Over the past few decades, we’ve seen enormous advancements in the world of HIV research — there’s finally a potential vaccine on the horizon, and scientists continue to explore cures far and wide. And yet, cultural attitudes about people with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) have trailed far behind, and misinformation around the virus continues to spread. Evidence of our collective ignorance can be found everywhere, from DaBaby’s deeply stigmatizing comments in front of thousands of fans just last year, to state laws that still criminalize people with HIV for acts (like spitting) that can’t even transmit the virus.
To be clear, thanks to medicine, people with HIV can keep the virus in check and even reach a point where it’s undetectable (and therefore untransmittable). On top of that, folx who are HIV-negative but have an HIV-positive partner can take PrEP, which reduces their chance of contracting the virus through sex by about 99%, according to the CDC. Today, HIV is no longer the death sentence it used to be; HIV-positive adults who undergo regular treatment can have healthy, fulfilling sex lives.
