Proud to have worked on this project.
HIV stigma, anticipated or experienced, creates barriers to testing, treatment and care and thereby perpetuates the epidemic.
#MakeStigmaHistory

A white panel has been pinned over a panel of the quilt. There is a note attached which reads: This panel was made by a friend for a friend. The parents do not want this panel to be shown anywhere. The stigma still exists. Until this changes this panel will remain covered. A red ribbon is not enough. The quilt is not enough. What will it take? Attitudes must change.

One of the most moving panels in the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is the one that no-one sees.
It remains covered up because the parents of the person who died are ashamed.
HIV stigma creates barriers to testing and treatment.
It perpetuates the epidemic.
#MakeStigmaHistory

By being open about our HIV status, by telling our stories, we can help dispel the fear and ignorance that leads to stigma.
#MakeStigmaHistory

We need to get to the point where nobody thinks that someone with HIV is somehow ‘lesser’ because of their HIV status.
I don’t think I am.
I don’t think any of us are.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Me this morning. I’m wearing a vest, having just worked out. My shoulders look quite muscular. I’m smiling with a closed mouth so you’ll have to rake my word that I have good teeth.

I’m 57 years old.
I’ve been living with HIV for almost half my life.
HIV treatment means I’m undetectable, which means I can’t pass it on during sex - the risk is zero.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Me, shirtless, holding a resistance band. My body is fairly toned and muscular (for someone of my age). The top of my head has been cut off, concealing the fact that I also still have hair!

57 years old.
Living with HIV since I was 30.
Shameless.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Gay Men Fighting AIDS poster from 1994 (?). Conquer AIDS.

Just as we fought for greater acceptance of LGBT people, we now must fight to end HIV stigma if we are to end this epidemic.
I can think of no better way of honouring those who died.
#MakeStigmaHistory
🙏
13/13 🧵 Ends.

Me working out with a resistance band yesterday.

The same treatment that prevents my HIV from progressing to AIDS also means that there is ZERO risk of passing HIV on during sex.
Tell someone and help to #MakeStigmaHistory.

#MakeStigmaHistory

Foto Userin, [ Gesicht und wenig Oberkörper] in weissem Trägerkleid, mit headset mikrophon, lachend, graublonde Haare aufgesteckt

59 years old
HIV+
Longtermsurvivor
No regret
No shame
#makestigmahistory

This morning while working out. Angles and lighting make my right bicep look huge.

57 years old
Gay.
HIV+
Shameless
#MakeStigmaHistory

Kneeling on an exercise mat. My thighs look great. There’s a bit of a belly but what can you do, eh?

This is what a 57 year old* who’s had HIV for more than 26 years looks like!

*Photo taken this morning - happy birthday to me!
#MakeStigmaHistory

Me with my hands behind my head, wearing a Silence = Death vest. Photo taken for Vada Magazine.

A safe, available and effective cure for HIV is probably at least a decade away - and even that’s optimistic.
Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever be cured and I’m fine with that.
Secure treatment access for all and tackling stigma are more important to me.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Matthew Hodson stands down as aidsmap's Executive Director after 8 years Matthew Hodson has decided to stand down as Executive Director of aidsmap. This marks the end of a significant era for the organisation and the HIV community. Matthew has been a formidable leader, hea...

It has been an honour and a frequent joy to have played a part in aidsmap’s HIV news and information service to audiences around the world for the last 8 years.
Now it’s time for me to move on.
🙏
#MakeStigmaHistory
www.aidsmap.com/news/jun-202...

Biggest single reason for people with HIV dropping out of care is stigma, doctors report A major issue at last year’s BHIVA conference in Gateshead was loss to care. Several presentations alerted the conference to the fact that there could be more people in the UK who were diagnosed with ...

UK: There may be more people with #HIV who are diagnosed but not currently receiving treatment (and therefore, not undetectable) than people who remain undiagnosed.
Stigma creates barriers to healthcare.
#MakeStigmaHistory
www.aidsmap.com/news/may-202...

“If anyone asks, I just keep silent”: the impact of stigma on Vietnamese women living with HIV A recent study details how gender-based stereotypes and culturally defined roles negatively impact how Vietnamese women living with HIV engage with healthcare, their coping strategies and their suppor...

“My life, no matter how hard it is, I will bear it on my own. If anyone asks, I just keep silent. That’s all.”
How stigma impacts the lives and wellbeing of Vietnamese women living with HIV.
#MakeStigmaHistory
www.aidsmap.com/news/may-202...

Me aged 17, sitting with my hand touching my face. My hair is awesome.

Me in a shot taken for Vada Magazine’s December 2023 issue. I’m in a hotel room, wearing a sleeveless ACT-UP ‘Silence = Death’ vest. I’m smiling.

When I told my mother I was gay, aged 17, she said, “Well I expect you’ll get AIDS and die then.”
Diagnosed with HIV, 13 years later, I felt I’d failed. I carried that secret like a burden for years.
Now I’m shameless about my HIV that weight has lifted.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Me posing mid-workout. I’m sitting on a cube with both arms cradling one thigh but facing the other way - so it has a kind of Soviet art look to it somehow. I’m looking tan and fairly buff, but there’s a comforting circle of blubber around the waist.

No shame in HIV.
#MakeStigmaHistory

The kind of gym selfie you might expect of a well preserved 56 year old gay guy with his own hair.

I’m not generally a sweaty guy but I was glistening profusely after this morning’s work out in Udawalawe!
🥵
Wherever you are today remember to #MakeStigmaHistory!

Final home gym-selfie for a month. I’m standing and viewed from below (it’s an angle I think suits me - and that’s ok). Fair to say I’m in decent shape for someone in his mid-50s.

I came out as gay for all the world to see in 1987.
I came out as HIV+ for all the world to see in 2012.
No regrets.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Me working out yesterday. I’m looking tanned and buff (although the belly is not what I’d like it to be tbh).

56 years old.
More than 25 years living with HIV.
Shameless.
#MakeStigmaHistory

Involving religious leaders can undermine HIV prevention Traditionally, international HIV prevention efforts are managed by secular public health organisations or programmes, often internationally funded, that work with local health care providers, statutor...

Religion can harm HIV prevention.
Pakistan’s HIV activity became dominated by religious conservatives - stigmatising and shaming people living with HIV and judging people at risk as immoral.
Stigma and shame perpetuate the epidemic. #MakeStigmaHistory
www.aidsmap.com/news/feb-202...

Me mid workout. Vest, not quite obscene short shorts. Felt cute.

With treatment, HIV is no bar to living a long and healthy life.
And effective treatment also means there is NO RISK of passing it on during sex.
Me, 56 years old, 25+ years living with HIV.
#MakeStigmaHistory