Whenever new statistics emerge about the impact of HIV on the lives
of young black gay men (same-gender loving/men who sleep with men), we need to
not only be careful about how we receive them, but how we use and share
that information.
Black gay men
have been hearing this for years; we know the odds are against us and we know
it’s partially due to the behaviors we need to change, the
conversations we need to have, and a pill we need to
take. What we also know too well though are the systemic barriers that fuel the
epidemic in our community and the social determinants that have us at a
disadvantage.
It was reported
that: 1 in 2 black gay men will be living with HIV by the age of 35. This
projection about us is just a substantiation of what we’ve been
seeing in our social circles, especially here in Charlotte and even more
so in large cities like Atlanta, Washington, DC and New York City. It’s best
for us not to perpetuate the fear and hopelessness these bleak
statistics inspire. Instead, it is crucial to remain focused on addressing the
barriers to our community winning this fight: cultural incompetence among
medical providers, as well as a lack of adequate wraparound social services to
retain young black men in care top that list. We also have to be
intentional about encouraging and empowering young black men to show up to this
fight in their strength.
Living this
life, navigating the healthcare system with the compounded stigmas of our
blackness, sexuality, and virus, is discouraging enough. Constant reassurance
that we’re playing a losing game is clearly not an effective prevention tool
and does not inspire us to overcome. It’s time we recognize that
infographics are best used among HIV/AIDS service providers and CDC
statisticians, not blasted on social media where they perpetuate stigma and
fear of and among us.
Well said...
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