Focusing on a sector of the population that some might argue has been largely ignored when it comes to HIV, POW-WOW, Inc. and The Lesbian Leadership Council of the Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) will host a performance lecture and panel discussion March 4 on women who sleep with women and HIV/AIDS.
Panelists will include Dr. Margo Bell, director of adolescent medicine at Stroger; Alicia Ozier, executive director of Taskforce and the primary researcher for the study of Women Who Sleep with Women; and Christina Santiago, director of the Lesbian Community Care Project. NPR's Cheryl Corley will moderate the discussion.
"The event is a public forum to discuss risky behaviors that exist with lesbian communities that make them susceptible to contracting HIV/AIDS," explained C.C. Carter, executive director of POW-WOW, Inc. "There is a large trend amongst younger lesbians of the idea and practice of sexual fluidity. Much of which is practiced without practicing safe sex. POW-WOW has seen an increase in non lesbian identified women who are looking for supportive spaces for women, not necessarily lesbian space; however, because they frequent such spaces, will sometimes find an attraction to someone that they normally would not have encountered in strictly straight venues. What exchanges in conversation is everything about the person except the person's sexual practices and testing status."
Best-selling author Conscious will share her personal story of becoming infected with HIV almost two decades ago. Conscious was one of the first women to come forward and speak out about female-to-female HIV transmission.
"When my book came onto the market you should have heard the stuff that people were saying; the articles that were being written," said Conscious. "People were coming up saying things like 'you don't know if you got it from a woman. You don't know where you got it.'" Conscious said that she experienced a wall of denial from all directions, but that slowly organizations and studies began to come forward proving that female-to-female transmission could and had occurred.
Since first telling her story Conscious has continued to provide a voice for women who sleep with women and is committed to using her personal experience to educate. Her performance piece has evolved over the years: "I have established a set of key points that will always be my foundation. At any speech that I give, any interview that I do, any stage production, anything that I do. As time evolved, as people evolved, I have to add things, things we do, things that need to be addressed."
One of her key points is to simply ask her audience to take a look at her. During the forums, she points out, "I'm the first key point. I look perfect, but I can infect you." She routinely shares her story in hopes of making women understand that they can become infected.
This point is echoed by Carter, whowhen asked why the panel discussion and Conscious' story are necessaryreplied, "I think that it is a misconception that lesbians do not contract HIV/AIDS. With the movement in the LGBTQ community of sexual fluidity, I feel that it is dangerous to be fluid without protection. Statistics show that HIV/AIDS is affecting African-American women [more] and more women within the lesbian community have HIV/AIDS than we know. [Also,] we have not fully addressed resources of support for them because of stigma and because of the research that basically pulls that data into a heterosexual construct because of the very small chances that a woman can transmit to another woman without an XY factor or drug factor."
Conscious believes that acceptance, education and understanding have come a long way. When it comes to the rates of infection within the African-American community she said, "I think that they are fully aware of the virus. I think that African Americans are fully aware of the virus. They are well-educated about the virus. The decisions they are making are another thing. The decisions they are making I cannot speak for, but as far as them knowing the virus is out there, it is 2011 and if you don't know abut the virus by now I don't know what planet you are on. We are not accepting that as an excuse anymore.
"Now, in terms of the decisions they are making that might be something associated with maybe self-esteem or ... what about you as the person, what about you as the individual."
Carter added, "That's the point. There are no discussions happening specifically for lesbians and especially for African-American lesbiansmostly because of myths that we can't get it, but also because of the same reasons HIV/AIDS got so out of control in the first place in the African American community: homophobia, gender bias and cultural tradition of 'not airing your dirty laundry.'"
POW-WOW and The Lesbian Leadership Council of the CFW hope the panel discussion and the Conscious' performance will start a much needed discussion for lesbians and African-American lesbians as well as women who sleep with women to help them make safe choices in all of their sexual encounters.
The public forum will be held Friday, March 4, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Jacob Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies, 700 E. Oakwood. RSVP to C.C. Carter at powwowinc@gmail.com or 773-592-3492. The event is free but space is limited.