![gay definition poz gay definition poz](https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/images/statistics/overview/ataglance/2021/cdc-hiv-stats-us-gay-men-700x362.png)
Some gay rights groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay Men's Health Crisis among them, say a generational gulf has emerged.Īll the while, the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that "men who have sex with men" account for the largest proportion of new HIV diagnoses in the United States. National and local health-care officials say they fear gay men have "gotten collectively numb" about the epidemic. If you can afford them, drug cocktails have made HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, a more manageable illness - the Food and Drug Administration approved a once-a-day pill last month. Today, however, the epidemic's public face is also heterosexual and, disproportionately, people of color. They got organized, protested, demanded treatment. Twenty-five years ago, when the disease was a mystery, gay men were the face of AIDS, scared and outraged that it seemed nobody else cared as they died. "It's almost like, 'It's your fault that you got it now.' " "It's almost like us versus them, the guys who are negative versus the guys who are positive," Henderson says. Across the country, HIV has become its own subculture. Now, in subtle ways, the epidemic has divided it. There was a time when AIDS united the gay community. "I'm probably gonna go home pretty soon," he says minutes later.
#Gay definition poz full#
Except for Henderson, no one gives his full name, including Josh, who listens, nods at the men's stories and sips his vodka and cranberry juice. Army officer is sharing how much he misses Europe - he was sent home after testing positive. In the kitchen, a tall, gray-haired 37-year-old U.S. A 33-year-old smoking a Marlboro on the patio talks about the day he learned he was positive. And now here's Henderson, getting too close, hugging too tightly, being the too-perfect host as he ushers Josh through this moment.Ī 35-year-old nursing a Coors Light in the living room is asking about the side effects of HIV medications. Young Poz Socials, an HIV support group, never lets up. At 22, he's used to meeting guys on the Internet, hooking up, then moving on, not standing around engaging in polite conversation about drug treatments or camping trips.īut Shawn Henderson, head of D.C. And though those gathered in this Northeast Washington condo are supposed to be his new clan - he tested positive in December - he feels out of place. This is a party for HIV-positive gay men. Josh arrives two hours late, still wondering why he even bothered to show.