Sharing is (Not) Caring
One of the worst aspects of an individual contracting AIDS is dealing with the public stigma associated with the disease. Even today, a great deal of misconception surrounds those with HIV and AIDS. Surprisingly, the highest risk group is women over the age of 50, as believing that they are past the age of menopause, these women no longer practice safe sex. The African American community is also considered a high- risk group. When AIDS was discovered in 1983, it was unclear how the disease was transmitted. Since gay white men contracted the disease at high rates, the black community believed that they were not at risk, so they continued practices which helped spread AIDS in their communities. Due to the unclear means by which the disease was transmitted, individuals with AIDS were shunned, as Tony Kushner’s Louis leaves Prior in Kushner’s play “Angels in America” when the latter receives his diagnosis, which is, of course, when Prior needs his partner most.
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Tags: AIDS, Angels in America, Homosexuality
