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From: ST602662%BROWNVM.BITNET@oac.ucla.edu (Bill Jesdale)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: (2725) NEW TERMINOLOGY
Message-ID: <1990Nov9.044414.25234@cs.ucla.edu>
Date: 8 Nov 90 17:26:48 GMT
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I'm interested by the term Body Positive, and it reminds me of
some of the terms I've been hearing in common usage around here.

In some circles, people call themselves HIV. E.G. "This vaccine
is particularly promising for HIV women who are pregnant
because it may protect the fetus." "People who are HIV are very
interested in topic X", and even "Being HIV has given me a whole
new outlook on life."
I imagine that dropping the 'positive' from HIV+ was originally
done to conserve on syllables, but it seems to have taken on
a life of its own now. I don't really understand why.
  I have noted that the term is used by HIV's sometimes, and
by people who work with them. I'm still an old stuffy, and
still haven't gotten comfortable with this term.

  Another term frequently used is 'positive.' I think this
one may be more common as an internal descriptor of an
emergent social group, the Positives. I have heard people
say "Only another positive knows what it's like." I think
that this term is a way of delineating (forming) a
community among positives, of separating the community
from the 'gay' community which is often unresponsive,
and at times rejects the positive person. I'm not sure
if this term has gained currency around here among IDUs
and heterosexuals who are positive, because I just don't
know too many (There certainly are more of them than there
are gay positives, though, at least here in RI).

  A friend of mine has started a support group called
"Positive Directions" which consciously accentuates the
positive part of the label, HIV+.

  I'm curious to hear what people with more experience
than I in knowing what positives refer to themselves as,
and people with more experience studying newly emergent
terms ahve to say about the attempts (which I think have
been around for quite a while at this point) to use
language to built a positive community.

Be Well,
Bill Jesdale, Box 5342, BrownU, Prov, RI 02912
I am affiliated primarily with ActUp/RI, but I also work
for the RI Dep't of Health, and so am bound somewhat by
both groups, making it hard to say anything definitive
on any topic.