PAGE 16Q-Notes ▼ February 1994
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National Notes
Metrolina AIDS Project
by David Prybylo
Q-Notes Staff
Feds release new AIDS
education campaign
WASHINGTON, DC—The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to
day launched its series of new radio and
television public service announcements
(PSAs) targeting sexually active young peo
ple who are at increased risk for HIV infec
tion. The PSAs are part of a revamped CDC
HIV prevention program and mark the initi
ation of federally funded PSAs that explicit
ly discuss condom use on television and
radio.
The PSAs are the most visible component
of the CDC’s new Prevention Marketing
Initiative to prevent the sexual transmission
of HIV and other sexually transmitted dis
eases (STDs) among young people.
“The AIDS community has fought for
years for wide distribution of explicit, target
ed AIDS education,” said Daniel T. Bross,
AIDS Action Council executive director. “In
the past, the CDC has told people that the
way to prevent. AIDS is to ‘put your socks
on.’ Euphemisms such as these have limited
value; the high rate of death among young
adults due to AIDS tells us that we need a far
more sensible approach to public health.”
AIDS is the leading cause of death among
men, ages 25-44, and the fourth leading
cause of death among women, ages 25-44.
“The PSAs, along with the CDC’s asser
tions that condoms are effective in prevent
ing HIV infection, mark a significant break
from the past,” Bross added. “The new CDC
initiative is a long overdue first step in what
the AIDS community hopes will be a fresh
start for the CDC ’ s HIV prevention program.
At the same time, we believe that the net
works and local affiliates and radio stations
have an obligation to air these and other,
more frank announcements.”
Gay AIDS activists unhappy
with new campaign
WASHINGTON, DC—Three days after
the CDC announced its new AIDS preven
tion marketing campaign, gay AIDS activ
ists set fire to a copy of the initiative at a press
conference held outside the office of Nation
al AIDS Policy Coordinator Kristine Gebbie.
The initiative, which was unveiled January 4
by Gebbie and Donna Shalala, Secretary of
Health and Human Services, includes sever
al public service announcements (PSAs) for
television and radio targeted at young people
age 18-25. The PSAs encourage young
people to “use condoms correctly” or abstain
from sexual intercourse.
The new initiative is drawing fire from
gay AIDS activists because it fails to target
gay and bisexual men in any of its PSAs
designed to encourage condom use. Gay
men account for roughly 51% of the people
infected with HIV in the United States and
activists are outraged that the prevention
campaign does not target this at-risk popula
tion.
“We’ve been left out and left to die,”
stated Luke Sissyfag, a D.C. AIDS activist
who, on World AIDS day, confronted Pres
ident Clinton during a speech on AIDS.
Sissyfag, who set fire to the plan, continued,
“This is not a bold new prevention initiative,
it’s a slap in the face. It’s homophobic. To
launch an AIDS prevention program that
does not include gay and bisexual men in
criminal. AIDS is not letting up in the gay
community. If this administration was seri
ous about saving lives it would include gay
men.”
The new initiative is also receiving criti
cism for not being explicit enough in its
message. “To tell people to ‘use a condom
consistently and correctly’ and not show a
condom, how to put it on or inform the
viewer what correctly means is dangerous.
Telling people to learn the facts doesn’t tell
them the facts. The next wave of infections
will be because of Shalala’s failure to act
decisively,” Sissyfag said. Many activists
are concerned that the PSAs instruct people
to use a condom correctly but do not show
one or make any mention of only using water
based lubricants. Activists also say that very
few people will call the information number
to order the mentioned educational pamphlet
and that air time would be better used pre
senting the information out front.
AIDS activists feel that if the Clinton
administration was committed to prevention
of HIV it would implement a federally coor
dinated condoms in schools and prisons pro
gram as well as legalize and fund needle
exchange efforts. “Anything less is just
smoke and mirrors,” said AIDS activist Tom
Kortos.
American Airlines boycott
endorsed
WASHINGTON, DC—In a unanimous
decision, representatives of the Mid-Atlan
tic Regional Organizing Committee for Stone
wall 25, agreed to endorse a boycott of
American Airlines called by ACT UPAVash-
ington. In addition to the endorsement, mem-
Continued on page 31
Between the Covers
More gossip than analysis
Contested Closets: The IMities and
Ethics of Outing
By iLarry Gres*
of Minbmta Fress, Min*
»edpell!},MN
$44*95
by Jonathan Padget
Special to Q-Notes
In Contested Closets, Larry Gross con
fronts the controversial subject of outing,
apparently in an effort to estimate outing’s
true long-term significance—if any—in late
20th century American culture. Unfortu
nately, as the author himself admits in his
preface, outing is not yet a closed subject.
Like other issues of gay identity in the 1990s,
the story of outing continues daily. So,
instead of being able to provide the complete
history and impact of outing. Gross can only
provide commentary on selected events that
occurred prior to the book’s completion in
1992.
Gross explores most of the crucial topics
of outing—in the media, the entertainment
industry, the military, the political arena—
with an odd and somewhat imposing style of
mini-chapters that are titled like essays, but
are really little more than extensive quotes
and documentations. Sections of the book,
like “The Pentagon Provides a Poster Boy”
or “Frying the Big Media fish,” almost be
tray Gross ’ background and perspective from
the academic field of communications, but it
seems that Gross could not decide if he was
writing an academic analysis or simply con
solidating the gossip recently generated on
who is or is not gay. Readers of Contested
Closets may also stumble over Gross’ un
wieldy use of footnotes which are prone to
continue lengthy discussion from the main
text rather than provide brief background
information.
Since a large basis for outing is debate and
gossip, Gross also chose to include reprints
of original articles from both the mainstream
press—Time, Chicago Tribune—and alter
nativeslike Village Voice and OutWeek. Out
of what could either be a strange homage or
just a recognition of his significance, several
key articles written by Michelangelo Signorile
in OutWeekare collected under the heading,
“The Pope of Outing.”
Ultimately, Contested Closets fails to pro
vide what may need to be a more objective
and concise analysis of outing. Like outing’s
players he describes. Gross seems driven by
the urgency for immediate progress in the
gay community’s health and equality. Con
tested Closets, perhaps by design, answers
few questions and fuels an ongoing debate;
and while the subject of outing is certainly
worthy of analytical discussion. Gross’ con
tribution doesn’t seem to fit the bill.