It's a Sin - AIDS in the 80's - Real life examples

[smellywellies9]

I have just finished watching It's a Sin and it's really hit me hard, I was born early 80's and had no idea how AIDS victims were treated back then, I feel like this has almost been hidden from us.
I would be really keen to hear some real life stories from people older than myself who lived through this. Things that have shocked me:
They were imprisoned in hospital wards with no one allowed in or out.
Homosexuals were not allowed a mortgage in the 80's and possibly 90's?
People use to destroy all cups etc that homosexuals had touched for fear of catching it.
The general ignorance from the government on this.
The attitude from the general public, were people really that cruel??

Just because you personally didn't know about it doesn't mean anything has been hidden.

And don't believe everything on a tv show as gospel. "Homosexuals" have been getting mortgages since mortgages existed. Nobody was imprisoned on hospital wards with no one allowed in or out (didn't you even see people visiting on the show, fgs?)

If you are interested, ask questions of those of us who live through it. Don't take a drama series as fact. It is based on fact, sure, but its not as cut and dried as you seem to think.

There was definitely issues with getting mortgages or life insurance if you had had an HIV test.

You could always just research it. Asking posters to share personal stories seems a bit 'newspaper hawking for stories'. You don't have a right to people's personal stories simply because you were uninformed about HIV/AIDS.
I can't imagine the sense of entitlement that says: 'I know nothing about this. I'm too lazy to research it so please parade your personal trauma in front of me so I can publicly show how much I care'. Ffs 🙄

I didn't know about mortgages etc but.my brother lost a few friends to aids in the 80s and early 90s.......it was kept very hushed up.

Attitudes have changed massively thank God. And thank goodness HIV is no longer the death sentence it was not even 30 years ago.

Is the mortgage issue because they suspected their life expectancy would be shortened? So not able to have a long term commitment?

@SabrinaMorningstar

You could always just research it. Asking posters to share personal stories seems a bit 'newspaper hawking for stories'. You don't have a right to people's personal stories simply because you were uninformed about HIV/AIDS. I can't imagine the sense of entitlement that says: 'I know nothing about this. I'm too lazy to research it so please parade your personal trauma in front of me so I can publicly show how much I care'. Ffs 🙄

You could say the same about every question asked on here. Why don’t all those expectant Mums just fuck off with their questions about other peoples experience of pregnancy. Same for all those FTMs with their constant questioning about breastfeeding. Just fuck off and do some research.

If people don’t want to share their personal stories then they absolutely don’t need to.

OP I definitely remember a time when people didn’t want to get HIV tests because you had to declare getting a test, regardless of the result to your life insurer.

Why don’t all those expectant Mums just fuck off with their questions about other peoples experience of pregnancy

Yes, because that's exactly the same thing as "tell me about your friends dying from a horrible new disease and the discrimination they faced while dying" isn't it?

At least one case of a patient being locked in was true www.esquire.com/uk/culture/tv/a35288560/its-a-sin-true-story/

You definitely need to do your own research on this subject, whatever you've watched seems to have given you a totally twisted and warped view.
The Government advertisement campaign was aimed at the whole population, the main point was that you could contract HIV/AIDS whatever your sexuality was.
There was and still are people who are bigoted towards homosexual people, that's not particular for that time.
The two people that made a huge difference to the public perception of HIV and AIDS, were Elton John and Princess Diana.
I actually know someone who contracted HIV in the 80s and he developed AIDS, it's not always a given to develop AIDS. He died in 2014 so he lived with the condition for many years.
I remember that time clearly but that's all I'm prepared to say.

I don’t think the treatment of HIV patients was hidden. I remember people being treated terribly, cast out and feared. It was because transmission was clear. People stopped slow dancing and snogging in discos, I remember my uncle asking his daughters friend if she had a dance in the club at the weekend and she was horrified at the very thought.

@SushiSoozie

Why don’t all those expectant Mums just fuck off with their questions about other peoples experience of pregnancy

Yes, because that's exactly the same thing as "tell me about your friends dying from a horrible new disease and the discrimination they faced while dying" isn't it?

This.

Sharing advice versus tell me your trauma. I don't believe people can't see the difference.
Fwiw most people who lived through it and were affected by it won't hawk out those stories to a stranger on the internet. And I don't know anyone who worked in the sector who'd feel anything but revulsion for the OP's prurient request. Not to mention the complete lack of empathy and knowledge that means OP thinks this is all in the past rather than a current crisis that still engulfs part of the world.

That should say transmission wasn’t clear. In the beginning it was thought you could catch it from surfaces etc

I also remember being asked if I'd had an aids test for life insurance. I said I didn't know as I'd had a blood transfusion in the 70's (a known risk factor as back then donors weren't screened and blood from various donors of the same type could be mixed for storage) and so could have had a test as a child.

I was advised that unless I knew I had had a test I should say no as it would affect my premium / acceptance as companies assumed that a test = risky behaviours irrespective of sexuality.

I also remember a lot of awareness raising on TV. Mark Fowler in Eastenders, Princess Diana, etc

Hi OP - I’ve got to say I was in a similar position a few years ago. I’m an 80s kid and just didn’t know about this whole chunk of history - partly also because (I didn’t know it) Thatcher had banned teachers in schools from even saying they were gay. We had one teacher here fired for it, but I only heard about that as an adult. So gay topics already were made taboo.

Not that AIDS is exclusively gay issue AT ALL, but that’s what the sort of censorship was like, making things taboo. To be fair I suppose when it first came about people had no clue what they were dealing with.

Here are some useful links. I can’t find one interview, but there was one online by an older gay guy saying basically he’s the only one left of the group he knew - I mean hundreds of men. It wiped out a lot :( and it seems lots never had proper support even from family, it’s awful.

www.nytimes.com/1981/07/03/us/rare-cancer-seen-in-41-homosexuals.html This is an original newspaper report - they initially thought AIDS was a weird cancer. Explained a bit more here www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/9nuiwd/til_aids_was_originally_called_grid_or_gay/

www.seattletimes.com/life/for-those-who-lived-through-the-hiv-aids-epidemic-in-seattle-the-coronavirus-pandemic-brings-echoes-of-past-trauma/?amp=1 and nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/05/memories-aids-new-york.html Interviews with some who lived through it (American though). This is a really useful q&a amp.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2ug992/serious_gay_men_who_lived_through_the_hiv/

www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/12/the-disease-of-the-century-reporting-on-the-origin-of-aids/383440/ Again an overview, but American

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_White Famous and sad case of American boy who had AIDS being treated badly :(

Again, American - story about a lady who buried AIDS patients when no one would do a funeral for them otherwise www.out.com/positive-voices/2016/12/01/woman-who-cared-hundreds-abandoned-gay-men-dying-aids#media-gallery-media-1

Awful to hear how they had so little kindness, even from families sometimes :( just breaks your heart and some were so young

Btw I know someone who is HIV positive (contracted 2006) and is very happy and healthy!! Oh and a lady who got it from a blood transfusion a long time ago. But back in the day it was very different in perceptions. I think the government then did try and help but I don’t know how helpful it was (amount of funding, image used) - might have been good, I really don’t know

You can't ask this of people . There are plenty of resources online if you want first hand accounts.
You realise the daily Mail regurgitate threads from here all the time ?

Here’s stuff on section 28, where you couldn’t mention gay stuff in schools www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/cacc0b40-c3a4-473b-86cc-11863c0b3f30

And OP I bloody hope you’re not the DM!!!! Otherwise shame shame shame

@SabrinaMorningstar

You could always just research it. Asking posters to share personal stories seems a bit 'newspaper hawking for stories'. You don't have a right to people's personal stories simply because you were uninformed about HIV/AIDS. I can't imagine the sense of entitlement that says: 'I know nothing about this. I'm too lazy to research it so please parade your personal trauma in front of me so I can publicly show how much I care'. Ffs 🙄

More then ever, in this day and age, we are questioning reporting, particularly how things are covered in the context of the time.

Asking for personal opinion and experience to add to the “official” or published and available records and view is not lazy or wrong.

If you don’t want to contribute, don’t.

@SushiSoozie

Why don’t all those expectant Mums just fuck off with their questions about other peoples experience of pregnancy

Yes, because that's exactly the same thing as "tell me about your friends dying from a horrible new disease and the discrimination they faced while dying" isn't it?

So you’d rather hide what happened? So we can repeat it?

Some of the woman on here a right ray of fucking sunshine.!

Ah someone else pretending that stigma is in the past and that newspapers don't steal stories from here. If you're doubting traditional media then your next step shouldn't be 'I'll ask random, anonymous posters on social media and assume they're reliable'. It should be reading books, reading the websites of charities who work in that area, etc.

As I said, we should question ALL forms of information, opinion and reported.

But the best way to inform yourself is to get information from all sources, so I think the OPs request is fair.

Again, would it better for her/him to remain in ignorance about the awful things that happened and are happening? Or to believe sanitised media reports?

Completely understand that a lot of people would not want to contribute and why, but there is nothing wrong with asking.

I'm the same as yourself, born in the early 80's and no idea this went on. Watching this series has made me so sad. HIV/AIDS is not something you hear much of these days, personally I don't know anyone who is affected, but I have met a couple who were HIV positive thorough work. They actually had a really good quality of life, it seems treatments have really advanced.