John Glass looks for the important lessons behind Charlie Sheen’s disclosure that he is HIV-positive.
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Yesterday morning, Charlie Sheen announced publicly on the TODAY Show that he was diagnosed four years ago with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or HIV positive. His decision to reveal his diagnosis now comes from what Sheen called his desire to stop a smear campaign against him, and to end efforts by those already aware of his diagnosis to extort money from him in exchange for secrecy. Sheen also said, “I have a responsibility now to better myself and to help a lot of other people and hopefully with what we’re doing today others will come forward and say, ‘Thanks, Charlie.'” (Today Show)
Rightly, there is some concern over Sheen, with his history of using prostitutes and drug and alcohol abuse, potentially being the “face” of HIV awareness.
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Rightly, there is some concern over Sheen, with his history of using prostitutes and drug and alcohol abuse, potentially being the “face” of HIV awareness. At this point, it is too early to tell what kind of impact Sheen will have in the HIV advocacy arena. If he does good work in raising awareness and educating others about being HIV positive, he may prove, despite his liabilities, to be an effective “poster boy.”
On the flip side, Sheen’s track record has not shown that he is an individual willing to put himself out in order to help others. But, people can change.
While a diagnosis of HIV was once a death sentence, given that AIDS would inevitably ensue, today’s drug treatments have changed that picture. There are many people who have lived with a diagnosis of HIV-positive for years, and many of them have been working diligently to raise awareness and educate others about HIV as a medical condition.
One such person is, Tyler Curry from HIVEqual, a national multimedia organization dedicated to breaking the stigma of HIV and promoting HIV testing. When asked to comment for this article, Curry offered this statement:
As someone with HIV, it is always uncomfortable when the mainstream media wants to talk about what life is like today with HIV. My life as Tyler Curry is what it has always been, and an HIV diagnosis is what happened along the way. Today, I take a pill every morning and go to the doctor every four months. In fact, HIV wouldn’t have changed my life at all, except for the fact that everyone expects for me to be a certain way or act a certain way. HIV is a disease just like any other, but because of the moral nature of sex, especially gay sex, people often look for character flaws to connect it to. We are all flawed and no one deserves to get HIV.
Charlie Sheen has no shortage of character flaws, but that doesn’t mean we should automatically connect those to his diagnosis.
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Charlie Sheen has no shortage of character flaws, but that doesn’t mean we should automatically connect those to his diagnosis. Some people may think Sheen deserves to have contracted HIV, because of his highly promiscuous lifestyle. But this is the sam flawed, discriminatory logic that was applied to gay men dying of AIDS in the 80s and 90s. Others are showing Sheen sympathy for disclosing his diagnosis. From a public health perspective, Sheen’s announcement raises important questions surrounding healthy and ethical sexual encounters. Sheen claims that the two people he had unprotected sex with after his diagnosis were aware of his condition and are under the treatment of his physician, while lamenting that the smear campaign is attempting to portray him as an irresponsible, immoral person who did not inform his partners of his potentially transmittable illness.
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For context on healthy sexual encounters and the stigma attached to promiscuity, I interviewed Andrew Smiler, Ph.D. Smiler is a leading expert in the field of men and masculinities, and he is the author of “Challenging Casanova: Beyond the stereotype of the promiscuous male.” He is also a regular contributor to The Good Men Project.
Smiler expressed concern not about Charlie Sheen per se, but about the need to advocate for sexual healthy encounters. He understands that sex can be a difficult topic to discuss with others, and that it has been stigmatized as a taboo conversation. But he believes healthy sex is a topic too important to ignore.
In the interview, Smiler discussed how important it is to have a discussion with your partner about the details of sex, before you engage in sexual activity.
“It is not a wait until my partner asks type of situation. It is one’s moral obligation to disclose this information for your partner’s safety.”
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“First, you need to be honest with your potential sexual partner about any STD’s you may have,” he said. “It is not a wait until my partner asks type of situation. It is one’s moral obligation to disclose this information for your partner’s safety.”
Smiler says if you have been diagnosed as HIV-positive, it is crucial to discuss with your partner the risks involved in different types of sexual activities. He laid out some safer activities, such as mutual masturbation and oral sex. But he pointed out that while these are safer than penetrative sex, there is still a risk if the partner has any open wounds. He emphasized that the riskiest sexual activity is penetrative sex.
In addition to disclosing one’s STDs and discussing the risks associated with sexual activities, Smiler stressed the need to talk about one’s use of protection and contraceptives. He views condoms as the best product on the market to prevent transferring STDs to your partner.
As we concluded the interview, Smiler told me, “We all play a role in being, with ourselves and partners, sexually healthy. We need to take that responsibility seriously. We need to be honest with ourselves and our partners how much risk we bring into our sexual situations.”
If you want to know more about being sexually healthy, read some of Andrew Smiler’s other articles on The Good Men Project.
Condom Conundrums: Screwing Around Without Protection
When Hooking Up with Her is All About Impressing the Other Guys
Creating Sexually Healthy Young Men: A Cultural Failure
The Day Rock Hudson Got AIDS: A Turning Point in American Culture
Male Promiscuity by the Numbers: 25-15-5
14 Things You Must Teach Your Son about Sex
Creating Sexually Healthy Young Men (Video)
Source: 30dB.com – HIV Positive
Photo—Surian Soosay/Flickr
I wish Charlie Sheen only the best. With his lifestyle over the last 20 years, it was like waiting for the other shoe to drop to learn of his HIV status. He’s older now, hopefully wiser, more willing to learn from his mistakes.