Turning Point: Key Facts - HIV and AIDS Myths

	Myths
Know The Facts HIV/AIDS Key Facts How to Put on a Condom How to Clean a Needle Are You At Risk? Myths Testing Locations
	African American Men African American Women African American Injecting Drug Users African American Men who Have Sex With Men African American Men When it comes to HIV/AIDS and communities of color, there are many myths circulating within the community. Several myths are passed between one brother to the next in this dramatized version of a conversation between two African American men. “What up dog;”— “'Sup”— “Heard you tryin' to holler at that fine ‘il philly across the way”— “Who?” “You know who I'm talkin' ‘bout”— “Naw, dog. You got to come at me different from that”— “Dog – don't try to play me. You know who I'm talkin' bout. Brigidet”— “Aw – Bridget. Wid' her big, ‘ol fine self. Yeah, dog. I'm'a hit it”— “I don't know, dog. Heard she be out there on the block”— [CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT MANY SEX PARTNERS AND THE HIV VIRUS] “Forget you, dog. You just jealous ‘cause you tried to hit it and she ain't let you”— “Hell naw, dog. I ain't tried to hit that. Ain't a philly out here I cain't hit, dog. I'm tellin' you. They say she be out here on the block, dog”— “So what if she do”— “A'ight, dog. Gon hit it then. You better be tryin' to wear a rubber. Hell. Two from what I heard”— “Naw, dog. I cain't do no rubbers. ‘ “A'ight, dog. You be done messed around and caught AIDS [CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HIV/AIDS AND ORAL SEX] or some stuff”— “AIDS? Dog – you cain't catch no AIDS from oral sex—” [FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW HIV/AIDS IS TRANSMITTED, CLICK HERE] “Dog – you a fool! You can get AIDS from somebody spittin' on you, dude! I know this dude got AIDS from bein' ‘round somebody else who had it” — [CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THE HIV VIRUS IS CONTRACTED] “But look, dog. You only get AIDS if you a fag and I don't mess around like that, dog”— “Dog – I'm tellin' you. You could be kissin' and catch it”— [CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THE HIV VIRUS IS CONTRACTED] “Forget it, dog. I still cain't wear no rubbers. They be too tight. [CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT LATEX CONDOMS AND HOW TO USE THEM] I'll just hit it from the back. You cain't get AIDS if you hit it from the back. [CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THE HIV VIRUS IS CONTRACTED] Plus, she always be clean anyway. She don't look like she got nothin' [WHERE HIV/AIDS IS CONCERNED, CAN LOOKS BE DECEIVING? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT]. Naw, dog, I ain't wearin' no rubber”— The opinions expressed here by these characters are not the opinions of Turning Point or any of it's staff. Please note that these are dramatizations. Turning Point does not infer that all African Americans speak or behave in the manner in which these characters are presented. African American Women Are the myths circulating only between African American men? Certainly not. This conversation between two African American women about how HIV/AIDS is passed along from one person to the other also contains some myths. “Girl. . . there was some fine brothers out at the club last night”— “So did you get chose?”— “You know I did, girl, the way them brothers be all over me”— “I know that's right”— “Ain't you gonna ask me what happened?” “Not particularly – but if you want me to be dippin' in yo business I can. So what happened girl”— “Baby I was sittin' at the table with some of my girlfriends”— “You mean Keesha and them huzzies?” “Don't be callin' my girls no huzzies. And don't be interruptin' me”— “A'ight. So go on”— “Well I was wearin' my new outfit. You know the one Ray-Ray bought for me. With the short skirt”— “Oh – that lil green number you think you look so cute in”— “Think? Honey I know I look cute in that outfit”— “Ummmuph! Like James Brown say, ‘gon with yo bad self”— “So girl, this brother named Larry came struttin' across the flo. Fine as hell, baby”— “Baby, would you get on with it and stop tryin' to act like you Terry McMillen or somethin'. Did y'all hook up?” “Yeah, we did. You know I was feelin' like I needed to get my freak on”— “So how was it?”— “Girl, the brother is a freak in bed”— “Naw, girl”— “I swear I ain't lyin' girl. He started from the top and worked his way down”— “Did you make him wear a condom?” “We ain't had no time for no condoms, girl” “Geena! Now you know better than that, girl. You shoulda made him wear one. You coulda caught anything from him. How you know he wasn't HIV positive”] “Oh honey, please! He ain't had no HIV or whatever the hell that stuff is. He ain't look like he had nothin'”— [FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT APPEARANCES AND HIV CLICK HERE] “Like he was gonna tell you if he did have somethin'. You know them brothers that hang out at that club ain't nothin' but a pack of dog-pound brothers”— “Well I never did like the way them condoms feel when a man wear them. Besides, it ain't like he was a fag or nothin'”— [CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THE HIV VIRUS IS CONTRACTED] “Whats that got to do with anything?” “It mean he was a man. It's only them fags got to worry about that – what you call it? HIV?” “Baby, let me tell you somethin'. You better wake the hell up! This stuff out here ain't no joke”— “I ain't worried ‘bout catchin' nothin'. I know I'm clean! Plus, I can tell when a nigga got somethin' wrong with him”— [FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT APPEARANCES AND HIV CLICK HERE] “Oh really? And hows that”— “You can always tell when somethins wrong. I look at a man, I can tell if somethin' ain't right just by lookin' in his eyes”— [FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT APPEARANCES AND HIV CLICK HERE] “Listen – I'm'a take you up the street to this place. They have lots of information about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. [FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HI/AIDS EDUCATION CLICK HERE] You need to read up on some of this stuff, girl, because it's about more than just not tryin' to catch somethin'”— The opinions expressed here by these characters are not the opinions of Turning Point or any of it's staff. Please note that these are dramatizations. Turning Point does not infer that all African Americans speak or behave in the manner in which these characters are presented. African American Injecting Drug Users Injecting drug use is on the rise in the African American community. Recent statistics suggest that far too large a percentage of African Americans have used intravenous drugs. Needles are one of the ways in which the HIV virus is transmitted from person to person. When a person who is HIV positive uses his or her works to get high, the hubs and other parts of the needle may contained contaminated blood products. If someone else then uses that same needle, they too may contract the HIV virus. “'Sup my brother” — “nothin' much. ‘Sup with you”— “Same stuff, different day”— “You lookin' for a hit” — “Sho you right, bruh. Ain't got no works”— “I got yo back there, bruh”— “It's all good then. Lets get this stuff on the road”— “Think it's a good idea – usin' yo works? I heard you not s'posed to do that”— “Ain't nothin' but a thing bruh. We both need a hit right? So ain't no thang”— “But it might not be safe though”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFOMRATION ABOUT NEEDLE SHARING AND SAFE PRACTICES] “What's to be safe about? I got a wick, man, and I ain't got nothin”— “How you know you ain't got nothin'? You been tested?”— [FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HIV TESTING, CLICK HERE] “Look – either you wanna get this hit or not. I ain't got time for no dumb stuff. How I know I ain't got somethin? I know, that's how. I just did a hit with this brother yesterday and we used the same wick. If I'd'a got somethin' I'd know it by now”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HIV INCUBATION AND HOW HIV VIRUS IS SPREAD] “Yo bruh, I ain't tryin' to say you got somethin'. Alls I'm sayin' is that they say it ain't too cool to be sharin' wicks and all that”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NEEDLE SHARING AND HIV INFECTION] “They. Who is they? Forget what they say anyway. They the ones who made this stuff so we can get it in the first place”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT URBAN MYTHS AND HIV INFECTION] “Hear this bruh say you can clean a wick with bleach”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO CLEAN WORKS] “Forget all this stuff. I ain't got no time for no bleach and all that. I'm'a gon' and get this hit. If you don't wanna hit it, then that's on you”— “Aright. I'm with you bruh. I need the hit anyway. My old girl, she been buggin”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO RESPOND IN A SITUATION WHERE SOMEONE WANTS YOU TO SHARE NEEDLES] The opinions expressed here by these characters are not the opinions of Turning Point or any of it's staff. Please note that these are dramatizations. Turning Point does not infer that all African Americans speak or behave in the manner in which these characters are presented. African American Men who Have Sex With Men “So what's poppin' with you brother?” “Not much baby. Whats goin' on with you?” “You know. . . same stuff, different day”— “I heard y'all was down at the watering hole last night”— “Uh huh. They was bumpin' too”— “I see”— “Yeah. Crowded as hell”— “Ummph. Lots of trade I s'pose”— “Trade back”— “Ummph. So did you work it?” “Not really. I did hook up with this one dude though. Fine as hell”— “What. . . did he take it on home?” “Sho'nuff did. Got our freak on 'till times got better”— “Hell naw”— “I ain't lyin' to you”— “I know you had your raincoats on you didn't you”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CONDOMS AND HIV PREVENTION] “Well – you know – we hooked up so fast, wasn't no time to thinkin' ‘bout no raincoats. Plus, I really don't like those things. It feels like I'm not really getting my freak on when a brother use rubbers”— [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONDOMS] “Baby, now you know you talkin' crazy. Why in hell would you bear-back like that and you know what's out there?” [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT UNPROTECTED SEX AND HIV SPREAD] “Why not? I'm sick of hearin' ‘bout this AIDS stuff, you know. What's a brother s'posed to do? Not freak at all?” [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW HIV/AIDS IS SPREAD] “I'm not sayin' youre not sposed to freak, but you know better than to be out here freakin' folk without no protection.” “What good is thinkin' ‘bout protection? If you gon get AIDS you gon get it”— “Listen, baby. You need to get over that dumb-ass stuff you talkin'. Now HIV/AIDS is some stuff you can avoid and you know this. All these posters and messages they been puttin' on TV and radio and everywhere else”— “And people still gettin' it. So what? Tomorrow ain't promised to you.” The opinions expressed here by these characters are not the opinions of Turning Point or any of it's staff. Please note that these are dramatizations. Turning Point does not infer that all African Americans speak or behave in the manner in which these characters are presented.
Celebrating 30 years of changing people's lives in a positive way. 1500 Golden Valley Road • Minneapolis, MN 55411 • ph. 612-520-4004

all content © 2006 Turning Point, Inc.