January 2012 Archives

In 2010, Olympic champion Greg Louganis told People that he wanted to be on Dancing With The Stars. According to People, he danced as a child and was teased about it. "It would be a blast," Louganis told the magazine.

Somewhere along the way, a Facebook page -- "We want Greg Louganis on Dancing With the Stars" -- was created to encourage the popular celebrity-driven show on ABC to cast Louganis in the next season.

The supporters of the Facebook page got POZ to tweet in support. They even got Perez Hilton to lend his support.

Coming out twice -- as gay and as HIV positive -- is never simple, and it was exponentially more difficult for Louganis. Breaking the Surface, his autobiography, gives a heartwrenching account of the troubles he faced in the coming out process.

I admit that I'm not a regular viewer of DWTS, but I do know that the show appeals to many LGBT folks. And some LGBTs have actually appeared on the show (Chaz Bono, Carson Kressley, Margaret Cho, Lance Bass).

That said, to my knowledge, no openly HIV-positive celebrity has been on DWTS. Louganis would make a great addition to the cast on his own merits, but being a representative of the HIV/AIDS community would make his addition to DWTS that much more special.

So, how about it DWTS? This upcoming season of Celebrity Apprentice will have three celebs fighting to earn prize money for HIV/AIDS groups. DWTS, you have an opportunity to one-up Celebrity Apprentice. Wouldn't that be its own reward, DWTS?!

To read the POZ cover story of Louganis, click here.


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The extreme religious right in the United States often uses HIV/AIDS to scare their faithful into submission. Don't repeal the Defense of Marriage Act because it prevents HIV, which causes AIDS, they say. Make your gay kids straight, they say, because if you don't your kids are going to get HIV, which causes AIDS.

Obviously, I disagree with their point of view. That said, I do agree with them about one thing -- HIV causes AIDS. That small common ground didn't seem like much, until now.

Bryan Fischer is director of issues analysis for the American Family Association (AFA), which calls itself "one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country." However, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, calls the AFA a hate group. Among many other distinctions, AFA is well known as an anti-gay group.

Fischer hosts the talk radio show Focal Point on American Family Radio and writes for the AFA blog Rightly Concerned. In a video clip from his program posted by RightWingWatch.org that I ran across at the LGBT blog Joe.My.God, Fischer comes out as an AIDS denialist.

Watch the clip:


In the clip, Fischer claims that researchers invented HIV as the cause of AIDS so that they could get funding. Then he asks Peter Duesberg, a longtime AIDS denialist, what really causes AIDS. His answer is that recreational drugs and promiscuous sex are to blame, not HIV.

In his blog, Fischer doubles down on his new AIDS denialist beliefs by claiming that Magic Johnson is "healthy as a horse" because HIV does not cause AIDS.

In 2011, Fischer compared gays to Nazis -- literally. In 2010, he said we were "stuck with sexual deviants" in response to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I could go on and on, but you get the point. Fischer is undoubtedly a homophobe.

However, embracing AIDS denialism takes his homophobia to an all-time low. To stick it to the gays, Fischer now promotes pseudoscience. Advancing pseudoscience is always dangerous, but in this case, it's mostly just sad.


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In his 1987 book Freedom Under Siege, current Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) wrote this about people with AIDS: "The individual suffering from AIDS is certainly a victim, frequently a victim of his own lifestyle, but this same individual victimizes individual citizens by forcing them to pay for his care."

In a January 1 interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, Paul was asked if he still supported that position and basically said yes. Wallace then asked him if people with AIDS should be denied health insurance. Paul said no, but he directly implied that people with AIDS should pay more for their health insurance.

Paul points out that smokers are often asked to pay more for their health insurance, which is true. What he fails to see is that the smoking comparison doesn't really apply. Should the people who did not acquire HIV through unprotected sex pay more? Most people who acquired HIV through unprotected sex (like myself) did not intend to be harmed. Most people who smoke do so fully aware of the health risks. By Paul's logic, it seems to me that he should be in favor of higher health care costs for all people who have had unprotected sex.

Paul's beliefs notwithstanding, perhaps the most appalling thing in this interview was how Wallace asked Paul about health insurance for people with AIDS: "Congressman, do you think someone who suffers from AIDS should not be entitled to health insurance as opposed to, let's say, somebody who has a homo, heterosexual transmitted disease?"

Wallace committed many no-nos with this question. On style, enough with the "suffers from AIDS" phrase, please. Saying "has AIDS" is sufficient, thank you very much.

Just to back up my annoyance, here's the entry on AIDS from the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) stylebook:

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a medical condition that compromises the human immune system, leaving the body defenseless against opportunistic infections. Some medical treatments can slow the rate at which the immune system is weakened. Do not use the term "full-blown AIDS." Individuals may be HIV-positive but not have AIDS. Avoid terms such as "AIDS sufferer" and "AIDS victim" because they imply powerlessness. Use "people with AIDS" or, if the context is medical, "AIDS patients."

On substance, Wallace made an even more egregious error. By saying a "heterosexual transmitted disease" (I'm sure he meant "heterosexually"), he directly implies that HIV is essentially a gay thing. His slip up of including "homo" before "heterosexual" seems to underscore this belief.

Obviously gay people are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, but the virus does not discriminate by sexual orientation. Wallace should know better. All journalists should know better.

Watch the interview (AIDS comments begin at 3:08):


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