World AIDS Day just passed on December 1, accompanied by the predictable onslaught of articles hand-wringing about how just not enough people are taking PrEP, darn it. This will be a short post, but I remain committed to keeping you up to date on the state of PrEP propaganda in the U.S., so here we go.
You know it dawns on me one of the reasons for the low uptake in the Black community may have something to do with not identifying with having had a direct AIDS crisis. Tangentially yes through some Black gay men, but as a community at large. Gay men even now have this defining thing in AIDS, regardless of what it was from our standpoint, there was something going on traumatic and that creates a kind of identity and emotional bond to that history. It's why so many will subject themselves to potentially liver and kidney ruining medications for long periods of time and without question, because taking PrEP links us to that emotional history.
The Black community I don't think has that with AIDS. They were never defined as a specific 'risk group' despite having a larger representation in being 'HIV positive', it was gay men who were the brunt of AIDS sufferers (whatever it actually was).
Despite what we're told about Africa being hard hit by AIDS (despite not looking like American Gay AIDS, Duesberg really spells this out), American Black folks I'm guessing don't resonate with African AIDS in the same way as gay men now resonate with AIDS from the 80s.
So the long arc on this is that the Black community don't see PrEP as this 'thing' they need to embrace.
This just guesswork on my part, I could be wrong. But it's something that occurred to me.
You know it dawns on me one of the reasons for the low uptake in the Black community may have something to do with not identifying with having had a direct AIDS crisis. Tangentially yes through some Black gay men, but as a community at large. Gay men even now have this defining thing in AIDS, regardless of what it was from our standpoint, there was something going on traumatic and that creates a kind of identity and emotional bond to that history. It's why so many will subject themselves to potentially liver and kidney ruining medications for long periods of time and without question, because taking PrEP links us to that emotional history.
The Black community I don't think has that with AIDS. They were never defined as a specific 'risk group' despite having a larger representation in being 'HIV positive', it was gay men who were the brunt of AIDS sufferers (whatever it actually was).
Despite what we're told about Africa being hard hit by AIDS (despite not looking like American Gay AIDS, Duesberg really spells this out), American Black folks I'm guessing don't resonate with African AIDS in the same way as gay men now resonate with AIDS from the 80s.
So the long arc on this is that the Black community don't see PrEP as this 'thing' they need to embrace.
This just guesswork on my part, I could be wrong. But it's something that occurred to me.
Hmmm