My Fabulous Disease

A Short Film for World AIDS Day Has Arrived. Watch It Right Now.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 18:24:00 GMT

Stop what you're doing. An exhilarating new short film produced especially for people living with HIV (PLHIV) is about to grab your heart and make you stand up and cheer.

The History of HIV/AIDS in One Astonishing Poem

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 18:10:00 GMT

The team behind the 20th Anniversary Community Summit, being held in Atlanta this weekend and sponsored by ViiV Healthcare, knew how to open the event today on exactly the right foot. The first words attendees heard were the poetry of Mary Bowman, delivered by the award-winning spoken word artist herself.

Thirty Years Later, AIDS Activists Who "Seized Control" Discuss Their Legacy

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 18:27:00 GMT

The AIDS activists who regularly stormed the homes, offices and even churches of the powerful beginning in the late 1980s weren't the only ones who were scared for their lives.

How HIV Activists Helped Create the Jeff Flake Elevator Moment

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 18:29:00 GMT

Very little happens by accident. The most iconic moments in HIV/AIDS activism -- the appearance of the early SILENCE=DEATH meme, the footage of AIDS activist Peter Staley being peeled from a building during a protest, the photos of Sen. Jesse Helms' home wrapped in an enormous condom -- were the product of weeks of careful planning and design.

Five Takeaways From the 2018 United States Conference on AIDS

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 12:00:00 GMT

The 2018 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), the HIV advocacy, education and networking behemoth produced by the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), is the benevolent and wealthy grandfather of the HIV conference scene. We adore him sincerely, we marvel at his station in the world and the fortitude that got him there, and we tread carefully. And sometimes, to our delight or to our chagrin, Grandpa does the damnedest things.

Candidate Kevin Mack Includes Life With HIV in Maryland Campaign

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 18:53:00 GMT

The garden party fundraising event last month in Montgomery County, Maryland, had all the usual markers of a political candidate on the rise. Well-dressed children frolicked on the lawn of the stately home while guests helped themselves to finger foods and glasses of wine. Several elected officials made appearances. There was even an iconic Olympic athlete in attendance, good-naturedly taking selfies with fans.

Long-Term Survivors of HIV/AIDS Speak Up About Their Legacy

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 1 Jun 2018 18:22:00 GMT

Just in time for the annual HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day on June 5, The Reunion Project has released a new video in which people who have lived with HIV for decades discuss their legacy. It's quite a remarkable thing, to watch a parade of faces filled with history as they consider what they have accomplished since the pandemic began.

Honoring My Older Gay Brother on "LGBT Elders Day"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 18 May 2018 20:37:00 GMT

It's no surprise to me that the two causes I am most passionate about, HIV and addiction -- the two issues that drive my activism -- are both things that my older brother, Richard "Dick" King, cared about first. He showed me the way.

Revered AIDS Doctor Gabriel Torres: Redemption after Meth Addiction

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 8 May 2018 16:41:00 GMT

The article appeared in New York Magazine in 2008. I remember it quite distinctly. Titled "Another AIDS Casualty" and written by David France, the profile of once-famous New York AIDS physician Dr. Ramon "Gabriel" Torres was a heart-wrenching read.

I Wrote "The Truth About the 7,000." Now What?

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 18:19:00 GMT

It began with a death and a lingering question. After a friend -- an advocate who knew what to do to stay alive -- died of an AIDS-related cause a few months ago, I was left wondering why. Together with other deaths in the news of people "unexpectedly" dying the same way, it felt like a tragic trend.

Name HIV Activists Fiercer Than the Positive Women's Network. I'll Wait.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 17:46:00 GMT

You may have heard me sing the praises of The Positive Women's Network - USA (PWN) before, but until now I haven't had the opportunity to show you, up close and personal, why I believe they are the mightiest force of HIV advocacy in the country today. Now you can get a look for yourself.

amfAR Chair Kenneth Cole Must Be Replaced. Here's Five Suggestions.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 20:37:00 GMT

The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) has been rocked by a scandal this year that involves shoe fashion maven Kenneth Cole, who serves as amfAR Board Chair, and amfAR major donor Harvey Weinstein. (Yeah, that Harvey Weinstein. He's the gift that keeps on groping.)

The World AIDS Day Anthem We Really Need Has Just Arrived

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 19:42:00 GMT

Merce, the web series about a gay New Yorker living with HIV, is a little bonkers. The candy-colored musical comedy, written by and starring the singular Charles Sanchez, has "the low budget appeal of an early John Waters romp," as I wrote when season one hit your computer screens two years ago.

Antron Reshaud Olukayode Died of AIDS. We Must Say It.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 12:00:00 GMT

This world lost a remarkable young man on November 12th, when Antron-Reshaud Olukayode, a 33-year-old HIV educator, writer, and performance artist from Atlanta died of AIDS.

"BPM (Beats Per Minute)" is the Sexiest Damn Film of 2017. Period.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 16:55:00 GMT

In the new film BPM (Beats per Minute), set in Paris in the early 1990s, ACT UP activists invade a high school to do what public health officials will not: dispense condoms and AIDS education to the students. Watching these renegade sex educators shout out guidelines for safe anal and vaginal intercourse to classrooms of wide-eyed teenagers is hilarious and subversively triumphant.

This HIV Survivor Quit Smoking to Vape. Don't Judge.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 6 Nov 2017 21:07:00 GMT

My years of smoking are much more likely to kill me than HIV. I suppose that's progress, and testament to how far we have come in my 32 years living with the virus. So why am I so defensive about my switch to vaping?

"After Louie" Film Review: An AIDS Survivor, Barely Surviving

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 20:41:00 GMT

Sam Cooper, a shell-shocked gay veteran of the 1980s, has invited Braeden, a much younger man, out for a hamburger after their sexual tryst. Braeden has been mindlessly chattering about his life and friends and how he negotiates casual sex outside his relationship. Hookups carry no more weight for Braeden than the phone he uses to find them.

Review: "The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson" Is Trans Film Noir

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 9 Oct 2017 15:49:00 GMT

Victoria Cruz, a dogged crime-victim advocate in New York City, has taken on one last case before retirement. She wants to solve the mysterious 1992 death of Marsha P. Johnson -- a trans woman like Cruz herself -- who's body was pulled from the Hudson river after disappearing the evening before.

USCA Plenary Halted by Trans Activists

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Sat, 9 Sep 2017 21:49:00 GMT

The United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), celebrating thirty years of teaching practical skills to HIV service providers, found itself the target of old-school activism on Friday when transgender activists stopped the plenary program to voice their frustrations about being underrepresented by the organizations in attendance and by the conference itself.

"As Much as I Can" Lifts Up Black Gay Men ... and Blows Your Mind

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 5 Sep 2017 20:49:00 GMT

As Much as I Can, the theatrical event playing in Baltimore September 7-14, isn't content with merely showing you the lives of gay black men in a city plagued with high rates of HIV infection. Instead, this emotionally searing production takes us by the hand -- quite literally -- and leads us to the middle of the nightclub, the church, and even the bedroom of its characters and then dares us to look away.

DaddyBear App Hooks Up Gay Men "Not Living With HIV"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 5 Sep 2017 14:22:00 GMT

The entire concept of the DaddyBear dating app -- rich daddies are waiting by their iPhones to shower lonely bears with gifts and romance -- is pathetic and hilarious. Their stated position on the HIV status of those daddies and bears, however, is frightening.

Y'all Look! It's the First Redneck HIV Prevention PSA!

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 18:08:00 GMT

The good people at Thrive Alabama has been working their butts off for years, covering twelve counties in northern Alabama with five free clinics and vans that travel country roads you would never find on your GPS just to fetch clients for appointments and get them home again.

The Terrifying Crystal Meth Story I Have Never Told

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 17:15:00 GMT

When my guard is down, it comes to me. It flashes across my mind, an uninvited assault, sometimes when I am beginning to drift off to sleep or, more cruelly, when my mind is enjoying a pleasant reverie. It is then that the dark memory rushes in like a raid.

After Uproar, UnitedHealthcare Reverses Truvada Prescription Policy

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Sat, 5 Aug 2017 19:22:00 GMT

When it was revealed a few days ago that insurer UnitedHealthcare, Inc. (UHC) had rejected a patient's pre-authorization claim for the drug Truvada as PrEP due to "high risk homosexual behavior," all hell broke loose. Advocates and organizations sprang into action with petitions and requests for meetings. And now, the insurer has reversed themselves -- and then some.

Insurer Denies Truvada Due to "High-Risk Homosexual Behavior"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 3 Aug 2017 19:01:00 GMT

Discrimination against LGBT people is often once-removed, shielded under double-speak and fraudulent intentions. So, it's refreshing, really, when a company comes right out and says in black and white that gay men aren't worthy of the same protections as everyone else.

Revisiting the Most Influential Gay Porn Film Ever Made

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 15:25:00 GMT

The annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco is noted for its unbridled embrace of every kinky star in our sexual constellation. Even the fearless leather community that founded the event can sometimes appear tame amidst the outlandish costumes and clothing -- and lack thereof -- on display along the city's tilted streets.

Taboo Sex, Racism and Gay Men: A Chat in Black and White

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 5 Jul 2017 14:47:00 GMT

In thirty years of HIV work alongside black advocates, I have rarely written on the topic of race. It makes me uncomfortable, or perhaps I feel unequipped, unqualified. But it's that very hesitancy, according to black gay academic Charles Stephens, that only makes racism worse.

Finally! The Sexy Gay PrEP Video We've Been Waiting For.

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 15:10:00 GMT

"PrEP is a prevention strategy that deals with sex, namely bareback sex," says gay film student Chris Tipton-King, "and I got tired of people tip-toeing around that fact." The young Bay Area resident had never seen a PrEP video that didn't somehow sanitize sex or the desires of gay men. "Everything I had seen about PrEP just felt ... awkward."

Those Offended by #NoJusticeNoPride Should Learn LGBT History

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 16:16:00 GMT

When #NoJusticeNoPride blocked the D.C. Pride parade route on June 10, causing an hour delay to an already epic three-hour parade, you could hear the ice cubes impatiently rattling in Bloody Mary glasses for blocks. Revelers at three locations on the route were forced to contend with (mostly black and latinx) protesters, women and trans folks among them, shouting chants about how D.C. Pride was beholden to corporations and institutions and a police state that do not have their welfare in mind.

The True Love Story Behind Larry Kramer's Novel "Faggots"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 2 Jun 2017 15:30:00 GMT

The new POZ Magazine feature article, "Finding Larry Kramer," tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the iconic activist found his way back to GMHC nearly thirty years after the organization kicked him out for being such a pain in the ass. It is an intimate look at an American hero and lion in winter.

AIDS, Love and Desperation at the Louise Hay Ride

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 23 May 2017 12:00:00 GMT

The hall, an auditorium in a West Hollywood park, was filled to overflowing. Hundreds of people, nearly all of them gay men, were crushed together in folding chairs, seated on the floor, or crowded in overflow areas by the doors. I sat fidgeting in my seat, a first-timer to this event, and beside me was my brother, Richard. His lover, Emil, diagnosed with AIDS for a couple of years now, was busy shaking hands and networking with the throng.

A Second Chance at Death

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 2 May 2017 16:18:00 GMT

We all know how this ends.

Despite the avalanche of articles on aging with HIV or advice about how to avoid long-term side effects or even news of progress toward a cure, nothing will change the inevitable. None of us will get out of this alive.

Sean McKenna: Life With AIDS Isn't So Damn "Fabulous"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 12:00:00 GMT

Last December I attended the most moving, transcendent World AIDS Day program I have witnessed in years. That's not saying much, of course. These evenings are usually well-meaning but maudlin, featuring tearful eulogies while we hold up candles that drip on our fingers and we revisit personal losses that I put to rest a long time ago. Okay, clearly I have issues with grief.

The Irony of Aging: The HIV/AIDS Seniors Conference

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 16:06:00 GMT

Thirty-two years ago this month, I received a phone call from a nurse at my doctor's office telling me that I had tested HIV positive. We didn't schedule a follow-up visit or begin a treatment plan, because there wasn't a single medication approved for the virus, which had only been identified the previous year.

32 Years Ago Today, Everything Changed

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 18:33:00 GMT

Thirty-two years ago today, a friend called me. He worked as a nurse in a doctor's office and had administered the brand-new HIV antibody test to me after hours, all very hush-hush. There were no treatments for the new virus, only fear and mortality. And my friend told me I was HIV positive.

That Time 37 Years Ago I Won a Car on The Price Is Right

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 18:21:00 GMT

When I was nineteen years old, I vacationed to Los Angeles and won a car on The Price is Right.

In the following years, if I really liked you and wanted to impress you -- or give you a small, wacky glimpse of my life -- then at some juncture I'd say "So hey, have you ever been to Los Angeles?" Or, "Did I ever tell you about the car?"

What If I Told You the Project Inform Staff Was Hilarious?

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Throughout the earliest years of the HIV/AIDS crisis, I deeply admired the fierce intellect of the late Martin Delaney, the researcher and advocate who, among many other historic accomplishments, founded Project Inform, the HIV treatment advocacy group with intimate ties to the community.

Bruce Richman Is Totally Hot and Other HIV Activism Truths

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 7 Feb 2017 18:08:00 GMT

My friend Charles Sanchez is the creator of the musical web series Merce, about an HIV positive New Yorker. But enough about him. Charles and I constantly argue about which one of us has spoken to Bruce Richman most recently, and for how long. Bruce also lives in New York so Charles appears to have the upper hand, but I'm convinced my calls with Bruce are more intimate and consequential.

Examining Death, Including the One I Caused

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 12:00:00 GMT

My memorial service will be fabulous, I can assure you of that. I first outlined it during the initial, deadly wave of AIDS in the 1980s, and have edited it here and there over the years, updating the songs I would like played or the video footage shown.

Fighting Trump: HIV Advocates to Watch in 2017

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:37:00 GMT

Donald J. Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are a threat to everything HIV advocates have been fighting for during the last thirty years, and that includes access to healthcare, HIV prevention programs like PrEP, and the dignity with which we treat those who are most vulnerable to HIV infection.

Activists Maintain Pressure After Chase Brexton CEO Resigns

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 18:13:00 GMT

Here's some news that might make our transition into the new year a little more satisfying.

Richard Larison, the embattled chief executive officer of Chase Brexton, Baltimore's largest provider of health care to the city's most vulnerable communities, has resigned after months of upheaval and staff discontent. It is a clear victory for community activists who have demanded his resignation, even while more work must be done to reform the agency.

Five Reasons "HIV Undetectable" Must Equal "Untransmittable"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 18:50:00 GMT

How wonderful that something many of us have assumed for years has been proven to be true. So now we can spread the news and encourage people with HIV to seek treatment and stick with it. And hey, there's nothing like a little intercourse a la natural with your partner to reward yourself for being undetectable, am I right?

New Short Film Unmasks Fear Behind HIV Criminalization

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 8 Dec 2016 20:18:00 GMT

The making of the new short documentary, HIV Criminalization: Masking Fear and Discrimination, began in exactly the right place: with people living with HIV themselves, and their personal stories of being prosecuted because of their HIV status.

The Compassionate Truce of Tim Murphy's Novel "Christodora"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 17:06:00 GMT

In the towering new novel Christodora, author Tim Murphy harnesses decades of personal and professional experience as an HIV journalist into a story that sweeps back and forth between the last several decades and beyond. It has the scope of great literature, but Christodora is also a deeply personal chronicle from a man who knows his terrain.

Sleeping With President Donald Trump

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 17:53:00 GMT

I am on my feet at the Thanksgiving table, and my fists are slamming into the linen napkins. Silverware is quaking, pottery is rattling. The force of a particularly hard blow to the tabletop sends a dinner roll catapulting from the bread basket.

Aboard the 2016 HIV Cruise Retreat

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 17:47:00 GMT

The spirit of the annual HIV Cruise Retreat (also known as "the Poz Cruise" but not associated with POZ Magazine) can be summed up in one enlightening story.

Matthew had some bad luck as he boarded the ship for our 8-day tour of the Caribbean. His luggage didn't make it. He literally had his carry-on bag (which included his meds, thank goodness) and the clothes on his back.

My Gay Love for Monster Movies

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 12:00:00 GMT

My first boyhood crush was on a dead man. He was a zombie named Quentin Collins, with eyes that pierced my pubescent gay soul and sideburns the size of the Florida peninsula. He stalked across my TV screen on weekday afternoons at precisely 3:30, when the series "Dark Shadows" introduced me to all manner of vampires, werewolves and ghouls in the early 1970's.

Revisiting My Sad and Trivial Night With Rock Hudson

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Sun, 2 Oct 2016 12:00:00 GMT

The 31st anniversary of the passing of Rock Hudson brings this memory back again, as it does each year. Maybe I want you to know this sordid tale because I'm still as star-struck and vain as when this happened. Or maybe the memory still brings back fear and melancholy, so repeating it here feels like sharing my favorite ghost story. I'll let you make your own conclusions.

The CDC's Gay Dance Video About HIV Is Flat Out Fabulous

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:00:00 GMT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has produced a music video that joyfully educates gay men about HIV prevention options. And it is foot-stomping fabulous.

My Attitude Adjustment About Sex, Gonorrhea and Advocacy

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 12:00:00 GMT

Amidst the happy haze of good news about the efficacy of PrEP in preventing new HIV infections and the growing consensus that people living with HIV who are undetectable are not infectious, there is troubling news from the CDC in two new reports about the golden oldies of sexually transmitted infections (STIs): rates of syphilis are on the rise and antibiotics to treat gonorrhea may be nearing the end of their usefulness.

Pregnant Guest Kicked Out of "Charm Ball" Over Protest Fears

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 12:00:00 GMT

When this blogger chose to join protesters at Chase Brexton's annual "Charm Ball" to voice concern over the direction of Baltimore's largest healthcare provider to the LGBT community, there was little doubt there would be some tension at the elegant affair.

Catching Up With Chase Brexton's "Fired Five"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 12:00:00 GMT

The five managers who were abruptly fired last month without notice by Chase Brexton, Baltimore's largest healthcare provider to the city's most vulnerable populations, met for lunch earlier this week. It was the first in-person meeting of the group since their dismissal in early August.

What It Feels Like for a Mom

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 12:00:00 GMT

My mother, Anne King, turns 90 this month. This story is my tribute.

The Human Toll of Chase Brexton's Union-Busting Efforts

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 21:47:00 GMT

Jill Crank misses her patients terribly. And she is worried about them.

"The last thing I want is for them to think I abandoned them," Jill said. "I'm afraid they might not know what to do."

When AIDS Activists Hijacked the Olympic Rings

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 2 Aug 2016 20:57:00 GMT

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a very touchy organization, most especially when it comes to the Olympic rings. They guard their trademark jealously and litigiously, commonly suing anyone who dares to approximate the iconic rings for their own purposes. Even local street vendors during the Games have been shut down for violating copyright. Anthony Braswell wasn't thinking about that when he and a co-worker came up with a dangerous idea.

Gay Collective: "The Virus Divides. It Doesn't Have To."

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 7 Jul 2016 17:18:00 GMT

In a cramped meeting room in New York City on May 27, 2016, a dozen gay men, HIV positive and negative alike, came together to answer a vexing question: How do gay men bridge a divide that has been forged through decades of HIV stigma, distrust, and mutual blame? Or, at the very least, what might be done to start a conversation about the divide and begin to heal the wounds?

There's More Room in a Broken Heart

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 7 Jun 2016 12:00:00 GMT

When Will Armstrong emerges from heart surgery in just a few days, he will have weeks of hospitalization ahead. He will also have expensive new hardware in his chest and a devoted animal waiting anxiously at home.

Surviving Life Itself: Reflections of a Longtime Survivor

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Sun, 5 Jun 2016 12:00:00 GMT

The young woman sitting across from me on the bus is in her mid-20s. She turns to her companion and her voice grows serious.

Checking Privilege at "HIV Is Not a Crime" 2016

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 2 Jun 2016 15:52:00 GMT

The issues of race, gender and privilege crackled through the recent HIV Is Not a Crime (II) conference like a live wire, throwing sparks at every turn. From the main stage to the hallways, attendees called out white classism, the utter failure of the criminal justice system (unless its purpose is solely to imprison black men), and what it truly means to be an ally of marginalized communities.

The Nearly Naked AIDS Advocate

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 23 May 2016 23:33:00 GMT

When Benjamin "Ben" Ryan began taking dance classes ten years ago, the personal venture was a complete whim. After all, he was in his late twenties at the time -- ancient for a beginning dancer -- and by his own admission, was "just awful" for the first few years of classes. And nothing about his vocation as a writer specializing in the science of HIV suggested that Gene Kelly was trapped inside.

Into the Desert, After the Bomb

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 12 May 2016 22:21:00 GMT

Daniel Cardone's essential but relentlessly grim documentary about longtime AIDS survivors, Desert Migration, is fascinated with the bodies of the gay men it profiles.

The Comfort of Blaming Other People for New HIV Cases

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 21:56:00 GMT

The college student had real concern in his eyes when he asked me a question during a recent presentation at American University. "Isn't it true," he asked, "that the HIV epidemic continues because people who know they are positive keep infecting other people?"

Mr. Gay World Entry Gets Personal on PrEP and Testing Poz

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 19:13:00 GMT

When Sadiq Ali heard about a clinical trial for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) happening in the United Kingdom in 2013, the athletic 26-year old hesitated. He worried about what starting PrEP might say to people about his sexual behavior. The stigma he associated with being on the prevention pill was just too much for him.

The Sound of Stigma

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 18:10:00 GMT

Stigma is insidiously quiet. It is conjured in the mind, born of discomfort and fear, and then it is projected at "the other" among us. It judges them and isolates them. And it happens without a sound.

AHF Offers Loans to Louisiana Agencies They Are Suing!

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 8 Apr 2016 19:01:00 GMT

In a bizarre press release issued by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the $1 billion dollar agency has offered "no interest loans" to assist Baton Rouge HIV non-profits who are suffering financially as a result of being sued by AHF. Yes, their circular logic is exactly that absurd.

Louisiana HIV Agencies Respond to "Shocking" AHF Lawsuit

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 6 Apr 2016 17:47:00 GMT

In a profoundly troubling lawsuit against the City of Baton Rouge and local HIV/AIDS non-profits, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has forced federal funds to be withheld while AHF continues their litigious temper tantrum over not receiving a Ryan White Care Act grant award they requested. The vindictive action poses a real and present danger to services being provided to people with HIV in the area.

The Challenging Web Series That Travels From "Unsure" to "Positive"

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 19:55:00 GMT

In the gorgeous and sometimes maddening Web series Unsure/Positive, we follow the life of a Boston gay man, Kieran, literally from the moment he gets his HIV positive test result. Kieran's journey in the six-episode first season (available for only $3.99 on Vimeo) covers some difficult terrain -- shame, disclosure, sex and drugs -- and many HIV positive guys and our friends will identify with it.

I Discovered My Brother Was Gay From The Advocate Magazine

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 8 Mar 2016 21:52:00 GMT

It was 1975 and I was 14 years old, all gangly limbs and stubborn acne, and I was sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car. Splayed across my lap was the magazine, open to the page my companion had selected. I was staring at the photo with something like revelation.

I Watched Charlie Sheen on The Dr. Oz Show so You Don't Have To

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 19:00:00 GMT

Dr. Oz has a very strange verbal compulsion. He can't stop making lame metaphors.

When taking an early morning jog with Charlie Sheen, in the first of their two-part interview for The Dr. Oz Show, the doctor sees metaphors everywhere. "You have to look down so you don't see how steep the hill is," he says as they putter upwards. "It's sort of like life, isn't it?"

The Man Who Buried Them Remembers

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:28:00 GMT

When he conducted the funerals, Tom Bonderenko tells me, he always wore his priestly garments and white stole. Even when no one showed up for the graveside service.

16 HIV Advocates to Watch in 2016

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 6 Jan 2016 18:38:00 GMT

They come from nearly every corner of the world. They are engaged in local communities and on the international scene. They include mothers, artists, a fugitive, a performer, and a drug smuggler. They are speaking out, acting up, and in some cases risking their personal safety and liberty.

Five Things I Learned Aboard the Poz Cruise

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 21:57:00 GMT

Each year, several hundred people living with HIV -- primarily gay men, with a happy sprinkling of straight women and our supporters -- embark on the HIV Cruise Retreat ("The Poz Cruise") for a week of fun and frolic on the high seas. The event started with a group of HIV positive friends and has grown enormously over more than a dozen years. The week is organized by one travel agent and a team of dedicated volunteers (and that includes me as one of the hosts and MC).

The Charlie Sheen Moment You Probably Missed

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 17:06:00 GMT

Some years ago, I told someone that I was HIV positive before I agreed to his invitation for a date. "Yeah, I know," he casually replied, and then he looked a little embarrassed, as if he shouldn't have said it. It was too late, of course; I knew exactly what he meant. He could tell my HIV status by my face.

Why I Wiped HIV Off My Face

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 13:01:00 GMT

Recovering From Meth, Rebuilding a Sex Life

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:00:00 GMT

For more than a decade I was an active crystal meth addict. They were the darkest years of my life.

I suffered numerous relapses as I struggled to get clean, and my woeful journey back to crystal meth was always the same.

The 2015 United States Conference on AIDS (Video)

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 12:00:00 GMT

Not to get all Southern gothic on you, but I depend upon the kindness of strangers. Especially when producing video blogs at conferences.

Comedy and HIV: A (Funny) Conversation

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 18:52:00 GMT

Did you hear the one about the musical comedy with HIV?

When actor and writer Charles Sanchez began writing his web series, Merce, he joined the ranks of a fairly small club: Those of us living with HIV/AIDS who have mined our lives for comedy.

The Wonderful, Stigma-Bashing Wizards of Poz

mark@marksking.com (Mark S. King) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 19:07:00 GMT

Any campaign that blends living with HIV with a sense of empowerment and joy always grabs my attention. Stigma remains one of the most damaging forces in our struggle to both combat new infections and support those of us with the virus.