How Have AIDS Victims Been Stigmatized by American Society? The purpose of this essay is to awaken the sleeping community, house-by-house, room-by-room, and person-by-person to the issues of bigotry, discrimination and racism surrounding this stigmatization; and, to enlist the resources available to our society to help these victims rather than condemn them. The definition of stigma according to an excerpt from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is “a mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach.” The archaic definition, “a mark burned into the skin of a criminal or slave; a brand” leaves little doubt that a stigma like AIDS is a double-edged sword, a brand of its own. This simple description expresses society’s inability to deal with HIV and AIDS and most specifically the transmission of the disease throughout the American culture via the innocent and the damned. Just as this definition suggests that a stigma is disgraceful and a moral mark or brand, the promotion by the homophobic white male of the myths, misconceptions and ignorant philosophical views surrounding the stigmatization of AIDS victims must be eliminated through education and exposure of the misinformation. To clarify further the distinction between HIV and AIDS victims, it is important to understand the medical difference between them. HIV indicates that the individual has contracted the AIDS virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and AIDS indicates that the person has developed the full spectrum of the disease, AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. The victims of AIDS are socially excluded in the following areas: “1) pose a threat to others health or safety (by being dangerous, reckless or contagious); 2) deviate excessively from group standards by violating morals, rules and norms; 3) fail to contribute adequately to the welfare of other individuals or the social groups to which they belong because...
