Another Contributor, A New Perspective

Hi Everyone!

My name is Alex Lane, and I am a contributing member to the Boulder County Aids Project blog. Our group’s focus for this blog is to candidly provide our personal perspectives regarding HIV/AIDS, so in order to provide context for my insight, allow me to further introduce myself and personal background. I am a senior majoring in finance at CU Boulder who is quickly approaching graduation this December. Although my academic life is quantitatively driven, I consider myself a very creative person. I have a deep-rooted love for the fashion industry, and I spent this past summer interning in New York as a YMA fashion scholar. I take pleasure in the simplest of things: people, film, food, and Rioja, and have a million goals, my current priority being to land a job on Wall Street. So now that you have a little context, I will transition into how my background has shaped and changed my opinion towards AIDS.

My hometown has more Evangelical Christian churches per capita than any other city in the world, conservative is an understatement when describing the culture of Colorado Springs. AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease, so it is only natural to associate AIDS with sex. Growing up in an environment where sex has a sinful connotation, however, I associated AIDS with sex and sinners and sinners having sex, a fear-driven attitude of a naïve pre-teen essentially. AIDS was a taboo subject in my world, so unless we were addressing children in Africa who were infected by the virus who were in need of both medicine and missionaries, we didn’t discuss the matter. It wasn’t until I grew older, probably about 16, that I even questioned the logic behind the prevailing judgment that blinded my understanding of HIV/AIDS.

As my independence grew, so did my perceptions. Starting with the first time I saw Rent, I began to gravitate towards people with accepting views and pursued liberal, expressive environments. I have learned about HIV in the context of pandemic, from exposure to Christina and Gaga speaking for MAC’s GLAM campaign.  I’ve discovered the different methods of transmission, even simple breast-feeding can spread AIDS, and closest to heart, I have learned about the disease from people in my life. Two of my friends have contracted the virus, and must fight it everyday for the rest of their lives. With a more diversified view of HIV, I no longer regard those who suffer as sinners, but rather as victims. It is my personal objective for this blog to share my perspective and to rid the stereotypes held towards HIV/AIDS and those infected by the virus. Throughout the semester, I want to engage in discussion with you in order to stop judgment and stimulate preventative action.