Similar to the way infection distribution affected the perception of HIV/AIDS, media and society as a whole found itself divided on how to treat and perceive the HIV/AIDS epidemic. On one side, federally-supported foundation and groups worked to undo the stereotypes that surrounded HIV/AIDS and provide education about prevention and protection. In the 1980’s, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation launched a series of advertisements to dispel the fear of HIV/AIDS, especially its casual spread (i.e. non-sexual spread). The slogan “AIDS, it’s what you do, not who you are” was used to “combat [the] stereotype that only gay men were at risk”. While foundations and groups rooted in affected communities worked to decrease fear of HIV/AIDS through education, …show more content…
The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) worked to raise money for polio through propaganda and other media-related techniques. In the 50’s, the NFIP released a propaganda short film, “The Crippler, in which a sinister presence, the cloud of polio, spreads over playgrounds and schools... [and] is driven off by a brave young foundation volunteer”. This film is one of many examples of the ways the foundation became involved in popular media in order to influence American reaction to polio. The NFIP “was also among the first of such campaigns to heavily involve members of women's clubs, transforming them from purely social entities into important community fundraising groups”, demonstrating the NFIP’s ability to alter the social roles of certain groups to encourage foundation support. Due to the foundation’s effective propaganda and campaigning, it was “second only to the Red Cross in the amount of money it raised”. It was the NFIP’s large role in culture and society that caused Americans to unite to eliminate polio. The cause was even called “an American ‘must’”. In the words of the Saturday Evening Post, “all [the fight against polio was] done, not by a few rich men, but by millions of average Americans, who are bound together by recognition of the peril which this dread disease [brought] to their own homes”. The role polio and the NFIP played in American culture and media caused the American public to react with the motivation and gravity required to eradicate polio from the
HIV is a serious issue that is commonly pushed off and considered an irrelevant topic. In “AIDS, Inc.” by Helen Epstein, the topics of lifestyle brands and government funded organizations were discussed, and provided readers with an understanding of the depths of the disease. The excerpt discusses programs (i.e. loveLife) that had the potential and opportunity to save and inform many lives, but failed to do so, which continues to be a problem today. Our government is capable of helping and educating those who are infected, and anyone who could become infected. Instead of acting like having the disease is something to be ashamed of, governments should fund clinics that provide free HIV testing and free protection to all genders, create a structured
Before the evening of August 19, 1992, Mary Fisher was known as successful television producer and an assistant to president at the time, Gerald R. Ford. Fisher gave the speech “Whisper of AIDS” during the 1992 Republican National Convention Address on August 19th in Houston, Texas. As being HIV positive herself, she became a spokesperson for the disease. HIV, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a deadly disease that is capable of spreading rapidly among humans through bodily fluids. This virus weakens the necessary cells needed to fight infection within the immune system (“HIV/AIDS 101” par. 1). In her speech, she addresses that being aware of the disease is the key to finding a cure. During this state of time, those affected were being discriminated and rejected from society. The purpose of this speech was to get the attention of the audience and persuade them to inform awareness to others about this horrific disease. Mary Fisher’s “Whisper of AIDS” speech successfully demonstrates the qualities of ethos, logos and pathos appeals to
Polio: An American Story describes a struggle to find a vaccine on polio through several researchers’ lives, and over the course of many years. The second thesis is the struggle between Salk and Sabin, two bitter rivals who had their own vaccine that they believed would cure polio. The author David M. Oshinsky, is describing how difficult it was to find the cure to a horrifying disease, which lasted from the Great Depression until the 1960’s. Oshinsky then writes about how foundations formed as fundraisers, to support polio research. Lastly, the author demonstrates how researchers were forced to back track on multiple occasions, to learn more about polio.
Even after the disease and its modes of transmission had been correctly identified, fear and ignorance remained widespread. In the mid 1980s, “AIDS hysteria” became a well known term in the media and public life. For example, a magazine published details about how extensive AIDS/HIV related discrimination became. “Anxiety over AIDS in some parts of the U.S. is verging on hysteria,” the authors wrote; they later published this disturbing example:
Randy Shilts set out to make monumental changes in the world’s perspective of AIDS. He planned to enlighten, motivate, and educate the population on this tragic disease that has already claimed so many lives. He believed that virtually all the misconceptions about AIDS would be corrected and the public would insist that more be done to stop the epidemic. "I had hoped to effect some fundamental changes. I really believed I could alter the performance of the institutions that had allowed AIDS to sweep through America unchecked" (220). Shilts’s immense expectations positioned him for his inevitable sense of failure. He did not accomplished all that he had planned. AIDS was still spreading and people were still dying. "The bitter irony is, my role as an AIDS celebrity just gives me a more elevated promontory from which to watch the world make the same mistakes in the handling of the AIDS epidemic that I hoped my work would help to change"(220).
There are still many issues that the government has been trying to address. One barrier that continues to exist is the stigma of HIV/AIDS. People avoid getting tested and sick individuals would wait until they were extremely ill before seeking treatment. The government has countered social stigma through a public health campaign to promote HIV testing. As more people participated in testing, public attitudes started changing (Glassman, 2016, p.28). Still, many traditionally at risk groups continue to be vulnerable. Female sex workers, young adults, and men who have sex with men, have lower rates of HIV testing and have less knowledge about HIV prevention (Glassman, 2016, p.28). Addressing these populations will require additional social
Josephson, Eric. "Why the Dimes March On. Polio Foundation's Dilemma." Nation 3 Nov. 1956: 361-64. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
In 1981 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report first rare cases of what is seemingly pneumonia in young gay men. These cases were then grouped together and the disease known as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) takes its root in American Society. This disease spread quickly and the events following are responses to the spread of the disease in America known as the AIDS Crisis, where the response of both the people and the government would impact and change society and American culture and lead to emergence of a gay identity, persecution and fear of those with the disease, marketing of safe sex, and the deterioration of class barriers.
As she talks to the audience, Fisher explains that the “ AIDS virus is not a political creature” (American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher). Her point that she is trying to get across is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a democrat or republican, black or white, gay or straight, male or female, young or old, anyone can come in contact with this disease. It is becoming more and more common, and it is not a distant threat. Fisher expresses that AIDS is a “present danger” (American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher). She also stresses that the rate of infection is increasing rapidly among women and children. Most human beings don’t think they will get HIV or AIDS. Some high status people feel that they are untouchable by this incurable disease just because they feel that they are better than others when that is not the case. We have killed each other with our careless and ignorant actions, as well as our prejudice and our silence against this serious matter. Our society now takes refuge in our stereotypes and we can not hide any longer. HIV only asks one thing from whom it attacks, and that is if they’re human. Fisher explains that it goes after any human being to express that those who may think they’re too good to contract the disease are delusional. Lastly, she uses logos by giving factual information about the disease and persuading people to be more careful, as well as helping her to stop the “shroud of silence” (American Rhetoric: Mary
With the emergence of HIV over thirty years ago, it has been estimated that more than half a million people have died from AIDS in the United States. As of 2006, approximately 2.2 million people in the United States are HIV positive with roughly 50,000 new infections per year. The most alarming statistic is that 20% of people that are HIV positive are unaware, making them susceptible to passing on the infection unknowingly. Public health programs have been working since the emergence of HIV to educate the populations, trying to give them the knowledge and the tools to protect themselves from infection. As more information has been collected about the transmission of HIV and the relevant social behaviors of susceptible populations leading to transmission, public health programs have been adjusting their messages and methods.
AIDS was referred to as GRID (Gay-related immune deficiency) until the U.S Department of Health and Human Services announced that the probable cause of AIDS is a retrovirus referred to today as the human immunodeficiency virus. The general public and the medical community believed that AIDS was attributed to and the consequence of a homosexual lifestyle and/or the use of intravenous drugs, and this notion persists even though AIDS is no longer referred to as GRID. In the eyes of the general public and community today, AIDS is a disease associated with homosexuality or drug abuse. This presumption bleeds into how those who contract AIDS are perceived by the general public, and in the case of Arthur Ashe, USA Today’s article has the ability to severely tarnish his reputation. People living with AIDS, as a result of the stigmas associated with the disease, are often subject to discrimination by their communities. This can manifest itself through violence, rejection, and prejudice. Arthur Ashe, because of the article published by USA Today, will now be subject to these same forms of discrimination. His role as a public figure will only worsen the situation for him, because he is subject to scrutinization and condemnation from any individual in the world that has access to the news. This discrimination will also beset Ashe’s wife and six-year-old daughter. USA
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an enveloped retrovirus. It affects the immune system and the body loses its ability to fight diseases. It is mainly transferred by sexual contact. However, it can also be transmitted by contact with body fluid like blood, breast milk and so on (CDC, 2016). A patient is said to have AIDS when he/her suffer from many opportunistic infections (CDC, 2016).
Act Against AIDS features multiple communication campaigns designed to serve specific at-risk populations. Each targeted campaign has its own unique objectives that are tailored to their specific audiences. For example, Take Charge. Take The Test specifically targets African American women because HIV infections are 15 times higher then that of white women. (CDC, 2013) The campaign uses an effective mix of channels and strategies to deliver HIV prevention messages that are "compelling, credible, and relevant." The campaigns contain basic education and awareness needs for both health care providers and populations, who are at high risk of contracting HIV. The campaign uses both traditional media tools, such as radio and transit ads as well as newer social marketing tools such as twitter to spread...
The movie, And the Band Played On, portrays a current issue the U.S. health care system face: the effects of societal perceptions of people who should receive health care support. Those perceived as undeserving are disregarded. Homosexual men were the first to be affected by AIDS in the US, and because of this, the stigma of homosexuality prevented developing health care policy to control the epidemic. Homosexuality was, and to a lesser extent now, not widely accepted. Marginalizing gay individuals was seen in the movie at the beginning, when media coverage on AIDs would not include “homosexual” within the news title (Pillsbury, Sanford, & Spottiswoode, 1993). This represents how media has to be marketed; the broader public will not be interested if a new disease only affects an undesirable population. Another example of this negligence is seen when Phillip Burton is asked to introduce a bill on AIDS. He agrees, but does not hesitate to retort, “They couldn’t get a dime out of this administration with the name gay on it” (Pillsbury, Sanford, & Spottiswoode, 1993). Finally, in order to change the perception, at the CDC conference with blood agencies, they renamed gay related immune deficiency (GRID) to AIDS, and the film cuts to news segments finally covering
No cure or vaccine now exists for AIDS. Many of those infected with HIV may not