America's Hidden HIV Epidemic

Theory of Writing Assignment Forums Discussions America's Hidden HIV Epidemic

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  • #306
    Merla Ramos
    Participant

    Linda Villarosa’s article titled America’s Hidden HIV Epidemic is about a man named Cedric Sturdevant, who is trying to help out people who have been affected by HIV and AIDS. He drives for miles and miles as a visiting nurse to bring medication to the ones affected by this disease. He started this project because he can relate to this epidemic as well. Sturdevant can related because he has HIV/AIDS. His motive is to help people around the world with this disease to get better and have the support he didn’t have when he was diagnosed. This epidemic is most prevalent in the South in North America, making up 37 percent of the country’s population. A lot of those people are dying as well. This article contains a lot rhetoric to prove the point that HIV is a hidden epidemic. The author, Linda Villarosa, has elements of getting every detail about what Cerdric Sturdevant goes through being affected by HIV. She makes sure that she mentions when he came out to his family he had to leave and be on his own that really convinces the audience about how being gay in the Black community isn’t always accepted. The targeted audience to read this article could be people that can relate to this problem and could eventually help out. Also this article can be targeted to an audience that is not aware of how bad the HIV epidemic is in the Black gay and bisexual community is. The language in this article is dark because of the details about what effects the body goes through when you have HIV. Villarosa includes how Sturdevant sees that Jordan posts a picture on Facebook showing his body and how skinny he was and that he was desperate for help. This can cause emotion for the reader and be more convinced of Villarosa’s argument towards the epidemic. All in all, many Black gay and bisexual men are going to keep being affected by this epidemic if there is not a widespread education of it.

    #307
    Nathaly Castillo
    Participant

    This magazine article “America’s Hidden HIV Epidemic,” reveals a man named Sturdevant from Jackson, Mississippi who helps other people around the area struggling to live with being HIV positive, like himself. This magazine also discusses the statistic of people who are HIV positive throughout the united states. Sturdevant is HIV positive himself. The magazine reveals how African american and bisexual men have a higher rate of being HIV positive and how this epidemic has increased at an alarming rate and still continues to do so. The author of this article from the New York Times, Linda Villarosa, demonstrates her concerns of this epidemic of HIV/AIDS and how people can reach out for treatments, support, or how to prevent this from increasing further. She reveals the story of Sturdevant and how he has reached to several men just like him and provides them with support and even transportation to doctor appointments. Her audience includes people who are HIV positive since she reveals Sturdevant’s story and how he and others are getting through this. People who want to know more about how bad this epidemic has gotten may also find this article and have an interest in since it reveals statistics such as “one in two African American gay and bisexual men will be infected with the virus”. The tone of the passage is passionate and powerful due to the author revealing how sturdevant Is living with HIV and how his patients have progressed in coming to terms with having HIV and getting treatment for it. She also lets her readers know to not be ashamed, through sturdevant’s story. The stance of this article is in favor of supporting not only African american gay and bisexual men, but also people in general who are struggling to adapt to their new lifestyle of living with this virus.  The Purpose of this article is to reveal how dangerous HIV is and how important it is for people to stay strong having this virus and going to get the proper treatment to control it. The article also states how people can easily find out if they have it or not by getting tested and avoiding any further damage to their body. Also, the author spreads awareness with this article by revealing crucial information of how this epidemic has affected people and how important it is to get tested. The genre of this New York Times article is non-fiction and informative with a powerful language revealed through Sturdevant’s story.

    #308
    Tatiana Lema
    Participant

    <p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>I’m the New York Times article, “America’s Hidden HIV Epidemic” the author Linda Villarosa attempts to bring to light the seriousness of how HIV is and how the black and brown gay/bisexual population is mainly affected by it. The author introduces Cedric Sturdevant and his daily routines on treating and aiding in HIV patients, she proceeds to create some sort of narrative by introducing a sense of dialogue between Sturdevant and his patients. Villarosa later on brings to light how although HIV treatment has been productive over the years and people have been seeking a way to heal themselves, there have also been little progress for black gay or bisexual men. This main problem has been noted due to the lack of knowledge towards these health treatments or much rather because of financial problems. It is evident that the majority of men, black men have a tendency of avoiding such diagnoses because of the social stigma revolves around it. The author states that many black men have no knowledge of their disease and due to this they become prone to being the main source of spreading the disease. The authors use of Diction allows its readers to captivate the reality of the situation on why the black population has excessively high rates of HIV. For example, it is mentioned that “most believed the disease was a conspiracy on the part of the federal government to kill off the race, God’s punishment for homosexuality or simply not a subject for polite conversation, because the disease was thought to be connected to promiscuity and crack and heroin use”(Villarosa) Her use of words like, conspiracy, kill, or punishment, helps prove her statement that the black community was in denial of this disease. Her strong use of information about this topic made it evident that although there were means of treatment that many HIV patients have used, there was still a major gap of use of this treatment with the gay black community. </span></p>

    #309
    salwa rahman
    Participant

    In the New York Times’ article “America’s Hidden H.I.V. Epidemic”, the author did extensive research on the topic of HIV and AIDS. Readers are able to understand just how serious the HIV epidemic has become, although not many may know of this. Cedric Sturdevant, who has once greatly struggled with being a gay black man who has HIV, is able to spread awareness to readers by sharing his experiences of visiting other young men who also struggled with HIV. He was able to connect with those whom he visited, and make them feel as though they were not alone. The article also used several statistics which would be alarming to the readers (such as one in every two African American gay and bisexual men will be infected by HIV). This would then teach the readers that this is truly an epidemic, and it is an epidemic which must be taught more about. The article also mentions that there should be more government funding, and that the funding has went downhill ever since President Donald Trump was elected. President Trump cut back on the funds which would have greatly benefited the people who struggle with HIV and AIDS, and those who were conducting research on the matter. The genre of this is a research article. The tone is candid, yet impassioned. The author provided consistent evidence to spread awareness, yet readers feel sympathy for those who are in the gay black community; for those who have been infected with HIV. The audience, I feel, is just the general audience, and perhaps those who are involved with the government. This spreads awareness of the HIV epidemic, and it also states that more government funding is needed.

    #311
    Sara Sanchez
    Participant

    The informative article, “America’s Hidden H.I.V. Epidemic” goes back & forth between stating statistics, the economic disadvantages & experiences of black, lgbtq men that test positive for H.I.V. The author, Linda Villarosa, introduces us to Cedric Sturdevant as he makes rounds to assist H.I.V. positive black, gay or bisexual men & trans women. The article then goes on to state statistics on the amount of black lgbt men who have H.I.V., particularly in the South, & the alarming rate at which their numbers are increasing. To support this, Villarosa states that 40% of black gay or bisexual men living in Jackson, Mississippi are H.I.V. positive. The focus shifts towards Sturdevant, who is revealed to also be a black, gay man that tested positive for H.I.V. Sturdevant felt shame from this, and the idea of being public about it, which made him fall into depression. In time Sturdevant did become open about the fact that he is a black gay man that is H.I.V. positive, & uses his own personal experience & understanding of the situation to help & comfort those like him. Villarosa then goes on to state how since Trump came into office, funding to help those with HIV & AIDS has declined.
    The audience of this article is the general public with the tone being serious. The author’s stance towards the topic is to raise awareness of the severity & disadvantages of those who are H.I.V. positive, especially those who are black & a part of the lgbtq community, and to have more government funding to reduce this epidemic, Villarosa’s language is informal as well as emotional, as she tells the experiences of those living with HIV through Sturdevant’s perspective. Although at times can be opinionated, Villarosa does use facts to support her claims.

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