AIDS and Homesexuals

The beginning of the AIDS epidemic focused on gay men because the initial cases found and brought to the CDC's attention were gay men. When the first cases were reported, the disease was referred to as "gay cancer" and then "gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID). In the 1980s, AIDS was a defining issue for lesbian and gay communities because the crisis was "used to take away existing social and civil rights from gay people"

Once AIDS became a political issue, groups like AIDS Campaign Trust (ACT) were formed. As Schulman states in one of her commentaries, "it became increasingly clear that the public would not accept AIDS as a health crisis, but was determined to view it as representative of sexual and political threats to cultural values posed by gay

The move to close gay bathhouses was very controversial. In one of the articles, Nancy Roth says, "My sense is that there is a tremendously widespread sentiment, even within the gay and lesbian community, that bathhouses are not good places. Unfortunately, bathhouses are not an appropriate target" Some people could see that by focusing on the bathhouses, attention was taken away from things that could be done to reduce the spread of AIDS.

The closings only contributed to the health crisis because it took away a place where gay men were getting condoms and safe sex information. "It only serves one purposeto confirm the fear of gay people as diseased and dangerous individuals whose sexuality is inherently filthy" AIDS gave people a reason to close something they didn't like or want around their communities. But didn't the people who used the bathhouses as a way to socialize and meet other gay men have a right to have that place to go? Maybe they were just big buildings where everyone had sex, but so what? I believe that there was safe sex information there and condoms, so at the very least, it was controlled. If a bunch of people want to have sex, they will find a place to do it anyway. It is scary to me that so much focus was on the bathhouses because of the reasons in Schulman's articles; there was a public health crisis that was being practically ignored. A good portion of the general public was given the feeling that as long as they weren't gay

Some topics in this essay:
Nancy Roth, Maxine Wolfe, , Trust ACT, Delano Roosevelt, George Bush's, Kennedy Johnson, House ACLU, Lieberman D-CT, gay people, civil rights, gay lesbian, health crisis, safe sex information, lesbian communities, vaginal intercourse, social civil, people bathhouses, people aids, gay lesbian communities, people reason,