Events tagged with "AIDS"
ABplus
ABplus was founded in 1996 by a group of HIV positive gay men. The organisation rose from the ashes of Body Positive which had folded the previous year. The group aims to be a peer support network for anyone living with or affected by HIV/AIDS....
AIDS Don't Die of Ignorance
In 1987 the government launched its most memorable prevention campaign, posting leaflets to every home in the country. The leaflets bore the slogan ‘AIDS – Don't Die of Ignorance’. Meanwhile on TV The ‘Tombstone’ and ‘Iceberg’ adverts appeared....
AIDS memorial quilt
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes.The quilt is made of panels that are 6ft x 3ft, and are made by family and friends of those who have died, ...
AIDSline West Midlands
The Gay Community was initially the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS and with statutory bodies finding it difficult to engage and cope with the scale of the epidemic it fell to gay men to organise themselves to combat the virus, to educate each other and to s...
AZT
In 1989 trials were concluded of the drug AZT (Azidothymidine) which was shown to slow progression to AIDS in HIV positive individuals. This was not a cure and came at a heavy price with often debilitating side effects, although it did prolong l...
Candlelight Vigil
The first candlelight vigil was held on December 1st 1989 to mark World AIDS day. It was held in Chamberlain Square....
Clause 28 (also known as Section 28) enacted
Section 28 of the Local Government Act (also known as Clause 28) became law on 24 May 1988 requiring that... 'A local government shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality' or 'prom...
Fairy Towers
Two blocks, the Cleveland & Clydesdale Towers, have become particularly notorious. They were constructed between 1967 and 1971 and located on opposite sides of Holloway Circus on Holloway Head. They became known as either 'Fairy Towers' or 'Dorot...
Gay Mens Health Group
Gay Men's Health Group was a voluntary action group formed by members of the gay community and spearheaded the early fight and education against HIV/AIDS and other health related matters.One of their most popular events was the Super Pricks, a play o...
HIV AIDS
HIV (initially called HTLV III) is a virus, which is most commonly passed on through sexual intercourse. The virus attacks the white blood cells in the body, eventually compromising the host's immune system so badly that they become susceptible to op...
HIV Stigma & Prejudice
Prejudice and stigma towards HIV/AIDS and people infected with HIV has been commonplace since the epidemic hit in the 80s, both from within and outside the gay community....
HIV the early years
In the early years of the HIV epidemic the medical establishment could provide no solution to the crisis; infection with HIV often led to AIDS which meant a slow and painful death. This period is now commonly referred to as the AIDS crisis and gay co...
John Curry
John Curry was born on 9 September 1949 in Birmingham, England. He was educated at Solihull School, an Independent School in the West Midlands. As a child, Curry wanted to become a dancer, but his father disapproved of dance as an activity for boys, ...
Lesbian Rights
During the emergence of both feminist politics and gay politics in the late sixties and seventies, many lesbians chose to fight for their rights within the context of the Women's Liberation Movement , rather than gay liberation, believing that they h...
Living with HIV
Since Combination Therapy became widely available in 1996 the death rates amongst people infected with HIV have dramatically declined, with the prognosis for newly diagnosed patients extremely good (if detected early). AIDS diagnoses are extremely ra...
Poppers
Poppers is the street name for various alkyl and butyl nitrites, usually sniffed directly to obtain a mild 'high'. Extremely popular amongst gay men since the Disco scene of the late 1970s and the Hi-NRG days of the 1980s.From Wikipedia...Poppers is ...
Slap FM
Slap FM or Scene Led AIDS Prevention For Men, was a safer sex initiative involving members of Birmingham's gay scene dressing up as 'SLAP' police to spread the safer sex message in bars and clubs....
World AIDS Day
The first global World AIDS Day was December 1st 1988. It started as a day to share messages of hope, compassion and understanding about AIDS to the world. It came about through The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS.In Birming...
Memories tagged with "AIDS"
AIDS cash crisis
This article from the 'Lesbian and Gay News West Midlands', February 1992, highlights the lack of funding for health promotion targeted specifically at gay men, who bore the brunt of the epidemic during the AIDS crisis.AIDS CASH CRISISGay rights camp...
AIDS Epidemic, The Early Years
Graham describes the period of the early AIDS epidemic as a period of maturation, "Incredible stories of friendship, companionship and support. That time made gay relationships much more serious, not just hedonistic, it was also about being responsib...
AIDS politicised the gay community
“The real politicisation of the gay community started with HIV/AIDS. Until becoming involved with AIDSline West Midlands, Trevor didn’t think that he knew anyone with AIDS. He says, “I got involved through compassion and anger and because it was a po...
AIDS provoked a backlash
Garry made reference to friends and acquaintances who have died and talks about the impact of AIDS and HIV on the community in terms of the backlash the virus provoked - with gay people being seen as "diseased" and "condemned by God". "There was me j...
AIDS pushed everything back
Twiggy recalled "AIDS pushed everything back 10 or 15 years, the way we were related to in the street, the abuse was always AIDS related, people were frightened and confused but it didn't stop people going out and copping off, personally it didn't ma...
All about Poppers
This article from the Voice, the Nightingale Clubs members magazine discusses poppers in July 1983. In the early years of the HIV epedemic there had been a suspected link between Poppers and AIDS, this link was later proved false.PoppersWhenever peop...
Attitudes to gays at secondary school in Four Oaks
" We had a few pop stars that were camp and flamboyant. John Inman was on the telly in the 70s and 80s in Are You Being Served? and Larry Grayson. They weren't any kind of positive role models. All I saw was gay as being effeminate or camp. At ...
Beautiful Barmen
“The Jester had some beautiful barmen; it was a happy hunting ground for me.” jinks said that in those days “We weren’t restricted by the fear of AIDS - nowadays it is so slow…the lube…the shower.”...
Clause 28 caused so much anger
“I got involved in campaigns, firstly against Clause 28 back in 1988. It was one of the best things that happened to the gay community. The Clause caused such anger amongst non politicised lesbians and gay men at the end of the fear and homophobia th...
Cottaging was rife
“I used cottages before John and during the end of my relationship with John but not in the middle, no. I didn’t, I was part of a couple so I didn’t cat around, no, for a long time, that was later on. I was 24 when I met him (1965), 25 when we ...
Domeophobia ?
The following article shows the level of ignorance and prejudice shown towards the gay community at the height of the AIDS crisis. 'In the Pink' September 1987After a year of Bolts at the Dome in Birmingham, the new manager of the Dome Mr David Cahil...
Gas Gays Storm
This article from 'In The Pink', January 1987, shows the level of hatred towards the gay community, using the AIDS crisis as an excuse to call for the mass extermination of gay men and lesbians. Advocating a method favoured by the Nazis during World ...
Gay Demo Arrests December 1986
The following article from 'In The Pink', January 1987, details the actions taken by the police towards The Wombourne 12. The group of young gays and lesbians were peacefully demonstrating against the remarks of councillor William Frank Brownhill who...
Gay stereotypes and AIDS in the media late 80s
“It was the height of the AIDS epidemic, there was such a fear. They see things on telly, these stereotypes of HIV / AIDS in the late 80s. There were a lot of government adverts that looked like Goth-Rock videos that spelled death. That if you had se...
Government AIDS adverts
"I vividly remember the government advertising, it was always in the back of my mind. I did not have anal sex until I realised condoms would protect you from AIDS."...
Heavy handed policing
“The South Staffordshire Council Health Committee were debating some AIDS related item and the Leader said ‘I would shoot 90% of them or gas the bloody lot of them’, and the Labour leader then said ‘I can understand your sentiments and I share them’....
Helping to organise the first Pride 1996
Trevor joined the Birmingham Pride committee (The Triangle Committee) in November 1996, which was set up to organise the first Pride in May 1997. Trevor was the Secretary; there were about ten people involved on the executive committee and they broug...
HIV awareness training
Trevor then got a job as a trainer with Sandwell Social Services as HIV training officer. His job was to provide awareness training for staff from Directors to home care staff. One course he delivered so convinced them that other issues which needed ...
Homophobic response to County Council grant
“However there was again absolute outrage, this was depriving other worthy organisations such as the Boy Scouts, of funds. At that time we were just starting to get the hysteria about AIDS and it fed on the prejudices of people, so again the letters ...
Hundreds Join AIDS Vigil
This editorial from 'In The Pink', December 1989, reports the first World Aids Day Candlelight Vigil in Birmingham and also highlights the way some right wing politicians used the human tragedy of the AIDS crisis to further their ideology.HUNDREDS JO...
Lost friends
Malcolm talks about the devastating affect HIV/AIDS had on the gay community and him personally. He is HIV positive himself and he lost his partner, whom he had been with for 25 years.“My partner died a year before the anti-retrovirals became availab...
Lurid advice given to DHSS staff
Joseph had his first sexual encounter, aged about 18. At about this time, the early 1990s, the first AIDS awareness adverts started appearing on TV. Joseph found this very frightening and the effect it had on him was that he started to have sexual en...
Misleading AIDS leaflets
The following article from 'In The Pink', April 1989 highlights the anti-gay prejudice and misinformation around HIV/AIDS in the late 1980s, even from statutory bodies such as Birmingham City Council.WARNING : These leaflets may damage your healthTwo...
New HIV unit at East Birmingham
This article from the AIDS lifeline newsletter, November 1992, reports on the opening of the new HIV unit at the then East Birmingham Hospital, now Heartlands.East Birmingham Hospital's new unit at the Department of Infection and Tropical Medicine wa...
Slap FM article
The following article discussing Slap FM appeared in Midland's Zone magazine in April 1998How much money do you think you'd need to carry out scene-based AIDS prevention work in Birmingham? Okay, now halve it. quarter it and then divide it by seven. ...
Slap Police
Hilli was part of the charity Slap FM which was scene-led HIV/AIDS prevention. “We dressed as policemen and went on the scene, we were the ‘Slap Police’. We had a pink riding crop with a slap hand on the end and arrested people, booked them and asked...
The Devastating Effect of HIV
By 1989 I had lost 50% of my peer group to AIDS....
What the papers Didn't say about AZT
This article, from the AIDS lifeline newsletter and published in September 1993, explores the use of AZT in treating AIDS.What The Papers Didn't Say About AZTIn this article we're going to try to respond to the media stories which have given some qui...
Wombourne Campaign 1986
“The only local campaign I can remember was against Wombourne, a little Council in the Black Country, Staffordshire way. The Tory leader of the Council said, ‘This AIDS is doing us all a favour, all the gays should be gassed.’ A bunch of us picketed ...