H.I.V. / AIDS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the virus Human Immunodeficiency Virus (H.I.V.).H.I.V. can cause illnesses by breaking down the body's ability to fight infections. H.I.V. has been detected in the blood, semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids of people with H.I.V. and all of these have been implicated in transmitting H.I.V.. People with H.I.V.remain infectious and can continue to infect other people throughout their life.
This section of the Gender Centre's website contains a number of articles about H.I.V. and AIDS and in the near future will also include other resources such as books, book reviews, research papers, videos, links to other H.I.V./AIDS related services and more. The articles below are just a few of the articles currently on the H.I.V./AIDS page of this website.
MAINTAINING YOUR TRANS* NEEDS WHILE H.I.V. POSITIVE
Article appeared in Polare 49, December 2002
What happens when a transgender person becomes H.I.V. positive and stigma is placed on top of stigma? Many oppressed transgender people have difficulty with self-acceptance, yet one of the keys for transgender people to take better care of themselves is empowerment ...
DID SHADY BACKROOM HORMONE TREATMENTS AND DIRTY NEEDLES CAUSE A KILLER OUTBREAK?
Article appeared in Polare 40, December 2000
Needle sharing has not been identified as a major risk factor for H.I.V.transmission among transsexual people, but there is a growing number of physicians and outreach workers that believe that it may be the cause of hundreds of cases in the U.S. and abroad ...
AN H.I.V.-INFECTED TRANSSEXUAL IS AMONG UNLIKELY LEADERS OF THE HAILED PROGRAM
Article appeared in Polare 39, October 2000
Jacqueline Rocha Cortes turns heads, but she isn't the latest Brazilian fashion model to conquer the catwalks. Ms. Rocha Cortes, is a transsexual who is infected with H.I.V. and has emerged as a leader in one of the most widely heralded anti-AIDS programs ...
AMPLICOR H.I.V.-1 MONITOR TEST GETS T.G.A. APPROVAL
Article appeared in Polare 14, August 1996
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (T.G.A.) has granted market approval for Roche's Amplicor H.I.V.-1 Monitor Test, the first commercial test to accurately measure the quantity of H.I.V. (H.I.V.-1 R.N.A.) in a person's blood (viral load)...
BASIC NUTRITION MANUAL FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH H.I.V.
Article appeared in Polare 42, October 2001
Human Immunodeficiency Virus affects your nutritional status. Studies have shown that people with H.I.V. tend to eat less than people who are H.I.V. negative. The process appears to begin early in the infection. Often it is subtle and may go unnoticed ...
SOME ISSUES FOR F.T.M.
Article appeared in Polare 31, June 2001
It is considered common knowledge that H.I.V. / AIDS can affect everyone, but we know very little about its impact on transgendered people, and even less about F.T.M.transsexual and transgender people. As part of a needs assessment on transgendered people in the Canadian province of Québec, Viviane Namaste asks transmen about their relations to H.I.V. / AIDS ...
A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT FOR WAYNE AND CHERYL
Article appeared in Polare 4, August 1994
My name is Wayne Jones and I am a thirty-six-year-old H.I.V. Positive inmate in the Long Bay Hilton. I have been in a relationship with a Transsexual for three and a half years now who is also H.I.V. Positive. Our story while not totally unique is a very complicated one and certainly one that one day needs to be told in full. What we want to discuss in this article though is how very tough it is for people such as us to survive in this world of the Macho image and still be able to earn the respect and friendship that we have been so lucky with.
INTRODUCING POST-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS
Article appeared in Polare 65, October 2005
Exposure to H.I.V. may result from any action that lets infected body fluids (like blood or semen) enter your bloodstream. It's not the same as being infected withH.I.V. (being H.I.V. positive), but it can lead to this. So what is this new treatment calledP.E.P.? ...
ADDRESSING THE SPECIAL LEGAL NEEDS OF WOMEN LIVING WITH H.I.V. /AIDS
Article appeared in Polare 56, March 2004
Asocially and geographically diverse minority group, women living with H.I.V.face multiple challenges and are more likely to experience isolation. For most, finding answers to questions and concerns about legal issues and family can be difficult and confusing ...
PROTECTION AGAINST H.I.V. AND OTHER DANGEROUS VIRUSES
Article appeared in Polare 5, November 1994
All people are at risk of being exposed to H.I.V. regardless of their age, gender or sexuality. However, transgender people face unique risks and it is most important to be aware of these. This article aims to help you and your sexual partners manage these risks ...
IF YOU'VE HAD UNSAFE SEX, HAD A CONDOM BREAK, OR SHARED INJECTING EQUIPMENT, YOU MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO H.I.V.
Article appeared in Polare 36, April 2000
If you've had sex without a condom, had a condom break during sex, or shared injecting equipment, you may have been exposed to H.I.V.. While there's no substitute for safe sex, there's a new option available called Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (P.E.P.) ...
WE ALL DESERVE ACCESS TO APPROPRIATE HEALTHCARE AND H.I.V.PREVENTION
Article appeared in Polare 63, May 2005
Transphobia from within and outside the queer community has been shown to dramatically increase H.I.V. risks. It serves to alienate, isolate, and stigmatize, and may lead to an increase in other social pressures, including poverty, substance abuse, and unemployment ...
