Correct HIV language and Charlie Sheen

An Australian article address's the myths and stigma associated with using wrong language, or simply just something not factual, giving 4 pointers. There was apparently quite a lot of misreporting about Charlie Sheen, the biggest one I think is that he had "AIDS".

That one really annoys me for some reason. Yet people say it all the time. David and I have been HIV+ for years but don't have AIDS. It's impossible to catch AIDS as it's a condition that can develop over time, if the HIV virus isn't controlled and does so much damage to your immune system that you get an AIDS defining illness. 

In fact this very thing came up in court with psycho nephew, when his solicitor asserted I'd told him his sex life "is fucked now because you have AIDS". In rebuffing this I said simply that I'd have used the word HIV, not AIDS, as you can't catch AIDS. Curious a top notch legal person was so fundamentally ignorant about HIV.

You can read the whole article, but the four points are below Much of it has to do with stereotypes and blame:

The news has left us with an avalanche of inaccurate reporting that misdiagnosed Sheen as having AIDS, as well as a counter-avalanche of pieces explaining why those pieces are incorrect. It’s also brought forth a parade of misinformed opinions and judgements about the morally questionable celebrity; but while a history of violence against women may make him a terrible person, he still doesn’t deserve to get HIV. 

As with any marginalised community, how everyone talks about HIV in the aftermath of this news has a significant bearing on the mental health and wellbeing of people like me who live with it. Despite the virus entering its fourth decade, for many it still conjures an image of AIDS, death, and despair — but here in Australia, as in other parts of the world, these images are far from the reality. 

With that in mind, let’s look at some of the need-to-knows of HIV in 2015. 

• Avoid saying “AIDS” when you meant “HIV” 
• Avoid referring to us as ‘patients’ or ‘sufferers’; instead say ‘people living with HIV’ 
• Avoid thinking that being HIV-positive means being a ‘poof’, a ‘whore’, or a ‘junkie’ 
• Avoid saying,“I’m not surprised they got HIV”. Instead, say nothing. junkee