"The HIV Dating Game"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"The HIV Dating Game"

Newsweek (10/05/92) Vol.120, No.14, P.56
Seligman, Jean et al.

Abstract: HIV-positive people have a very difficult time dating HIV-negative people because of the accompanying fears by both parties. When the epidemic started ten years ago, people became sick so quickly that romance was not a top priority for those HIV-positive individuals. But with earlier diagnosis and better drugs to prevent and treat symptoms, HIV-positive men and women now may live for several years with the virus, often looking and feeling healthy. HIV-positive people usually go through a period of celibacy while coping with their diagnosis, but eventually acknowledge the need for companionship and intimacy. In Los Angeles there is a support group for HIV-positive people who seek romance and companionship called Friends for Life. In New York, every Thursday night it is Blood Brothers night at the Comeback Club, which draws nearly 200 HIV-positive men every week. The founder, Will Leonard, who discovered he was HIV-positive last year said, "For a person with AIDS, it feels like returning to the mainstream. Kevin Dimmick, a 35-year-old California computer programmer, who contracted HIV 12 years ago, believes that most of the major AIDS organizations have ignored the needs of heterosexuals who are affected by the disease. Dimmick organized the Infected and Affected Straight Folks Party last March, five more of which followed.

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