Here’s Another Scary October Holiday: Latinx AIDS Awareness Day

It’s Not a Sexy Topic but it’s an Important Topic About Sex.

I came of sexual age just before HIV/AIDS hit the scene. When it did arrive and spread with a vengeance in 1981, they claimed that it was a “gay” disease, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Like there’s a virus or bacteria that differentiates between people based on their sexuality. Those bugs are total sluts and will go wherever they find a hospitable host. During the early days of “Are you on The Pill” there were a lot of hospitable hosts even among straights. Everything you could catch you could cure, though. Then Time Magazine released “The Scarlet Letter” issue about herpes in 1982. The innocence of the bareback het world was rocked and a new criterion for rejecting partners was born.

HIV/AIDS was nothing new to the world, but it hadn’t made its way into the West until the 1960s, emigrating from the Caribbean, which had inherited the virus during the 1920s from the Congo. By the end of the 1980s, more than 400,000 cases had been diagnosed worldwide. As of 2023, more than 35 million people have died from AIDS and as many live with it thanks to some amazing medications. Approximately 1.2 million of those people live in the United States. A possible 14% do not know they are infected. Because of new blood technologies and the softening of biases, gay and bi men in monogamous relationships are now allowed to donate blood. Ironically, straight people must be monogamous now, as well.

In December 1987, World AIDS Day became an official way to acknowledge those who have passed and those who continue to live with the disease. In order to do this, factual, science-based educational materials are distributed, their campaigns are supported, stigmas are confronted, and the fight for affordable testing and treatment options continues. Before long, an entire month was dedicated to the cause. Given that people who have contracted HIV/AIDS come from all areas of humanity, but especially minority communities, a number of separate and specialized days highlighting groups such as Women and Girls, Youth, Trans, Native Americans, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, and, in 2003, the Hispanic/Latino population.

There are other groups that are at special risk of exposure but are never going to get national days of anything. These include Sex Workers and IV Drug Users, both of whom struggle to access quality care, avoid additional stigma, and dodge law enforcement that often views condoms as proof of guilt.

October 15 is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). Because this ethnic group is disproportionately burdened with HIV made worse by poverty, racism, homophobia, stigma, and healthcare deserts, this day is devoted to education, testing, and, yes, fundraising. AIDS United, Elton John AIDS Foundation, and amFAR are among the best. AmFAR, for movie fans, was launched with a $250,000 donation from closeted movie star Rock Hudson’s estate after he became a victim of the disease in 1965 at the age of 59. Those who have lost their lives to the virus can be memorialized with a black ribbon. The “normal” AIDS ribbon is red.

Although the number of people dying from AIDS is declining thanks to new medications, we’re still talking about deaths in the hundreds of thousands. Fortunately for those who are not infected, PEP can be protective if taken within 72 hours of possible exposure. Likewise, PrEP, which can be taken daily to avoid infection provides a way for committed couples to keep the virus isolated. Alas, some assume that this means they have a Get Out of Jail Free card for slutting about without latex. Bad plan in the long run.

Regular and accurate HIV testing, along with consistent use of a condom and a frank discussion before fucking, are among the best forms of protection. And it doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about men with men or men with women, what matters is where an unclad penis sheds or deposits active viral particles. This can include the mouth, so regular dental cleanings are essential. Gums that bleed should never feel seed because the virus can penetrate torn or otherwise infected membranes.

Paramount among everything is this: if you do become infected, don’t lie to prospective or pre-existing partners. This is how the vast majority of STIs spread. That and remaining ignorant of our statuses. Although there is a lot of work yet to be done, we are closer than ever to a cure or, at the very least, a preventative vaccine. Being HIV+ or having AIDS does not have to be the end of our love lives, our sex lives, or our social lives.

Lies and lack of communication have led the adult industry to see performers exit, including Darren James, Lara Roxx, Miss Arroyo, Jessica Dee, and, of course, Marc Wallice, who faked his tests for two years and passed the disease on to four starlets including Brooke Ashley, Tricia Devereaux, Caroline, and Kimberly Jade.

The truth can be awkward and uncomfortable, and it can lose us some hot hookups. But if we want to live to celebrate less disease-focused days of solemnity and festivity held in November, for instance, we need to stay healthy. I mean, how can we properly appreciate World Vegan Day, National Calzone Day, National Deep Fried Clams Day, National Cook for Your Pets Day, National Ohio Day, National Housewife’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and, of course, the end of Daylight Savings Time and the frenzy of Black Friday if we’re confined to our beds or our coffins? Gotta be alive for all of those things, so please, play safe and play as often as you want.