Croobert News: Kellee Terrell: Oprah Misses the Mark on HIV/AIDS... Again

Kellee Terrell: Oprah Misses the Mark on HIV/AIDS... Again HPFB.init();

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Kellee TerrellNews Editor, TheBody.com

Posted: October 14, 2010 05:53 PMBIOBecome a FanGet Email AlertsBloggers' Index

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, Winfrey decided to focus on issues that distort the epidemic.

"Why She Sued Her Husband for 12 Million Dollars" 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 found out that her husband was HIV positive, too. And that he slept with men without 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 undermine 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 are not fueling the epidemic?

Of course, Oprah didn't have any expert to talk about that. Nor was there an expert to jump to Bridget's defense when gasps of horror in the audience greeted her announcement that she had remarried and was pregnant -- despite her accurate assessment that because she was on antiretroviral treatment, the risk of her baby of having HIV was extremely low. Given the immense stigma surrounding a positive woman's right to have children, a doctor's insight would have been nice.

And just when you thought the show couldn't get any worse, J.L. King, the Godfather of the down-low, came out. Literally. King -- whose 2004 book On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of 'Straight' Black Men Who Sleep With Men, catapulted this phenomenon into American pop culture -- finally admitted that he officially identifies as a gay man. Yet he still warns heterosexual women that not knowing your man's sexual orientation can kill you. (Note to King: The LGBT community might not accept you if you keep falsely blaming them for AIDS.)

The only saving grace of the episode was when Bridget became "pissed off" when Oprah used Magic Johnson as an example of how everyone living with HIV can be healthy and life with HIV can be easy. Bridget jumped in and said,

"Let me stop you here. Magic Johnson does not have the same life that an average person [with] the disease. ...Magic Johnson can buy any doctor, any medication in the world. He has people who cook for him. He has people who clean for him... People can live with it, but it's not simple like everybody says."

(The video was removed from YouTube after Oprah's production company sent a copyright warning.)

This moment was powerful -- not just because Oprah's guest rarely ever correct her, but because for too long Magic has been the poster child of this epidemic, when in fact his access, power and privilege is a rarity among those living with HIV/AIDS.

To be fair, there are times when Oprah has gotten it somewhat right on HIV. Her 1987 episode about AIDS in a small West Virginia town opened the country's eyes to the ignorance around this disease and the need for compassion. And in a 2006 episode, an intimate roundtable with women living with HIV in America was endearing and humanized the epidemic.

But those shows are few and far between. Shows like Bridget's story and last year's HIV criminalization fiasco (read the show recap, or an open response letter from Jack Mackenroth of Project Runway fame) does more harm in educating the public than good.

That is frustrating, because there are so many different entry points from which Oprah could talk about HIV responsibly. In 2010 alone, the White House announced the first-ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy; the HIV travel ban was lifted in the U.S.; there was a resurgence of people on AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting lists; the HIV/AIDS documentary The Other City debuted; and there was plenty of important news from the XVIII International AIDS Conference this summer, particularly the excitement around a potentially effective microbicide.

Why not report on some of that? Or better yet, why not show what it's like to really live with HIV by letting people living with the disease tell their own stories? Show them raising their families; addressing societal stigma; dealing the difficulties of treatment adherence, side effects and the reality of drug resistance; overcoming addiction; battling housing and economic stability issues; dealing with dating, sex and love; navigating homophobia, racism, and gender issues. You know, all that good stuff.

Given that this is the last season of The Oprah Winfrey Show -- and given her power, access and influence -- I think Ms. Winfrey owes America that much.

For actual interviews of people living with HIV, please visit TheBody.com's This Positive Life video series. Our series gives you the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge from people of all walks of life on what it means to live -- and live well -- with HIV. Watch them discuss their struggles, hopes and triumphs.

HIV/AIDS Read more from Huffington Post bloggers: Mike Alvear Mike Alvear: The Real Reason why Gay Men don't use Condoms Zondra Hughes Zondra Hughes: Down-Low Expert JL King: "Monogamy Is a Myth" Meredith C. Carroll Meredith C. Carroll: Dear Oprah: So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen... Good-bye Already Kitty Kelley Kitty Kelley: What's Behind the Oprah/Letterman Feud?

Mike Alvear: The Real Reason why Gay Men don't use Condoms

Bottom Line: Anybody who gets HIV is a victim, even if their stupidity contributed to the infection. When friends suffer, they deserve compassion, not criticism.

Zondra Hughes: Down-Low Expert JL King: "Monogamy Is a Myth"

Six years ago, JL King sent shock waves through black America with his revealing look at men who sleep with men, but do not consider themselves gay.

Meredith C. Carroll: Dear Oprah: So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen... Good-bye Already

When Oprah announced this would be the last season of her celebrated talk show, millions of rabid viewers prayed it was just a ploy. And now, it's feeling painfully like her show might actually never end.

Kitty Kelley: What's Behind the Oprah/Letterman Feud?

In 1989, the night after Oprah hosted a show that almost capsized her career, she appeared on Letterman. When he didn't defend her from a rowdy audience member, and later made a joke at her expense, she shunned him for the next 16 years.
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