Putting women at the center of history changes the way we understand the past and what we can learn from it for the present. Too often, history reflects only men’s experiences, framing them as universal. By centering women’s history, we disrupt the status quo of allowing men to stand in for all people, showing that women’s experiences are often distinct. In the case of HIV/AIDS, this means recognizing that women have a been part of the epidemic from the start, although they have not always been counted among those most affected. Women were some of the first people to get sick with the illness that would come to be known as AIDS. Since the early days of the epidemic, they have fought to make themselves visible as people living with, and often dying from, HIV/AIDS, and have been at the forefront of making treatment and prevention accessible. These women narrate a powerful history that will hopefully help us end HIV/AIDS in their lifetimes.
The path to understanding HIV/AIDS —as both a virus and an illness with medical and political effects—has been critical for the women narrators of this project. While many initially assumed HIV/AIDS only affected white gay men, over time they have come to name and insist that we recognize the disproportionate impact experienced by women of color, particularly Black women. These women create new ways of understanding the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The path to understanding HIV/AIDS —as both a virus and an illness with medical and political effects—has been critical for the women narrators of this project. While many initially assumed HIV/AIDS only affected white gay men, over time they have come to name and insist that we recognize the disproportionate impact experienced by women of color, particularly Black women. These women create new ways of understanding the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The path to understanding HIV/AIDS —as both a virus and an illness with medical and political effects—has been critical for the women narrators of this project. While many initially assumed HIV/AIDS only affected white gay men, over time they have come to name and insist that we recognize the disproportionate impact experienced by women of color, particularly Black women. These women create new ways of understanding the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Most of the women of this project have built their intimate and sexual lives with men. Some have found love with men, while others have faced violence because of them. In all three locations we heard women describe their belief that marriage would protect them from HIV, but in reality, it played a critical role in how they came to contract HIV.
Most of the women of this project have built their intimate and sexual lives with men. Some have found love with men, while others have faced violence because of them. In all three locations we heard women describe their belief that marriage would protect them from HIV, but in reality, it played a critical role in how they came to contract HIV.
Most of the women of this project have built their intimate and sexual lives with men. Some have found love with men, while others have faced violence because of them. In all three locations we heard women describe their belief that marriage would protect them from HIV, but in reality, it played a critical role in how they came to contract HIV.
Women have historically found both pleasure and danger in the streets. Here our narrators detail the times in their lives when they were out doing sex work, using drugs, and finding love and companionship. In some cases the streets offered them an escape from homes where they were not safe. If we listen carefully, we can hear how these women leveraged their streets to build their own social worlds in the best place they could.
Women have historically found both pleasure and danger in the streets. Here our narrators detail the times in their lives when they were out doing sex work, using drugs, and finding love and companionship. In some cases the streets offered them an escape from homes where they were not safe. If we listen carefully, we can hear how these women leveraged their streets to build their own social worlds in the best place they could.
Women have historically found both pleasure and danger in the streets. Here our narrators detail the times in their lives when they were out doing sex work, using drugs, and finding love and companionship. In some cases the streets offered them an escape from homes where they were not safe. If we listen carefully, we can hear how these women leveraged their streets to build their own social worlds in the best place they could.
Many of the women narrators plainly state, “HIV saved my life.” That is not because the virus isn’t deadly, but rather because being diagnosed with HIV brought them into a place where sustained self-care, self-love, self-advocacy was possible. It also opened up access to a range of complex and sometimes incomplete resources from the state and the health care system. As active participants and decision-makers in the shaping and reshaping of their lives, these women show what it means to survive and thrive with HIV/AIDS.
Many of the women narrators plainly state, “HIV saved my life.” That is not because the virus isn’t deadly, but rather because being diagnosed with HIV brought them into a place where sustained self-care, self-love, self-advocacy was possible. It also opened up access to a range of complex and sometimes incomplete resources from the state and the health care system. As active participants and decision-makers in the shaping and reshaping of their lives, these women show what it means to survive and thrive with HIV/AIDS.
Many of the women narrators plainly state, “HIV saved my life.” That is not because the virus isn’t deadly, but rather because being diagnosed with HIV brought them into a place where sustained self-care, self-love, self-advocacy was possible. It also opened up access to a range of complex and sometimes incomplete resources from the state and the health care system. As active participants and decision-makers in the shaping and reshaping of their lives, these women show what it means to survive and thrive with HIV/AIDS.
These women are future thinkers, speculating on their own futures and those of everyone around them. They ask questions like ‘how can I help find a cure?’ or ‘how can I help my community know more about HIV/AIDS?’ Whatever their answers, through advocacy, communal dialogue, and action, these women are changing the medical and social meanings of HIV/AIDS.
These women are future thinkers, speculating on their own futures and those of everyone around them. They ask questions like ‘how can I help find a cure?’ or ‘how can I help my community know more about HIV/AIDS?’ Whatever their answers, through advocacy, communal dialogue, and action, these women are changing the medical and social meanings of HIV/AIDS.
These women are future thinkers, speculating on their own futures and those of everyone around them. They ask questions like ‘how can I help find a cure?’ or ‘how can I help my community know more about HIV/AIDS?’ Whatever their answers, through advocacy, communal dialogue, and action, these women are changing the medical and social meanings of HIV/AIDS.
Women have been part of the history of HIV/AIDS since the very beginning of the epidemic, but have rarely been acknowledged for the critical role they have played in the epidemic's unfolding in the United States. Seeing history through their own eyes, allows us all to gain new perspectives on how individuals, working together, can make change.