Week 5 Discussion

 I loved the reading “Presidential silence, C. Everett Koop, and the surgeon general's report on AIDS.” I was surprised to see how a single article had such a great influence in the recognition of AIDS as a top hazard for the country. It was also interesting to see how politics came into play and led to Reagan’s 6-year silence regarding AIDS, where he refused to talk about it because of the way in which the public viewed the disease in relation to homosexuality (which was not viewed in the same way that it is viewed today). In this case, misinformation was expressed through silence, which was different from the other articles we’ve read. Reagan’s silence caused people to believe that it wasn’t really that important of an issue, when AIDS was actually killing thousands of Americans. 

I would like to know more about the article itself, and the specifics of what it talked about. I know that this does not relate directly to the impacts that it had regarding the development of AIDS treatment, but it is some context that I would like to know more about, considering that I barely know anything about AIDS.

Week 5 Discussion Questions - Ikuo Yui

 Three AIDS, Women of Color Feminisms, Queer and Trans of Color Critiques, and the Crises of Knowledge Production

• In this article, the connections between AIDS, misinformation, and people of color, queer, and trans individuals in these communities have been subjected to violence and oppression related to AIDS. With these communities being underrepresented and not being presented at all, they decided to organize protests and demonstrate more excellent representation and inclusion in conferences addressing AIDS. 

• How have social movements led by people of color, queer, and trans individuals challenged the dominant narrative and power structures that perpeturate misinformation surrounding AIDS?

Marketing Safe Sex

• As this article focuses on the political and social response towards the AIDs situation in San Francisco from 1983 to 1991, it talks about the strategies and protests that activists do to push for greater awareness for faster, flexible, and effective AIDS research and treatment. For example, they made effort to show more demand for condoms for gay people, creating posters and pamphlets that feature Black and Latino modes, protesting to challenge the AIDS research they faced through discrimination, etc. 

• What role did advocay groups and community-based organizations play in addressing the needs of minority communities affected by the AIDS epidemic?

Week 5 Discussion Questions (Jacqueline Chavez)

 

1. Over the years, science majors have been subjected to increasingly demanding and time-sensitive course requirements. This has ultimately disregarded the knowledge that race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation continue to be institutionally separated from scientific matters. The integration of gender perspectives into science education is a topic that is currently being explored and understood by the nation. What are the recommended steps for effectively educating the next generation on this subject matter while minimizing opposition?

2. In what ways did the San Francisco AIDS Foundation grapple with obstacles when promoting safe sexual practices within the gay community, particularly concerning facets of racial and cultural diversity, and how did the organization endeavor to navigate and mitigate these complexities? And most importantly, what could we understand from these experiences and how sexuality can mix with race, ethnicity, and diversity?

3. The potential implications of President Ronald Reagan's position and initial lack of response regarding the issue of AIDS can provide valuable insights into the long-term actions a nation may undertake. Does the development of social media afford individuals greater agency and influence over their own lives? In what manner can individuals be educated as media consumers, in the absence of holding the position of Presidency or possessing a reputation for truthfulness?

Week 5 Discussion Questions

 

1.  The San Francisco AIDS Foundation in produced multiple campaign relating to AIDS awareness and practices during the 1980s and would gain insights from those in the gay community through interviews, however, the foundation had shortcomings in relations to inclusion of people of color.  How does media campaigns and information about the AIDS crisis create an effective, truthful dialogue between those in the whole community if it does not gain insights from everyone? 

2. What type of role do educational institutions play in creating an environment that addresses and validates issues related to women of color, queer and trans people? 

Week 5 Questions (Jordan Renville)

How do various issues, such as the AIDS epidemic and worsening transgender rights, draw parallels between each other? Are there certain political and social measures that we see repeated over time? Despite these parallels, what are the differences in approaches, especially considering generational differences?

Are the systems we have in place designed to work as they do? For example, allow lawmakers to overtly discriminate against gay men and the transgender community? If so, what do you think are the main reasons why our society was built this way, and how can we go about removing this discrimination?

Now being able to look back, In what ways was the American population misinformed about the AIDS crisis? Although they are two completely different situations, are there any parallels to be drawn between the hate for gay men and the hate for Japanese Americans? Do you think that this same hate could be generated for a different group of people in the future?

Are you susceptible to misinformation? If all of your friends and family started growing hate for a certain type of person because of what they saw on the news and in the media, would you be more likely to also hate that group of people?

Melany Keroglyan - Week 5 Discussion Post

Melany Keroglyan - Week 5 Discussion Post

Based on Jih-Fei Cheng’s reading, “AIDS, Women of Color Feminisms, Queer and Trans of Color Critiques, and the Crisis of Knowledge Production,” how does intersectionality function as a critical part of the mentioned social movements (#BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, aids activism), and how do these social justice campaigns echo their founders’ revolutionary and intersectional conventions?

Additionally, Cheng’s text examines the significance of focusing and incorporating women and trans + queer POC in knowledge production and social movements. How can we guarantee their voices are not dismissed for consideration and justly incorporated into the address and decision making procedures taken?

In Jennifer Briers’s text, “Marketing Safe Sex,” Brier explores how the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Les Pappas used a method that aimed to eroticize the prevention of AIDS, specifically the usage of condoms, as a way to sell the product to gay men and market safe sex. How did this strategy counter conventional general health approaches? Moreover, what were the conceivable benefits and drawbacks of using eroticism in the movements for AIDS prevention?

Week 5 Assignment (Sophia Mager)

1. What are the consequences of treating interdisciplinary courses that assess science through a sociopolitical lens as “of lesser importance”? What attitudes will continue to be perpetuated as long as sciences and liberal arts are treated as mutually exclusive disciplines?

2. What is the impact of non inclusive and non comprehensive public health practices? 

3. How can we prevent stigmas and scientifically unfounded connotations from becoming ingrained in the public psyche? What are the steps that can be taken to undo existing attitudes?