Digital Gallery
Surviving & Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture
America Responds to AIDS
Open DescriptionFrom 1987 to 1996, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored America Responds to AIDS, a multipart public awareness campaign that focused on reaching a wide range of audiences variously defined by identity or behavior, from heterosexual single mothers, to teenagers of all races, to young adult African Americans, to people who lived in rural areas. The campaign reached millions, becoming a central prong in the “everyone is at risk” strategy of AIDS prevention. It suggested that the best way to respond to HIV/AIDS was to engage in honest conversations about risk behaviors, including the potential consequences of multiple partners, unprotected sex, intravenous drug use, or any activities that compromised the ability to make a sound, safe judgment. Not all applauded the effort. Some, particularly service providers working with groups with a high incidence of HIV/AIDS, most notably young men who had sex with men and intravenous drug users, saw the campaign as ignoring the particular needs of these communities in favor of supporting low-risk individuals. While these efforts claimed to reach all Americans, the efforts did not provide necessary outreach and education to those who also needed it.
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If you’re playing with drugs—you could be playing with your life, 1980s
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Your daughter worries about AIDS, 1980s
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If he doesn’t have a condom, you just have to take a deep breath and tell him…
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If your man is messing with drugs—he could be messing with your life, 1980s
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How much do your children know about AIDS?, 1980s
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AIDS is scary, but a zit is real, right?, 1980s
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How would you deal with it if one of you got AIDS, 1980s
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AIDS is a problem for Hispanics, too, 1980s
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I love sex, 1980s
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Have you talked with your wife about AIDS, 1980s
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A message to the third man in my life, 1980s
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It might take more than motherwit to tell my children what to do about AIDS, 1980s
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He wouldn’t give up shooting up—so I gave him up, 1980s
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Stop worrying about how you won’t get AIDS and worry about how you can, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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What have you got against a condom?, 1980s
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If he doesn’t have a condom, you just have to take a deep breath and tell him…
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What do you do when your best friend has AIDS?, 1980s
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Why there’s a connection between sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS…
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If you get the AIDS virus now, you and your license could expire at the same…
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If you want him to use a condom, this is all you have to say, 1980s
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If you cheat on your partner you could wind up with more than just a broken heart, 1980s
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With AIDS around, gonorrhea, syphilis & herpes are fair warning, 1980s
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There’s a simple way to prevent AIDS, 1980s
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Why alcohol, crack and other drugs can put you at risk for the AIDS virus, 1980s
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I didn’t know I had AIDS—not until my baby was born with it, 1980s
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If you shoot drugs, stay away from me, 1980s
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Getting high doesn’t cause AIDS, it just lets it happen, 1980s
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Some people think they come of age when they’ve been burnt by gonorrhea…
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Don’t just worry about HIV, do something about it, 1980s
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Don’t just worry about HIV, do something about it, 1980s
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On the wrong track, 1980s
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Heard much about AIDS lately?, 1980s
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How about dinner, movie, and a talk about AIDS?, 1980s
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Putting on a condom is just as simple, 1980s-1990s
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Do you talk about AIDS on the first date, 1980s
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Most people think HIV is only a problem in big cities. Unfortunately, I was…