Youth & Media
Jacqueline Helle ~ Digital Portfolio
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The Moral Panic of HIV/AIDs in the 80's
source: nymag.com
Throughout history, society has encountered numerous moral panics. One and one that still has a grave impact on our society today was the HIV/AIDS moral panic of the 1980s-1990s. A moral panic can be described as “A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass medial the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians, and other right thinking people; socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnosis and solutions ways of coping are evolved or more often restored to; the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible:” (Cohen p. 8). The HIV/AIDS epidemic was a source of social risk and anxiety because it threatened the societal norms that already existed. Homophobia was prevalent at this time and the mass media aided in the creation of atrocious stereotypes regarding the disease and the homosexual community.
The CDC states the disease is transmitted “through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment". However, during this time it was strictly associated with being transmitted and shared by the homosexual community by engaging in sexual activity. This type of sexual activity is historically viewed as deviant and dangerous behaviors by society. Being gay in general was highly discourage by society. The hatred resulted in frequent violent attacks on them because of their sexual preference. Through their prejudice, society was quick to create blame for the disease on anyone who was gay.
The media during the HIV/AIDS epidemic was largely responsible for the negative association in pinning gays as the folk devils of this moral panic. Folk devils can be defined as “visible reminders of what we should not be” (Cohen p. 8). They are the perpetrators of the deviant behavior that is causing the moral panic. Here, the gay community were demonized when they were thought to be the cause and reason the disease was existing in society.“Deviance becomes significant when it is subjectively shaped into an active role which becomes the basis for assigning social status” (Cohen p. 5). Folk devils are often described as social types who highlight the roles that members of society should avoid and actively try to not become a part of. Avoidance from society lead to “the deviant or group of deviants [being] segregated or isolated and this operates to alienate them from conventional society” (Cohen p. 8-9). News media during this time contributed to the severe isolation and hate regarding the homosexual community was greatly encouraged by the news media during the time.
More often those participating in deviant behavior are the youth within moral panics. Young people are more vulnerable and more easily influenced by others into participating in activities such as doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and sexual behaviors. Their increased vulnerability is due to their lack of life experience and education compared to the average adult. The youth are historically more likely to rebel against their parents and try out more risky and edgy behaviors. They are more fascinated with these behaviors because it defies the “normal” social acceptable activities they have been a part of as a young child. Due to the younger generations more likeliness to participate in these behaviors, they were spreading the disease at a faster rate than older generations. There were cases of older adults getting the disease and spreading it, but it was most prominent culturally amongst young gays. Many older gay individuals were more hesitant to freely express their sexuality die to high level of societal rejection the community was still facing. The younger generation was more encouraged and felt more free to be their true self than the generations above them.
Their parents feel it is their job to protect their children from being grouped into this folk devil group and act in any way to ensure their child is safe. Engaging in such activities despite what their parents were saying represents the generational power struggles between adults and youth. The youth will continue to partake in such activities and sadly, the world and media will always be right there to point the finger or pass judgement on the topic. Media perpetuated and capitalized off of the societal consensus, the young gay community is to blame for this deadly disease.
source: irishouse.org
source: nbcnews.com
source: buzzfeed.com
Newspapers and radio stations in the late 80s were constantly referring to this epidemic as “gay cancer” or the “the gay plague” when reporting on the disease. Mass media took this story by storm to profit off of deviance because “the mass media devote a good deal of space to deviance: sensational crimes, scandals, bizarre happenings and strange goings on. The more dramatic confrontations between deviance and control in manhunts, trials and punishments are recurring objects of attention” (Cohen p. 8). The audience becomes so highly invested in following this "crime" and ensuring they are avidly keeping up with the moral problem at hand. The invested response by the audience pushed the media outlets to continue writing these stories and pushing the negative stereotypes more upon society.
“United States news media were instrumental in the construction of AIDS as a plague-like, almost spiritual response to deviance, having taken six years and twelve thousand deaths from the first diagnosed instance of AIDS to achieve aggressive, mainstream reporting” (Garland p. 230). Their word choice, as expected, shook the world and left them fearing gays. Parents began believing their children were going to “catch it” from simply being around someone who is gay. They formed committees that piggy-backed onto the prevalent panic and anxiety. They created petitions and held protests with signs as shown above stating "SAVE OUR CHILDREN FROM HOMOSEXUALS". People began shunning their friends who were gay in fear of social isolation for being associated with the person. In society’s mind, every person who was gay was HIV/AIDS positive.
Mass media was every citizen’s source of information on the disease and how to effectively protect themselves effectively if they believe they are in harm's way. Being the sole providers of information regarding the disease gave the media the power to write the narrative of the panic. "How AIDS is discussed, how resources are allocated, who are defined as in the 'risk groups,' and who makes the decisions about AIDS highlight the inseparable connection between AIDS and power in society" (Woods 617). Media sources chose to report the gay community as the cause or reasoning for the spread of the disease. This media used society’s open dislike for this particular community to their benefit by encouraging and creating negative stereotypes. News stories reported on “triggered gay cancer” or accusing gay people of “conspiring to infect society”. This “inspired and encouraged irrational fears amongst the genera public about the risks of becoming infected with HIV and have lent support to a growing tide of prejudice, discrimination” (Dickinson p. 24).
source: nlm.nh.org
source: nlm.nh.org
source: nlm.nh.org
The level of slander and incorrect information being spread regarding the disease pushed a response from the government. In an effort to ease the mass panic that was ensuing, campaigns were created. In “1983, 1985, and 1987 there were frenzies of reporting that tended to focus on how we can protect ourselves from them” (Lester p. 232). Risk management was the focus of the government’s response to this panic. The media had filled the public's minds with the belief that they could contract the disease through simply interact with people who are gay. Posters were created with this angle to educate the world on how to help themselves stay safe from the disease. Their focus was on the ways people could or could not get transmitted the disease. The main tag line across the bottom of each poster read “AIDS is a virus that is not spread through day to day contact”. They advertised non-deviant behavior or activities society could participate in without fear of getting the disease. The advertisements were created by the America's Response to Aids (ARTA) movement and “designed to heighten public awareness of and sensitivity to AIDS and to reduce fear of transmission through contact” (Woods p. 618).
Advertisements as shown above suggested "safe" activities such as going to a restaurant, playing hide and seek or swimming in a public pool. Educating parents and the youth was one of ARTA’s focus in creating their advertisements. The ads were “designed to help parents and concerned adults initiate effective discussions about HIV infection and AIDS with their children. Age-specific handout information for teenagers and children was included in an “AIDS Prevention Guide” guide to reinforce adult-to-child discussions” (Woods p. 618). Two of those advertisements were particularly designed towards the youth and suggested safe options for them to spend their time. The media was targeting the youth in these ads in an effort to lead children away from participating in any behavior that could be deemed dangerous or deviant. ARTA hopes to influence change within society through the development of the movement. Their efforts were recognized by society because of their artistic and educational advertisements. It aided in easing the anxieties and extreme negativity that had been circling since the beginning of the moral panic. It is safe to say the epidemic would not have been as monumental of a moral panic as it was if the media had not played the enormous role it did in sharing information regarding the disease.
Sources
Cohen, Stanley. Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers. MacGibbon and Kee, 1972.
Dickinson, Roger. “Beyond the Moral Panic: AIDS, the Mass Media and Mass Communication Research.” Communications, vol. 15, no. 1-2, 1990, https://doi.org/10.1515/comm.1990.15.1-2.21.
Garland, David. “On the Concept of Moral Panic.” Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 4, no. 1, 2008, pp. 9–30., https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659007087270.
Hunt, Arnold. “'Moral Panic' and Moral Language in the Media.” The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 48, no. 4, 1997, p. 629., https://doi.org/10.2307/591600.
Lester, Elli. “The AIDS Story and Moral Panic: How the Euro‐African Press Constructs Aids.” Howard Journal of Communications, vol. 3, no. 3-4, 1992, pp. 230–241., https://doi.org/10.1080/10646179209359752.
Woods DR, Davis D, Westover BJ. "America Responds to AIDS": its content, development process, and outcome. Public Health Rep. 1991 Nov-Dec; 106(6):616-22. PMID: 1720249; PMCID: PMC1580341.
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