’ is the word I use to remind myself of Ritts because of his work with celebrity icon Madonna. Like many gay boys who grew ...

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