homosexuality, IV drug use, sexual promiscuity and other liberations of sexual practice (O'Hare,
et al., 1996; Canadian Associacion of Social Workers, 1990; Quam, 1990 & Beauger, 1989). An
especially strong association exists between homosexuality and AIDS. This is largely due to the
fact that, in the early years of the disease, it was far more prevalent within the gay community and
almost non-existent outside of it. In fact, until 1982 the disease was referred to as GRID or Gay
Related Immune Deficiency. Even today, AIDS is often referred to as "the gay plague" (Giblin,
1995). Even though AIDS is now far less prevalent in the homosexual community and
increasingly more outside of it, this link still remains strong for many.
Along with the historical context of AIDS, the media is partly to blame for this not so accurate
association. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (1990) reports that, "often the media
has not distinguished between 'gay' and 'AIDS', so that public understanding of homosexuality
and AIDS has become enmeshed" (p.10). In recent years, the media has started to make more
accurate distinctions between homosexuality and AIDS, but messages are still mixed and often
ambiguous. The situation is quite similar in regard to IV drug use, prostitution, and other
activities commonly associated with AIDS. This focus that the media has put on marginalized
groups incorrectly places emphasis on high risk groups rather than high risk activities. As a
result, the word AIDS alone conjures, for many, images of those who deviate from what society
Already Stigmatized Groups
Many of the groups to which AIDS is associated have long histories of stigmatization before
the appearance of AIDS. Homosexuals, in western culture, have almost always suffered the
effects of being a stigmatized population. The same is true of ...