In the shadows of grief in the wake of Paris last week, the only story that went viral around the world or seemed to shift the focus away from terror for a moment was the outing of Charlie Sheen as HIV positive.
Charlie Sheen isn’t, by all accounts, a hero or a role model, or even particularly a nice guy. In fact, after his career as Martin Sheen’s handsome young son, his role in Wall Street and his cameo in Ferris Bueller, in recent years he was best known for assaulting his wives and girlfriends, and for his very public meltdown and fall from grace after being the highest paid actor on television and then prompting getting sacked from his role on Two And A Half Men (in hindsight, his public implosion at that time back in 2011 now might be understood in the context of him having a breakdown after receiving his diagnosis).
Now, Charlie Sheen will forever be known for something else: being HIV positive. It’s an unfortunate reality that most people outside of the LGBT community – and sadly even many within it – still have little knowledge of HIV or AIDS, and this ignorance is harmful.
After rumours swirled of an explosive revelation about a Hollywood actor with HIV due to run in The National Enquirer, rumours then swirled more that Sheen was imminently about to come out himself. It seemed like the whole world knew the story before he’d uttered a word.
When Charlie Sheen finally appeared on the Today show, the interview was awkward and humiliating. It was clear this was a man who had been hounded into making a public admission about a private matter which he had paid millions to blackmailers to keep secret. “I release myself from this prison today,” he said.
As Sheen himself said, those are a hard three letters to come to terms with. He also rightly pointed out that the way he was forced to disclose his status did little to reduce stigma within the wider community.
Nevertheless, regardless of who he is, by coming out as a very high profile person, Sheen has become an unwilling and unwitting ally and advocate for the HIV positive community. In Australia, that’s some 28,000 people, the majority of whom are men who have sex with men.
Even if came out reluctantly, his decision to disclose his status helps reduce the stigma surrounding HIV, or hopefully helps change the conversation and educate people about HIV. As Living Positive CEO Brent Allen said: ““All people living with HIV benefit when high profile people come out as HIV positive, because this makes it easier for others to follow suit.”
It’s important that we have discussions about what it means to be HIV positive today in Australia, and what it means to be “undetectable”. It is important to shine a light on this ignorance so that young gay men don’t feel afraid to get tested, so they are informed about how to protect themselves through PrEP or through condoms, so we can have sensible discussions about issues like whether gay men should be able to give blood.
In one piece of good news surrounding HIV, it was announced that Australian medical researchers are among an international team from public organisations and pharmaceutical companies who having launched an joint project to fight an effective vaccine.
The European AIDS Vaccine Initiative (EAVI2020) is a $30 million project funded by the European Commission which brings together scientists from Australia, Europe, Canada and the US to collaborate and share research findings in the hope it will fast track the discovery of an HIV vaccine.
On Sunday November 29, Sundaylicious returns to its sunny summer digs at the Wharf on the World Trade side of South Wharf. DJs will be on from 4pm including Magnus, Haylenise and Mike Evans. Entry is free, as always.
Next weekend, The Outpost is throwing its Christmas party Chrisco. Resident disco selectors will include Whiskey Houston, Mr Weir and special guest Lady Eric. Entry is $15 on the door at The Gasometer.
A new queer event Toucan Sam will launch the night before at Sircuit, for those who can’t wait for their disco fix. Billed as a homo troppo disco, Toucan Sam will feature Butch Le Butch, Argonaut, ACRAIG and Fragile Future playing nu disco, deep house and something described as “tropical” tunes. Undoubtedly there will be drinks with little umbrellas in them, leis and hula skirts too.
