Thursday, May 29, 2014

AIDS and the City



Interesting oral (and anal) history about the early days of AIDS in NYC put together by my friend Tim Murphy.

Love that John Blair had his age withheld(!), and found it strange that Sean Strub would mention being worried about having had "condomless" sex in 1983. (Was there any other kind, or does his mind just talk that way after so many years of safe sex?) Also, I can't help but wonder if every queen in New York actually read The New York Times back then -- papers USED to be important, I know! -- or if it's an "I was at [insert historic event in history here]" kind of situation.

Read HERE.

2 comments:

  1. I'm roughly halfway through And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts and am still surprised at how the epidemic was viewed and mishandled by so many in government, medicine, and even activism.

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  2. Kenneth, condoms were being talked about in late 82 and early 83, but it was when Michael Callen and Richard Berkowitz's landmark booklet, How to Survive a Plague: One Approach, was published in May of 1983 when they became the central focus, including prompting many of us to reflect on the condomless sex we had been having. Anyone interested in more history on those first several years might enjoy Marty Duberman's Hold Tight Gently, his new duo-biography of Michael Callen and Essex Hemphill or my book, Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival. Thanks!

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