MTV Drama Raising HIV Awareness in Africa

From CNN, by Tom Hayes

"It's the story of morning afters and sweet departures...and the stains we leave on each other." -From the trailer of Shuga, a cutting-edge MTV drama that's been a smash hit in Africa.

For many young Africans, the three-part TV series about a group of students in Nairobi living under the constant specter of HIV/AIDS is the story of their own lives -- and is the reason "Shuga" took the continent by storm when it debuted late last year.

Actress Sharon Olago, who played promiscuous party girl Violet in "Shuga," believes the Kenyan show has been so successful because it mirrors the complexities of modern young life, without falling into a moralistic, conventional narrative on safe sex.

"'Shuga' did not exaggerate anything, it relived what Kenya is," says Olago. "That is why it got the fame it did, that is why people jumped into it, because people saw themselves in it."

Set and filmed on location in Nairobi, the soap opera came about after UNICEF teamed up with MTV to create a health campaign to impact the lives of youths in Kenya, where an estimated 6.5 percent of its population lives with HIV.

Read the rest and watch a clip

Oprah Misses the Mark on HIV/AIDS

From the Huffington Post, by Kellee Terrell

Oprah Winfrey devoted the Oct. 7 episode of her talk show to HIV/AIDS. But instead of it being about anything substantial, eye-opening or educational, Oprah decided to focus on issues that distort the epidemic.

"Why She Sued Her Husband for 12 Million and Won" opened with beautiful, educated Bridget, who had met and married the love of her life. It was a fairytale-- until the day that, 10 years ago, she found out that she was HIV positive. Later, she learned that her husband was HIV positive, too. And that he had slept with men without using condoms. And that he was the one who had given her HIV. She later sued her husband for $12 million and won.

Yes, it's the "woman as innocent victim duped by the sinister gay down-low brother" narrative again.

To be clear, I don't want to belittle or devalue Bridget's experiences, because what happened to her is horrible. Putting your trust (and your health) in the hands of a spouse, only to be lied to and later diagnosed with HIV, is devastating. And I admit that it's hard to create and implement condom negotiation strategies geared for married women and women who believe they are in monogamous relationships.

But why does the down low continue to dominate most media stories about HIV in America, when study after study shows that closeted gay men having unprotected sex with both men and women is not fueling the epidemic?

Read the rest

Poll finds majority in California support gay marriage; where do Times readers stand?

via Los Angeles Times, by Gerrick D. Kennedy

Less than two years after Californians approved a ban on gay marriage, a new poll found that more residents support same-sex unions than oppose them.

A poll from the Public Policy Institute of California released in March found respondents backing gay marriage 50% to 45%. And a Times/USC poll last November found a 51%-to-43% division on the issue.

The poll shows Democrats and liberals supporting same-sex marriage by large margins and Republicans and conservatives opposing it by equally lopsided margins. There is also a huge variation by age, with registered voters younger than 30 supporting same-sex marriage by roughly 3 to 1, while a majority of those 64 and older were opposed.

Here what others have to say about this and Read the rest.

Are We Bored with AIDS?

I hate to be a scold, especially when I'm as curious as the next guy about Tiger Woods' alleged girlfriend. Still, when we're done with all the gawking, can we take a moment for something more important?

Via NPR, by Harold Pollack

Almost six thousand people died of AIDS Monday. An even greater number became HIV-infected, though most of these men and women won't know this for months or even years. As far as we know, Monday wasn't any better or worse than any other day in this regard. That it happened to be World AIDS Day was almost incidental.

AIDS was certainly incidental to much of the mainstream media. Scanning the nation's three leading national newspapers, HIV and AIDS were virtually absent from the front pages. The health sections included some good stuff, including one story about South Africa's decision to treat all children living with HIV; that was pretty much it in the area of AIDS. There was apparently no room for further AIDS stories, though there was ample space for stories about how loneliness may spread from person to person, how venting at the office is good for your heart, and more. I saw some good reporting on health reform. Not one of these stories examined how the 2009 reforms might address HIV/AIDS. I'm not sure I have seen any such story this entire year. The rest of the paper included other stories. Some concerned Afghanistan. Many involved a golf club wielded by Mrs. Tiger Woods.

Read the rest.

Right-Wingers Give Limbaugh's Anal Sex References A Pass

via Huffington Post, by Terry Krepel

Media Research Center chief Brent Bozell is, to put it succinctly, not a fan of anal sex:

-- In 2006, he complained that at a Comedy Central roast for William Shatner, "the audience was buried in man-on-man anal-sex and oral-sex jokes."

-- In 2008, he was offended that the ABC show "Ugly Betty" includes "catty references" to, among other things, "anal sex."

-- On March 13, he bashed "Family Guy": "This Jesus-bashing is offensive, but it isn't so surprising - it's a 'Family Guy' staple. Now add the allusions to anal penetration and we're on another trip down Grossout Lane."

WorldNetDaily feels much the same way on the issue. It has criticized Wikipedia for including a "photo of two nude men having anal sex on a bed," bashed Spencer Gifts for carrying "pornaments" that "graphically depict anal intercourse between a snowman and a bare-breasted 'snowwoman,'" disapproved of the Wal-Mart website selling a book that "gives explicit instructions for engaging in oral or anal sexual acts," and denounced the movie "Brokeback Mountain" for depicting characters who "awkwardly and violently engage in anal sex." WND founder and editor Joseph Farah even asks: "Isn't it time to make anal sex taboo, again?"

Bozell and WND have thus clearly established their opposition to references to anal sex in the media and popular culture. So why do they give Rush Limbaugh a pass for making those very same "allusions to anal penetration"?

Read the rest.

The Microbicides Media and Communications Initiative is pleased to announce the launch of the official MMCI website!

The Microbicides Media and Communications Initiative (MMCI) is a unique multi-partner collaboration housed at the Global Campaign for Microbicides designed to help the wider microbicides field anticipate and respond proactively to the communications challenges posed by the conduct of large scale effectiveness trials in Africa and other resource-limited settings.

IRMA is a proud member of the MMCI.

Highlights on the website include:

Media and news coverage: Balanced and accurate reporting is essential to the development of the HIV prevention research and development field. MMCI monitors media coverage of microbicides and HIV prevention research, focusing on trial host countries and communities where rumors and sensationalized media can undermine ongoing and planned trials.

Communications resources: Both the microbicides and wider HIV prevention research fields are dynamic and continuously evolving. The resources section provides templates and other communications tools to equip advocates, communicators and all members of the HIV prevention research community with essential background information and skills to effectively communicate around microbicides development. Links to prevention research sponsors, communications and advocacy groups are also listed.

Events calendar: Tracking conferences, events and clinical trials testing microbicides and related prevention research methods, the on-line calendar also includes a feature to easily add events to your iCal or Outlook calendar. Additionally, we list media and journalist training opportunities for advocates and health journalists interested in advancing their scientific understanding of the prevention research field.

The website is continually being updated, with new resources and media coverage added regularly. To visit the website, please go to: http://www.mmci-communications.org/