World AIDS Day

     Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. It is also one of my brother's birthdays, but sorry Will, my blog post is going to be about World AIDS Day, as it is particularly relevant to my sex+positive blog (not that my brother isn't sex positive, because I am sure he would have plenty of solid contributions to this blog). Anyway....


   There have been a ton of great articles about World AIDS Day, The Huffington Post and the LA Times produced two especially well thought out articles, and even Fox News respectfully acknowledged the day. Most of what has been said is to celebrate the progress that has been made in treating HIV and AIDS, spreading awareness, and making safer sex sexier, but there is also a lot being said about what challenges we still face Nationally and Globally in eliminating AIDS and improving treatment while reducing transmission. 


     For me, the most pressing and personal issue associated with HIV and AIDS is the perspective young people have concerning contracting HIV and AIDS. Through volunteer work I've done with the Minnesota AIDS Project I learned last year the number of young men who have sex with men that were newly infected with HIV almost doubled in the Twin Cities. That's startling. 
     For people in their teens and twenties right now, AIDS doesn't have the scary face it does for people who were alive and coherent in the 1980s. With the advancement of medical treatment in the form of antiretrovirals HIV and AIDS are seen as illnesses you can live with, and I've even heard them compared with diabetes. Also, there are fantastic efforts made now to encourage gay males to get tested for HIV, but women who have sex with women and heterosexuals, especially young people, don't really see HIV infection as a possible threat. They might skip the HIV test, or skip asking their partner if they've been tested. Although we've made some amazing advances since the 80s, 40,000 people a year are newly infected with HIV. That is too many, especially when access to testing, safer sex supplies, and information is more available than ever.
    I hope everyone takes this World AIDS Day to reflect, celebrate our accomplishments, respect the lives that have been lost to AIDS and the lives that are affected every day by HIV and AIDS, but also to look forward. Not just to look forward with an empty hope, or faith that the government and medical advancements will take care of this, but look forward with a sense of personal responsibility and introspection. If the difference you make is only that you get tested for HIV, or put up a World AIDS day status of facebook, that's better than nothing, but we can all do so much more to help in the cause and take responsibility for our actions.