National
AIDS advocacy groups launch first ‘Zero HIV Stigma Day’
Organizers say patients continue to face hardship from bias
A consortium of four community, medical, and urban health organizations announced they have designated July 21 as the first Zero HIV Stigma Day as a new international awareness day drawing attention to the “persistent levels of stigma experienced by people living with and affected by HIV.”
A statement released by the four groups organizing Zero HIV Stigma Day says July 21 was chosen to commemorate the birthday of the late South African AIDS activist Prudence Mabele, who advocated for the rights of women and children living with HIV and against gender related violence.
Organizers say Mabele was the first Black South African woman to publicly share her HIV status in 1992. She died in 2017.
“In this fifth decade of the global HIV pandemic, stigma continues to undermine progress and, in combination with fear and shame, is still driving late diagnosis of HIV in a way that is unacceptable and entirely preventable,” said Parminder Sekhon, CEO of NAZ, a minority-led HIV and sexual health organization in the United Kingdom that has provided AIDS-related services and care for more than 30 years. NAZ is one of the four groups organizing Zero HIV Stigma Day.
“If we are to have any hope of ending HIV and crossing the finishing line together, we must join forces, voice by voice, to end HIV stigma,” Sekhon said in the statement.
The other organizations that joined NAZ to launch Zero HIV Stigma Day include the D.C.-based International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC); Global HIV Collaborative, which says it works to improve HIV outcomes for the Black community globally; and Fast-Track Institute, which was created to support cities and municipalities worldwide in their efforts end the AIDS pandemic and other diseases.
“As a person living with HIV who also works in the field, I have seen the detrimental effects HIV stigma has in preventing individuals from accessing HIV services but, more importantly, from living positively with HIV for fear of societal rejection,” said Kalvin Pugh, the Senior Program Manager for Community Engagement with IAPAC.
“This is especially true for communities that face intersectional forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia,” Pugh said. “Ending the HIV pandemic cannot be achieved unless we take action to end HIV stigma for all,” he said.
Jose M. Zuniga, president and CEO of both IAPAC and the Fast-Track Cities Institute, said he and other organizers of Zero HIV Stigma Day were hopeful that the commemorative day will lead to actions needed to end HIV stigma and hasten efforts to end the AIDS pandemic once and for all.
“Zero HIV Stigma Day, and its full year of affiliated actions, represents a concerted global effort to harness our collective power toward the aim of realizing the human right to dignity, health and well-being for everyone everywhere,” he said.
Detailed background information about HIV stigma and ways it can be addressed can be accessed at: cdc.gov/hiv/basics/hiv-stigma/index.html.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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