From the Jul 31 – Aug 6, 2003 issue

News

DIY Gay Health Campaigns

Informative and Useful HIV Prevention Messages Coming Soon to a Telephone Pole Near You

by Eli Sanders

A few weeks ago The Stranger slammed Lifelong AIDS Alliance for wasting $80,000 in public money on yet another lame HIV and STD prevention campaign ["We're Not Getting Serious," Eli Sanders, July 10]. But in addition to slamming Lifelong, The Stranger also bet that with $200 of our money some local gay health renegades could come up with a gay health campaign better than Lifelong's uninformative, counterproductive bus ads.

We got a slew of good entries, along with a lot of support for our campaign for better HIV prevention campaigns. Here are the three official Stranger gay health renegade finalists, plus two runners-up that deserve a mention.

To make things even more interesting, as these three official finalists begin to battle it out, we're also adding a fourth wild-card finalist: a poster we found tacked up to a telephone pole on Capitol Hill. We liked the poster, as well as the total renegadeness of the people behind it (they are so renegade they didn't even bother to enter our contest, but just went straight to work), and so we took the liberty of entering them ourselves.

The official finalists each get $200 to get their message out. Whoever runs the best campaign over the next four weeks--be it our official finalists or our wild-card finalist--wins an additional $500.

Good luck, dear rebels.

FINALIST: STOP, TALK, ROLL

This ad by Jeff Markwardt actually tells you something: HIV and syphilis rates are rising. It also tells you what to do about it: Talk to your partners and use condoms. Simple, clear, effective. Our only reservation is this: While using condoms and talking about your HIV status is important, the ad fails to mention some other important strategies--such as not being a drug-abusing slut who spends all his spare time in bathhouses.

FINALIST: SAVAGE ADVICE

We like this campaign by James Rennie because it uses an of-the-moment issue to make an important point: In the end, it's not the religious right or bigots like Michael Savage who are responsible for infecting gay men with HIV. It's gay men. We're the ones having unsafe sex; we're the ones who are failing to disclose our HIV status. Which should we really be outraged about: What Michael Savage said, or the fact that so many gay men are following his advice? Our only problem with this campaign is fixable: The statistics it uses are incorrect. There were not 1,000 new HIV infections in Seattle last year; according to health department estimates, the number is probably closer to 500.

FINALIST: NOTHING POSITIVE

One thing local AIDS groups refuse to say is that being HIV positive is not positive. This leaves many idiotic gay men out there--and they are legion, as we all know--thinking that becoming HIV positive is inconsequential and therefore desirable ("I'll never have to worry about getting it again... "--which is not true) or at least no big deal health-wise because of the new drugs (which is also not true). This poster by Alan Motley says what AIDS groups refuse to say, which is great. But we wish the take-home messages at the bottom were a little stronger. "Use condoms for anal sex," for example. Or: "Share your HIV status with your partners."

RUNNER-UP: BAREBACKING IS BULLSHIT

This contestant was quite prolific. We love the slogan he used in several of his entries: "Barebacking Is Bullshit." But we noted that the word "condom" is misspelled in this and other posters he entered. (Condon?!?) He also contended that wearing condoms alone is the "solution" to AIDS, allowing you to have "hot, shameless, guiltless sex." Condoms are only one part of the solution. One other part, for example, is being smart about how many people you have "hot, shameless, guiltless sex" with.

RUNNER-UP: DON'T BE A DICK

This is a hot ad with a good message: You're a dick if you're not disclosing your STD and HIV status to your partners. But what we don't like about this ad is just how hot it is--one of the problems with many prevention campaigns is that they fall into the trap of believing gay men will only listen to sexualized health messages. And then the sexualized health messages end up subtly (or not so subtly) promoting the idea that, as this ad says, the primary ambition of gay men should be to "Get Some Dick." Health promotion campaigns should put staying healthy ahead of getting dick.

WILD CARD: HEY ASSHOLE!

We spotted this bright yellow flier on a telephone pole on Capitol Hill, and like any good flier it caught our eye immediately. It has strong, directive messages: Get tested, wear a condom, disclose your status. But it also has a few grammar issues that should be worked out (read it closely: Who's being addressed here? The "asshole" who's getting fucked, or the person who's doing the fucking?) Also, "Don't Kill Them" is a little behind the times. How about, "Don't Give Them HIV"?

ATTENTION REBEL SYMPATHIZERS:

Want to help the finalists get their posters up around Capitol Hill? Pick the one you like best, tell us, and then offer your assistance at aids@thestranger.com.