Black Men Still Have AIDS
By Keith Boykin, in sexuality
Monday, April 24 2006, 12:30PM
I know it's politically incorrect to say this, but AIDS is having a bigger impact on black men than on black women. Why is that politically incorrect? Because the media have been saying for the past few years that black women are the most impacted group for HIV/AIDS in America. Although it is true that black women are disproportionately represented among new HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S., black women do not make up the majority of new cases. In the African American community, most new HIV/AIDS cases are among black men, not black women.
I say this not to ignore the impact of AIDS on black women. The truth is we need to be sensitive to everyone dealing with HIV/AIDS, no matter the race, color, gender, or sexual orientation. But in doing so, we cannot deny the undeniable truth: black men are still at greater risk for HIV than any other group. Nobody wants to talk about that because we want to think of black men as predators and women as victims. In reality, it's not that simple.
Is Mississippi Burning?
What prompted this commentary is a new article in Sunday's Clarion Ledger newspaper in Mississippi. The headline for the article was "HIV's new target: Black women." That headline is not only misguided, it's wrong. HIV has been affecting black women since the beginning of the epidemic 25 years ago. This is not new and black women are not a "new target." Black women, like black men, were disproportionately represented among HIV/AIDS cases since the mid 1980s, at the very beginning of the epidemic. The mere fact that the media only picked up on this reality in the past few years doesn't change the truth that it's not new.
The impression left by the tone of the article is a bit misleading. But there's one paragraph that spells out the demographics of the AIDS epidemic, even in Mississippi. "From 2001-05, 726 black women became new HIV cases," the article reported. "During that same time frame, there were 1,300 new cases of black men with the disease. Combine those numbers and they show that out of the 2,998 new HIV cases, 2,026 were black men or women." The numbers also mean that black women made up 24 percent of new HIV cases and black men made up 43 percent of new cases in Mississippi. So why aren't there more stories about black men living with HIV/AIDS?
Black Men At Great Risk for HIV/AIDS
I first realized the breadth of the media misinformation campaign two years ago when I was doing research for my book, Beyond The Down Low. I discovered then that there are nearly twice as many black men diagnosed with HIV/AIDS every year than black women. Despite the media message that black women are at greatest risk, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 13,833 black male AIDS cases compared to 7,586 black female AIDS cases in 2004.
In spite of the recent perception that HIV/AIDS rates are skyrocketing among black women, in part because of the down low, the truth is much more complex. The CDC reported in December 2004 that the annual age-adjusted rates of HIV/AIDS among non-Hispanic black females decreased 6.0% (from 56.4 to 53.0) from 2000-2003. That's right. The rates decreased, not increased for black women during this period.
The reason why that's politically incorrect to say is because to state the actual facts is to question the media's attention on black women. But that's not my purpose. I think it's appropriate for the media to write sympathetic articles about black women. But I also believe it's important to write sympathetic articles about black men with AIDS. And those articles should be guided by facts, not by fear.
Us v. Them
The problem with focusing solely or primarily on the AIDS crisis among black women is that the crisis is almost always portrayed in "us versus them" terminology. Thanks to the media hype about the down low, the HIV/AIDS discussion for black women has focused mostly on what predatory black men have done to victimize innocent and unsuspecting black women. As we've seen from the media hype about Jonathan Plummer and J.L. King, that's not a helpful dialogue. It encourages blame instead of personal responsibility.
When we talk about black women and AIDS, we tend to talk about who infected them. But when we talk about black men, no one ever bothers to ask who infected them. It's almost as if we think that black men -- and particularly gay, bisexual and down low men -- invented HIV so they could spread it to black women. The truth, however, is that someone had to infect them too. So where is our concern about the black men who are becoming HIV infected? Where are those news stories being told?
One of the reasons we don't talk about black men becoming infected is because male-to-male sexual contact is the primary method of exposure for black men with HIV/AIDS. So to talk about black men and AIDS would require us to talk candidly about homosexuality and bisexuality in black America and not just about the down low. That's not happening now. Despite a study last year that found 46 percent of black men who have sex with men were HIV positive, black America is still not focused on this enormous public health problem.
Where Are the Stories Of Black Men?
Although the media send messages to the contrary, most black men are not living on the down low, cheating on their wives and girlfriends and spreading sexually-transmitted diseases to their families. Not all black men are in jail, on drugs or in denial. But since the media rarely show these alternative images of black men, it's not surprising that many people think of black men in negative terms. Still, it saddens me that black journalists are also engaged in this distortion. Without bothering to check the facts for new information, some black journalists simply repeat the same racist stereotypes about black men that white America has been using against us for centuries.
I'm tired of the same story being repeated over and over again in a different context. Yes, America, black men are humans too, and we have emotions, feelings and concerns like everyone else. We're not all predators. We experience pain just like everyone else. Hopefully the media will wake up and tell our stories too.
Comments conceal
nahtan serious
April 24 2006, 12:45PM
well thought and wonderfully expressed opinion...i agree wholeheartedly
dee
April 24 2006, 12:52PM
great facts, but i was waiting to see what u had to say about isaiah washington, until i realised u were not going to say anything about him. I dont think he will be flattered to have his image as cardio surgeon dr. burke associated with hiv.
Shane'a
April 24 2006, 2:16PM
i agree with dee because my first thought was "oh! i didnt know isaiah washington had aids"...out of respect for him, i think the pic should be changed or an explaination should be included on why the pic was used
Mark Norris
April 24 2006, 2:23PM
What the hell? Keith you didn't even mention Isaiah. How misleading is that. A pic of Jonathan Plummer or J.L.King would have been better.
Charles
April 24 2006, 3:50PM
Are you kidding me?
I am sure Keith's intent was to convey a positive image of a black medical professional as he addresses the black HIV/AIDS issue (which as few and far between).
Furthermore, maybe Keith was trying to show a black doctor as so to lessen the stigma blacks regarding their treatment and/or issues (which are numerous) in the medical community.
Now, before anyone writes that it is an infringement of Mr. Washington's rights (does he own the picture probably not), please think of the following: Keith never implied that Isaiah was gay or had HIV/AIDS it was your mind and your need to make critical views about nothing of importance.
So if you are so inclined scan the entire internet and report your findings to ALL of those people who have their pics posted, for the wrong inference and/or meaning.
I prefer to read and listen to what is shared here.
Charles
April 24 2006, 5:59PM
Is there any wonder why HIV/AIDS is a continual problem in the black community...just look at the negative reactions to posting a picture here. BTW: if you hold the cursor over the picture it states “Isaiah Washington plays Preston Burke on Grey’s Anatomy”
It is no wonder many blacks (men and women) do not get tested and/or share their results with those that it impacts. This is just a picture of an actor (on a hit TV series) being posted and people are clamoring to protect the image. "He would not be flattered to have his picture associated with HIV" and “Out of respect for him" remove it.
What is the response that is shared or expressed when you meet someone with HIV/AIDS? Do you want them to disappear; much like the picture posted here. It is not what you want to see represented, so it becomes invisible and inflicts more harm, than if you could see it, talk about and grow from it.
There is much prejudice presented here as it relates to HIV/AIDS.
Last note: please do not attempt to hide or inflame my statements behind your "concern" for Mr. Washington who is invisible to your life. HIV/AIDS is a real and existing issue for all sexually active individuals.
Shane'a
April 24 2006, 6:34PM
Charles...i THINK i know what you are getting at...but not really...i just was saying i was confused...but hey what do i know..and in fact, why should i care what you think...youre invisible to my life too...
Roderic
April 24 2006, 6:39PM
I will admit that I too was waiting to see the connection between the picture of Isaiah and the article. However, its was not out of a need to protect him from the stigma of HIV. I think our minds have been trained to associate a connection between images and text, esp on the internet. Having said that, its clear to me that Keith's connection was implicit rather than direct (i.e.a black medical professional relates implicitly to the subject of the article). Finally lets not forget the distinction between HIV and AIDS. The terms are not interchangable. Its not clear whether the stats Keith is referencing deal with HIV or AIDS. This needs to be clarified to make an informed decision about the impact of this epidemic on our community. Having said that, Keith deserves credit for challening media representations regarding these issues.
louis
April 24 2006, 7:02PM
He should remove the image because of the mere distraction that it's proven itself to be already. In these few post alone there's been more yammering about the pic than about the intended subject; a most urgent and alarming subject I would be remissed to add.
Liquid Fonts
April 24 2006, 7:03PM
I read the title of the article and then I read the article but really hadn't noticed the pic until reading the comments.
The people who arguedthat that man's pic should not be associated with Keith's topic about Hiv/aids really are pointing out that the perception of being hiv positive or even just merely being associated with something aids related is still a big issue that causes fear and avoidance especially within the gay community and outside of course... so then how do u deal with Hiv/aids w/o shaming people with it or those who aren't positive but just wanna help ?
louis
April 24 2006, 7:04PM
*remissed not to add*
EL
April 24 2006, 8:14PM
Wow, I can't believe I didn't know this. I truly thought that black women were more affected than any other group in the US by HIV/AIDS in recent times.
aunt esther anderson
April 24 2006, 9:15PM
Thanks for the cyber wakeup call...black america surely needs it. We also need to be ever mindful of our brothers and sisters in Africa who are being obliterated by this pandemic. AE
cmoney
April 24 2006, 10:01PM
I didn't even know who the guy was and I don't care. I read the story because it struck home with me. A friend of mine just told me that he tested postive a few weeks ago. He survived the 80's and 90's only to become positive in the 21st century. We have a long way to go even among educated people who know how to protect themselves yet don't. SO I could give a shit about some actor who should be glad anyone is talking about him. Nobody inferred that he was gay or had AIDS. We have more serious issues and we need to pay attention to what the article was about.
Steve
April 25 2006, 8:26AM
Keith - don't you think this is just one more manifestation of "gay people (i.e. men) deserve this but straight people don't" thinking? I mean, every time the media gets the chance to pounce upon some group of people, be they children, women, whatever, who gets HIV by "accident" it becomes the new hoo-pla "target group." But when it is gay men or intravenous drug users that are deemed to constitute "the group" then our media just looks the other way. I for one am so furious STILL that it took an unfortunate white BOY, Ryan White, to begin to make most of Amerikka even think about the fact that this disease could affect them directly. While I feel for Ryan White and millions of others like him, and while I'm grateful that people finally woke up to what was going on, I am pissed, royally pissed, every time a new "straight" group is identified, especially when, in the case of black women, the implication is that they are being victimized by boyfriends who are getting it on with men on the side. That is the implication, after all, in the mind of most of Amerikka. And while that might indeed be the method of transmission most commonly found, the prediliction for finding ways to "blame" gay men and to "pity" unfortunate straight people makes me want to heave.
All people who have HIV are victims, and of much more than just the disease. Every human being, not just the sexually active, is potentially a host for this horrific disease. If we could focus attention on who gets it MOST, maybe that would help us move forward.