Exploring Links of Interest - TheBody.com

I'm continuing my exploration of some of the links on my Links of Interest page on my blog and website with a trip back to the 1980s. Do you remember the days of big hair and bigger shoulder pads? I sure do. But the decade is also remembered for another reason: the growing awareness of HIV/AIDS. My experiences with HIV/AIDS came from two directions: membership in the LGBTQ+ community and exposure through volunteer work with those who lived with drug addiction. 

I remember the fear and confusion. I remember the uncertainty. I remember when the bathhouse down the street from my apartment was turned into an AIDS Hospice. I remember the friends who are no longer with us. And, just like during the current COVID-19 crisis, I remember the desperate need for accurate and updated information.

This was before smart phones. Before Google. Before the understanding that this disease could impact anyone at any age and wasn't just a price paid for love. I'd like to think we've come a long way since then. Medical knowledge and treatment can now offer what then seemed like unbelievable options. But awareness, well, a recent discussion with some young acquaintances showed me there's still a long way to go.

If you read my short story, Better with Sprinkles (currently unavailable), you might remember the dedication where I wrote about my own experiences with HIV/AIDS testing. Or perhaps you chuckled over my rant about safer sex practices and dental dams.

More than one reader and reviewer found it a bit preachy and it probably was. But I also had readers who emailed and confessed they had never heard of dental dams and their role in stopping the spread of sexually transmitted disease. Times don't seem to have changed all that much.

Accurate and non-judgmental information, no matter our orientation, is important. One source I regularly point to, especially when it comes to HIV/AIDS, is TheBody.com. This site has been a vital part of education and understanding over many years and continues to offer current updates and information. Please, click on the link and explore for yourself. Whether you're just curious, or you know someone the information could help. It all starts with a click.