Van Ness is part of a group of athletes and entertainers who have shattered old stereotypes.
"Queer Eye's" Jonathan Van Ness announced he's HIV-positive ahead of the release of his memoir,"Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love." With a public persona vested in positivity, honesty and self-acceptance, the hairstylist is making over the public's view of a public health crisis.
Dr. Neel Shah, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who's treated HIV patients for years, describes Van Ness' announcement as"very brave," and cited a lack of access to reliable information for some misconceptions about HIV that"keep people from getting tested and getting treated.
Johnson offered a particularly powerful visual for the African American community, which has been disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS, and one in which well-known personalities have encouraged testing. Most people affected by HIV feel they're discriminated against because they're positive, even as the number of people with the disease goes up. Researchers worry the stigma and discrimination could keep people from getting tested, while nearly half of HIV-positive young people don't know they have it.
Shah seemed to agree:"The benefit of having a well-known figure reveal their HIV status is that it opens up discussions. It doesn't stay in the shadows. People start talking about it and they start talking about it with their physicians."
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