AIDS and stigma

Energize · 1 Dec 2006 at 19:21

robmiller said:
They shouldn't get any stigma at all, and I would hope they didn't. I wouldn't have stigma against someone with HIV just as I wouldn't have stigma against someone with cancer, or MS, or any other disease/condition. It's just common decency.

Well cancer isn't contracted by sleeping with loads of people while not using protection, It's common decency not to do that.

Grrrrr · 1 Dec 2006 at 19:22

Posty said:
cases of contracting HIV from those scenarios are almost non existent, so i dunno what i would feel then

Your first post suggested that yes you would leave her but not because of the HIV itself but because of her lying/cheating etc. I was just trying to provide an alternative question where this hypothetical girlfriend hadn't done any wrong

crystaline · 1 Dec 2006 at 19:26

cleanbluesky said:
And would you or he stop dating someone if you discovered they had HIV?

It would require a lot of thought. I can only imagine how it must be to try to explain it to a partner.
I think it would depend on how much they meant to me.. I could see situations where I may continue a relationship like that, but if I had any other doubts about them I would probably leave it.

Also depends on the way they might tell me, that would be an important factor.

robmiller · 1 Dec 2006 at 19:41

cleanbluesky said:
What's treating them differently in a 'societal sense' if not treating them different on some issues...

Saying I wouldn't sleep with them isn't really considering them inferior or having a stigma against them or something.

I wouldn't want to sleep with an obese woman, or an ugly one, but that doesn't mean I think obese people or ugly people are somehow inferior or subhuman—it's just my sexual preference does not extend to them.

Energize said:
Well cancer isn't contracted by sleeping with loads of people while not using protection, It's common decency not to do that.

Neither is HIV, necessarily :confused:

Energize · 1 Dec 2006 at 19:50

robmiller said:
Neither is HIV, necessarily

No just 90% of the cases....

Noxis · 1 Dec 2006 at 20:08

Brutally honest I have to say my honest opinion is that anyone with HIV in the western world is guilty until proven innocent.

Meaning that they were being stupid at some time in their life with HIV as a result.

HIV through blood transfusion or because you are medical staff is another matter and THOSE people deserve every treatment going and support.