Buddy 5,686 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 One day, when he was 25, he fainted in a salon while highlighting a client’s hair. The next day he went to Planned Parenthood to diagnose his flulike symptoms. He tested positive for H.I.V. “That day was just as devastating as you would think it would be,” he writes. He cleaned up his act; he still drinks and smokes marijuana but says he hasn’t done hard drugs in years. And, using money from a family trust, he started anew in Los Angeles. Mr. Van Ness hopes to bring attention to what he calls “gorgeous beauty moments” like that with his memoir, especially misperceptions about being H.I.V. positive. He is healthy and now describes himself as an out-and-proud “member of the beautiful H.I.V.-positive community.” After another “namaste,” which appears to be his shorthand for “kindly leave,” Mr. Van Ness resumed his thoughts. “These are all difficult subjects to talk about on a makeover show about hair and makeup,” he said. “That doesn’t mean ‘Queer Eye’ is less valid, but I want people to realize you’re never too broken to be fixed.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/style/jonathan-van-ness-hiv-memoir.html - Love you Jonathan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen 30,420 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 He is setting a great example for others to not be ashamed of their status. We need to support our positive brothers and sisters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilling 68 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Very happy to hear he's feeling positive, the world needs more positive people!! <3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicisfreedom 5,837 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, chilling said: Very happy to hear he's feeling positive, the world needs more positive people!! <3 This is worded terribly considering... no offense if u didn't mean to... Bitch I'm Madonna Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilling 68 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, Musicisfreedom said: This is worded terribly considering... no offense if u didn't mean to... Positive vibes are a good thing! HIV is no longer a ticking clock I love the Gays! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damon 10,901 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 13 minutes ago, Musicisfreedom said: This is worded terribly considering... no offense if u didn't mean to... i think he meant like positive vibes ... and now i just sit in silence. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracious Gaga 17,163 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 33 minutes ago, chilling said: Very happy to hear he's feeling positive, the world needs more positive people!! <3 ♥ Kindness Police. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromaticunt 5,529 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Good for him. It's about time the stigma is taken away from HIV. It's perfectly possible to live a long, healthy life with the disease and it's nothing to be ashamed of. With that said, I do feel that whenever people come out as HIV positive, it's important to stress the importance of protected sex and show regret for not taking steps to prevent the disease. I worry that this movement towards acceptance of HIV might be going too far the other way and normalising it too much. It's not something anyone should be cavalier about. I'm not saying JVN is being cavalier, but I think it's important to talk about safe sex in the gay community. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilmonzter 2,864 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 It's so deeply personal isn't it?!, divulging your most intimate information for the world to judge and accept if they are okay with it. I mean there will obviously be supporters but imagine the media bias and the detractors, associating this disease to a gay disease. He's so brave, it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there like this. Tell your story. Impact people. Create exposure. I love him so much more Sing C'est la vie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJHolland 12,725 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 54 minutes ago, ThatBinch said: Good for him. It's about time the stigma is taken away from HIV. It's perfectly possible to live a long, healthy life with the disease and it's nothing to be ashamed of. With that said, I do feel that whenever people come out as HIV positive, it's important to stress the importance of protected sex and show regret for not taking steps to prevent the disease. I worry that this movement towards acceptance of HIV might be going too far the other way and normalising it too much. It's not something anyone should be cavalier about. I'm not saying JVN is being cavalier, but I think it's important to talk about safe sex in the gay community. I think just the opposite. People don’t protect themselves from HIV (or other diseases) because they don’t know anyone who is positive. It leads to “no one I know — online or in person — is HIV positive, so I don’t need to protect myself.” Hearing about celebrities coming out as HIV-positive certainly doesn’t make me apathetic about how I protect myself 🤷🏻♂️ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachinko 10,318 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 This is why I don't have sex. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JusKeepBreathin 19,311 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 It really been a long time since a television star has come out as HIV positive. It does help alot with stigma and just plain knowledge and current facts about living with HIV. Congrats to him for his bravery. #PedroZamora "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Martin Luther King Jr. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromaticunt 5,529 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 14 minutes ago, MJHolland said: I think just the opposite. People don’t protect themselves from HIV (or other diseases) because they don’t know anyone who is positive. It leads to “no one I know — online or in person — is HIV positive, so I don’t need to protect myself.” Hearing about celebrities coming out as HIV-positive certainly doesn’t make me apathetic about how I protect myself 🤷🏻♂️ I'm not saying it makes people apathetic. I'm just saying that unprotected sex is becoming rife in the gay community again, because people are doing chemsex (which can remove inhibitions) or relying too much on PrEP (which still carries a risk). We can't assume why some people choose not to have fully protected sex with a condom. But it seems like the fear of HIV has lessened over time because of how normalised it has become. And that's dangerous. I just think it can't hurt for people with platforms, like JVN, to promote safe sex. There seems to be a worrying disregard for it developing, especially among young gay men. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flippy 12,335 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 I'm glad he came out as HIV+ even though it's such a personal thing, it takes to come out publicly and say your status. There's still such a stigma with it that I hope people become more aware of the reality of HIV TMBT 3.22.11 // TBTWB 1.17.13 // ArtRAVE 6.3.14 // C2CT 5.28.15 // TJWT 8.13.17 // Chromatica World Tour 9.8.22 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling 31,288 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Buddy said: And, using money from a family trust, he started anew in Los Angeles. OP: So great of him to come out and use his platform for positivity and awareness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.