Since the first cases were reported in 1981, AIDS has been affecting the lives of many people in the United States. Perceptions of HIV/AIDS have change dramatically over the pass of the years. Contracting the HIV virus meant a death sentence, however with medical improvements and the introduction of more efficient drugs a person with HIV can in a way live a normal life. And because of the advances in medicine people infected with HIV are living longer. Nevertheless, after a person gets infected with the HIV it is very likely for he or she to die of AIDS and AIDS still an incurable disease. In 2009 there was an estimate of 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but researchers argue that although there is a high percent of people living with HIV/AIDS, there are fewer new infections compare as previous years when the virus was discovered. Disparities in relation to new HIV infections between race and gender exist. Many researchers argue that minorities are more affected with HIV/AIDS because of the lacking representation on the media and the subjugating stereotypes place on them. HIV/AIDS is a problem that indirectly affects many people. This chronic disease not only affects the people infected with it, but also their families and friends. Because HIV is a transmittable disease, many people avoid regular contact with HIV infected people. On the other hand, regardless of the new drugs that prolong the lives of people infected with the HIV virus, HIV/AIDS still is an overwhelming disease and it interferes with the social lives of many people. Many stigmas exist in relation to HIV/AIDS that influence of how it is perceived by others. When the HIV virus was discover and identified as the causative of AIDS, the disease was categorized as only a homosexual. Even though, heterosexual were affected by the disease as well, for many years HIV/AIDS was primary viewed as homosexual disease. Heroin addicts and Haitians were also categorized as high risk population. Nowadays, HIV/AIDS is widely known as a disease that can affect anyone regardless of their gender, age, or race. New infections has remained in a stable balance since the mid 1990’s (nunn), however, new HIV infections seems to increase among specific races. In the article The (Missing) Faces of African American Girls with AIDS written by Nels P. Highberg published in Feminist Formations, an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal, he denounces the disparities that exists between African American girls with AIDS and others races. According to a report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2008 there were approximately 127,000 women living with AIDS. African-American women accounted for 64 percent of the total number or women with AIDS. African-American women were 23 times the rate of white women and four times the rate for Hispanic women to
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In his book Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How, Lasswell creates two groups, the elites and the mass, the elites are members of the mainstream society who are not affected nor infected with HIV and the mass are the members of the minority society, who can be infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. According to him the elite are the part of society who receives most of the available values, which can be categorized as “deference, income, safety”. (Humble). Since the “elite members” of the society were largely affected by HIV/AIDS, Lasswell argues, “there would be a plethora of front page stories regarding the virus [HIV] in the United States.” (Humble). Regardless of the fact that AIDS is not viewed as a disease that can only affect homosexual, drugs abusers, and Haitians, HIV/AIDS is still considered and viewed by many as diseases that affects those in the bottom of society who hold little or no power. …show more content…
Since its outbreak, media covAIDS at 21: Media Coverage of the HIV Epidemic 1981-2002 also finds that specific populations disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in the U.S., such as gay men, teenagers and young adults, minorities, and women, were the focus of only a small amount of the news coverage rage about HIV/AIDS had been reduced to a point where is almost not mentioned at all” the problem of little coverage of the disease among minorities, increase the lack of knowledge about HIV transmission among a the minority U.S population.
In his book Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How, Lasswell creates two groups, the elites and the mass, the elites are members of the mainstream society who are not affected nor infected with HIV and the mass are the members of the minority society, who can be infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. According to him the elite are the part of society who receives most of the available values, which can be categorized as “deference, income, safety”. (Humble). Since the “elite members” of the society were largely affected by HIV/AIDS, Lasswell argues, “there would be a plethora of front page stories regarding the virus [HIV] in the United States.” (Humble). Regardless of the fact that AIDS is not viewed as a disease that can only affect homosexual, drugs abusers, and Haitians, HIV/AIDS is still considered and viewed by many as diseases that affects those in the bottom of society who hold little or no power. …show more content…
Since its outbreak, media covAIDS at 21: Media Coverage of the HIV Epidemic 1981-2002 also finds that specific populations disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in the U.S., such as gay men, teenagers and young adults, minorities, and women, were the focus of only a small amount of the news coverage rage about HIV/AIDS had been reduced to a point where is almost not mentioned at all” the problem of little coverage of the disease among minorities, increase the lack of knowledge about HIV transmission among a the minority U.S population.