Yeah, Ma, I’m Okay

Abstract

People want desperately to be a part of the gay community, and the gay community is so intertwined with HIV infection that they want to either be HIV-positive or believe themselves to be at risk for it. It’s hard to say, “I am uninfected and I’m going live my life.” You can’t possibly do that, because HIV is so overwhelmingly a part of our culture. How many people do we know who walk around with a sense of pride that they’re HIV-negative? That’s very rare. Nobody wants to be seen that way. That has a swaggering quality that’s anathema to many gay men.