Last month The Body ran a piece on 10 famous people with HIV. What was interesting to me is that there wasn't anyone who has disclosed their status since the mid 1990's, a time before effective combination therapies became available. For those on the list who are still living--Magic Johnson and Greg Louganis--their disclosure came at the height of their athletic careers, and almost required some reason for their retirement at the top of their game. We could add Rudy Galindo to this list, the last person I remember going public with his or her HIV status.
Even if Magic wasn't such a vocal advocate for HIV, his disclosure has done much to promote testing and condom use. His continuing success in business and sports shows that one can have a full life--not only after HIV, but also after disclosure. As I wrote in the comments section:
Does the lack of any new celebrity spokespersons living with HIV/AIDS in the last fifteen years mean that celebrities are all using condoms and no longer put themselves at risk? I don't think so!
Having famous people living with this disease does much to promote HIV awareness, condom use, and access to treatment. It's unfortunate that there are probably 10 more celebrities we see in concerts, on ESPN, on TV, and in the movies every day who would make incredible advocates, but because they might loose that romantic role or Nike endorsement, choose to hide behind their pills.
This week Kellee Terrell picks up on the theme in their post, "Will This Generation's Magic Johnson Please Stand Up?"
Maybe the media, TheBody.com included, needs to write more articles about straight men living with the disease. And maybe more health care professionals need to check their own biases at the door and be less worried about offending patients and just test them anyway.
Or maybe what we need to set all of this into motion is another Magic Johnson.
Someone who possesses the same level of fame, power and swagger as the Dwyane Wades, the 50 Cents and the Jay-Zs of the world, and who is willing to go public with his HIV status. While this person has yet to materialize, given the HIV prevalence rate in this country, I know he exists.
And to take it one step further, maybe we also need a famous woman with HIV to disclose her status. I know she exists as well.
When I first started woring in the HIV field, Magic's disclosure sent lines out the door from the Long Beach Health Department's STD clinic. I'm sure there were a few who did test positive, and can thank Magic for their getting tested and getting into treatment early. If it's been a while since your last test, maybe it's time to come back and get tested.
The CARE Program offers free confidential HIV testing with results in twenty minutes. We're located at 411 East 10th Street, Suite 107, Long Beach, CA 90813. You can walk in, or make an appointment by calling (562) 624-4900.
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