Posts
The “Status Sexy” campaign uses
images of attractive, shirtless men to convey its message encouraging men who
have sex with men to be tested for HIV.
Bus stop ads are running in Pontiac
and Detroit. The Ann Arbor Transit Authority recently approved the ads for
placement in its buses. Advocates see this as a victory since last year, when
the campaign was introduced, AATA first approved and then rejected the ads,
describing them as “inappropriate.”
“Fear, homophobia, racism, and a
top-down mentality are factors that we feel enable this epidemic, so we won’t
allow those factors to guide this campaign” said Will Bowen, community
mobilization project associate with AIDS Partnership Michigan (APM). “Everyone
is allowed to have an opinion, but the opinions of our community are the ones
that matter. We didn’t set out to make everyone happy. We’re fighting AIDS.”
Campaign planners spent eight months gathering community input on the concept,
which was carried out by the local creative boutique AndSoSheWrote.
Campaign partner testing sites
include the HIV/AIDS Resource Center, Washtenaw County Health Department,
Detroit Community Health Connection, Detroit Health and Wellness Promotion, EMU
Wellness Center, Horizon’s Project, Access, Teen Health Center, APM and APM
Pontiac. Areas targeted were based on data from CDC and the Michigan Department
of Community Health.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
