Easy AIDS

If you are like me, and found yourself at the Century Boulder Movie Theater this weekend, I congratulate us both for persevering through the lines, waits, and actually making it to the cinematic experience. Due to the packed theater for the 7:35 Wall Street showing and the sold out nature of The Social Network at 9:40, my sister and I finally found a movie to our liking at 10:25, a charming little teen flick, Easy A. 

With a satisfyingly sarcastic delivery, Easy A addresses the complexities of reputation, sexual identity, and the ever-reliable method of high school communication: rumors. Loosely based on The Scarlett Letter, the film provides insight to the life of a girl named Olive who pretends to lose her virginity to a fictitious community college student…and proceeds to pretend to engage in other sexual acts at the request of various boys from her high school to propel their reputations. Throughout the film, Olive helps gay men develop straight reputations, she nominally allows the geeks of her class to “score”, and towards the climax of the movie, she actually allows someone to source his contraction of Chlamydia to her.

This part of the film shocked me. Olive was willing to sacrifice nearly her entire reputation—including her health record—in order to progress the notoriety of her peers. So I wondered while watching the film….would Olive be willing to say that she spread or contracted HIV/AIDS? Is that too far of statement? Exactly what would admitting to having AIDS do to a person’s reputation? Their social life? Their life in general? I was really challenged by these thoughts, and I started to dwell on the idea personally. What would happen if people thought that I had AIDS? What would happen if I actually had AIDS? For the purposes of this particular blog entry, let’s disregard the physical effects of the disease and focus primarily on the social implications of AIDS contraction.

If I were to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS today, how would my life and future change? I was always taught not to share razors, stay clear of used needles, avoid contact with used personal products, etc., but what happens when you know a PERSON is infected? Would my friends maintain a three-foot distance from me at all times? Would people freak out if I scraped my knee or got a paper cut around them? If I went on a date, would the guy hold my hand? Kiss me goodnight? Would I actually be able to date? Would I be able to marry and have kids? Would I only be able to date other infected people?

I have been thinking about these questions all weekend, and I still cannot reach definitive answers on how people would treat me if I had or pretended to have AIDS like Olive pretended to have Chlamydia in Easy A. I also wonder how I would react if I found out that someone who I was involved with was infected. To help me further dwell, I’m going to extend the question out to you: How would you interact with me if you thought I was infected with HIV/AIDS? 

By Alex Lane