While there have been an increasing number of celebs coming out in the last few years, generally they’ve stayed clear of talking about divisive subjects within the gay community (sure they were generally for marriage equality, but that was hardly contentious for their fans).
However now Zachary Quinto has stepped up to talk about gay men’s attitude to AIDS in the face of rising infection rates among young people and a decrease in condom use. Talking to Out, he says, “I think there’s a tremendous sense of complacency in the LGBT community. AIDS has lost the edge of horror it possessed when it swept through the world in the ’80s. Today’s generation sees it more as something to live with and something to be much less fearful of. And that comes with a sense of, dare I say, laziness.”
He also urges caution about the emergence of PrEP of the danger of people seeing it as a reason not to be as diligent about safer sex, adding “We need to be really vigilant and open about the fact that these drugs are not to be taken to increase our ability to have recreational sex. There’s an incredible underlying irresponsibility to that way of thinking… and we don’t yet know enough about this vein of medication to see where it’ll take us down the line.”
Quinto’s comments have attracted some criticism, with some feeling he’s blaming those who get infected, while others have suggested his comments are part of a hysteria around AIDS which belongs in the past (partly because of how it stigmatises those living with HIV and AIDS). However others have rallied to his defence, saying he’s addressing an important subject that is perhaps ignored too much, despite the fact HIV diagnoses are growing in many places, and that while PrEP has been painted in some corners as being one step from a vaccine, in reality the true facts about its effectiveness are still emerging.
Due to the controversy, Zachary has decided it would be a good idea to expand and explain exactly what he was trying to say in a piece published over at Huffpo. In that essay he says, ‘I am thrilled that the comments I made in my cover interview for OUT 100 have generated a spirited dialogue about HIV/AIDS – and the advent of a whole new class of preventative life saving medication. I am less thrilled that they were almost entirely misconstrued. Perhaps I could have been more articulate — but my comments were never meant to be incendiary or judgmental.
‘I am a staunch advocate for the rights and well-being of the LGBT community. I have deep compassion and empathy for people living with HIV/AIDS. I am assuredly not internally homophobic or poz-phobic or willfully ignorant regarding this issue. I am a well-adjusted and well-educated gay man. I have read and understand the way PrEP works, and at least the most basic science behind its practical applications – although I am always open to learning more… I did not intend to make generalizations about the LGBT community at large – or people living with HIV/AIDS or people in love with someone living with HIV/AIDS.
‘What troubles me – and what I was trying to speak to in my interview – is an attitude among (some of) the younger generation of gay men – that we can let our guard down against this still very real threat to our collective well-being. I have had numerous conversations in my travels with young gay people who see the threat of HIV as diminished to the point of near irrelevance. I have heard too many stories of young people taking PrEP as an insurance policy against their tendency toward unprotected non-monogamous sex. THAT is my only outrage…
‘I was simply trying to assert my belief that we need to be especially vigilant and accountable to ourselves and one another at this moment in our evolution. It is a tremendous advancement in the fight against the disease that scientists have developed this particular medication. But it’s still early — that’s all.’
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