Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Boo, You're It

As the city continues to grapple with the seeming uptick in hate crimes, bullying and issues of race and sexuality, I was heartened on my way home from work yesterday to see that the "I Love My Boo" campaign -- which features black and Hispanic gay couples in ads encouraging young gay men to be proud of their sexuality -- has moved out of the bathrooms of gay bars and into the city's subway cars. The effort is spearheaded by the Gay Men's Health Crisis, and also encourages people to get tested for HIV. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that men of color are the least likely group to be aware of their HIV status, a stat the GMHC attributes to racial taboos against homosexuality. The subway posters are considerably toned down from the ones that appeared in gay bars, below, but their message is powerful nonetheless.

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