Activist exposes lack of HIV, sex education for youth
October 12, 2015
As the test-taker looked down at Thomas Davis’ 60 second HIV test and told him it showed reactive, Davis thought, “Ok, what do I do know? What is HIV?”
On the evening of Oct. 6 in Ice Auditorium, Thomas Davis courageously shared his story of being HIV positive.
This talk was funded in part by Linfield’s diversity committee “to explore and support the intellectual and research interests of students, faculty and staff in areas of diversity and inclusion, promoting courageous conversations about diversity and lived experience across our college and communities,” according to the Linfield website.
Davis, 23, grew up in Estes Park, CO, as one of very few black students in his high school.
Davis spoke about his upbringing in the margins of society from being both black in a predominately white town and gay in a strict religious community.
He also shared that he was adopted. As he regarded the community’s reception of his atypical characteristics and sexual orientation, “dealing with me is something that they hadn’t really done before.”
As he approached high school graduation, Davis shared his understanding of societal life and his future hopes for college, “I didn’t fit in … I wanted to be somewhere else with more diversity.”
When he arrived in Los Angeles he described it as, “the best culture shock in the world” to have students that were black and an LGBT community in the city.
Davis jumped to his senior year of college where he accompanied a close friend to “Out of the Clos- et,” a thrift store in Los Angeles that also sponsored HIV testing. That was the day he learned not only that he had HIV, but also that he actually knew nothing about it.
Davis spoke about the absence of knowledge in the areas of sexually transmitted diseases and sexual health in general as a result of silence and inability to communicate.
He also referenced the lack of education that results from state laws, using his childhood in Colorado as an example of a state that does not mandate safe sex education.
As he told the audience, “I didn’t even really know what was going on.”
Taken aback by his lack of knowledge, Davis decided to begin extensive research on HIV and started to immerse himself in the online communities that offered relatable stories and information.
His research led to medical understandings, such as the goal to keep his “viral load” low and his CD4, combined with T-cells form white blood cell, count high.
Although, from a cultural standpoint he found that most of the stories he was exposed to were told by white men. Davis, once again, felt the thinly designated area of the margin that reminded him he was different in his childhood.
As he emphasized, “Where were MY people? Where was MY community?”
Davis decided that his statistic needed a voice to become more than just that and began his journey of speaking out.
After becoming an active voice for the gay, black, HIV positive community, the audience then watched the introduction to Davis’ video featured on The Poz+ Life, another platform for HIV positive people to share stories and offer support for one another through experience.
Davis then posed the question, “Why is it we don’t want to talk about HIV?” He deduced that we as a society don’t want to talk about sex and went on to share how he never felt comfortable talking to his family or teachers about sex.
He debunked the impractical ideas that talking about sex would only promote kids having it with the line, “If not talking about sex prevents kids from having it, then I should have never had it.”
Finally, Davis talked about the importance of self-value, as opposed to the perceived values of others, as an aid for people to talk about awkward subjects like sex and not worry about the response their questions or comments might get.
Davis then shared the video of a dance he personally choreographed and performed with a partner to convey the emotions and feelings of two people waiting to be tested.
