"ACT UP"

I find it fascinating how AIDs was originally considered a gay disease and how the religious community used AIDS as a way to push their anti-gay propaganda. This reflected the feelings of a large part of America. Churches and politicians recognized this fear and used AIDS as a tool to create more fear. In 1987, PBS aired a special about how AIDS was homosexual disease. "The segment opened with homosexuals being the life blood of show business and arts."(Kocur and Leung 142). PBS went on to explain about AIDs related deaths with a number of well known artists. While a number of artists may have died from AIDS, it neglected to give information that people outside the arts were contracting AIDS as well. This was alarming because it did not educate the general public about their risk. It portrayed it as a gay disease not a human one. In retrospect, this lack of education has proven deadly.
A movement called "ACT UP" fought the stereotype that this was a gay disease and used powerful images to challenge assumptions. They created art that highlighted the anti-gay speech and how the government continued to ignore the spread of the disease. ACT UP thought that fundraising was too passive for the art community. They focused on moving people, through art, to become active in the fight against AIDS. Douglas Crimp argued, "that art does have the power to save lives, and it is this very power that must be recognized, fostered, and supported in every way possible. We don't need a cultural renaissance; we need cultural practices actively participating in the struggle against AIDS. We don't need to transcend the epidemic; we need to end it" (Kocur and Leung 144). This passion helped artists to create art, not for the art community, but for the public as a way to push them to action. It was crucial to help people see it as a human disease and not just a disease for one part of the population.