The Hiv/Aids Moral Panic. Essay - 1641 Words

The HIV/AIDS moral panic. In human societies there will always be issues or problems that occur which cause some form of reaction from those who feel that their values or societal equilibrium is being threatened. Stanley Cohen and Jock Young led the way in explaining the notion of moral panics and how they are formed and their consequences on society. There have been numerous of these moral phenomena over the years, which have gripped society in a vice lock of terror and more often than not, ignorance. This essay will discuss the concept of the moral panic and look at the case of HIV/AIDS which caused a huge conflict of morality within society. This essay will also analyse the failings of health organisations, politicians, and the†¦show more content†¦The media and the government did not help in alleviating any of these fears and used the Aids panic to broadcast homophobic messages and using the gay community as a scapegoat or ‘folk devil.’ With headlines in the news such as The Sun dubbing AIDS as the ‘gay plague’ it was an irresistible red rag to the bull for the media, even though in Africa other populations were infected right from the beginning. (Dowsett, W, Gary. 2009) In an excerpt from Simon Garfield’s The end of Innocence Britain in the time of AIDS, Roy Greensdale the assistant editor of the Sun from 1981 to 1986 recalls that ‘AIDS appeared to be just desserts for being involved in deviant sexual behaviour. It was quickly realized that it came about due to anal sex, and heterosexual executives on the Sun thus fed in the fact that it was a gay plague. AIDS tended to suggest that it might stop all that kind of behaviour, and might lead to fewer gays being about.’ The gay community has always been an easy target for hostility throughout history and when the controversy surrounding the AIDS panic began to surface it became another way in which to ostracise them for their ‘wages of sin’. (The Daily Tele graph). 1983). Politically, both in America and Britain, the idea of a Gay related illness was something which did notShow MoreRelatedSexually Transmitted Diseases Are A Type Of Disease1141 Words   |  5 Pagesbumps, rashes, or unseen to the naked eye. Some common STDs are chlamydia, herpes, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS. A person of any gender, race, or age can get an STD but there is different stigma attached to that person depending on their gender. Gender influences people to view the STD and that person who has it differently. 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