Jasmine Corazon, 37, entered the subway recently and noticed
something new. It was an image of a Latino man cozying up to his
girlfriend (or wife) from behind, hand on her upper arm and coming in
for a nuzzle. Below the intimate image was the encouragement: “Be HIV
Sure.” And then the direction: “Be safe, be sure, and get tested
frequently.”
It’s a far cry from the images related to HIV she’s used to seeing in
the subway: the wan, skeletal gay men, often white, meant to provide
living proof of the ravages of the virus. Or, conversely, the hyper
athletic he-men, brimming with health and meant to be a counterpoint to
the stereotype. But nowhere were there images of the people she saw
every day affected by HIV: straight, gay, of all races, living, loving
and carrying on regular lives as people with HIV alongside the people
who love them.
“These are normal-looking people,” said Corazon — not her real name,
since her husband isn’t out about having HIV — of the ads. “It’s a
huge step in the right direction.”
Not looking like they are ill or sad or afraid is the whole point —
and so is the intimation of intimacy and sex. The New York City
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched the Be HIV Sure
campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2014, as a new take on the old
message: Get tested, get treatment, take precautions. But this time,
it’s without the layer of fear-mongering or sex-shaming that often
accompanies such campaigns.
“When we designed this campaign, it was really important that we
didn’t stigmatize in any direction — whether you are living with HIV or
at risk of HIV,” said Demetre Daskalakis, M.D., an infectious disease
doctor who leads the city’s Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control.
“And we want people to find what it means for them to be sure. HIV is
such a personalized disease state. The care is personalized. The message
should be, too.”