By Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez and Jon Amarillo

Thirty-five years ago, the journal Science first named the Human Immune Deficiency Virus, HIV. From that May 20, 1983, to this May 20, 2018, the progress made is evident in the fact that I am now writing this. But it is not enough.

While last year, due to the political apathy of senators and representatives, Argentina was once again left without an HIV bill that reflects modern life, we continue to be governed by a 1990 law. A law that made it unthinkable that we would have active working lives, that people living with HIV could become pregnant—basically, a law that couldn't have foreseen that we would live so long.

Thirty-five years later, a friend tells me that she was rejected on Tinder because she's very pretty, but the guy is afraid of "contagion." She tells me this without knowing where to begin to enlighten the young man. And the task doesn't pay, nor does it yield any results. Something broke. We shouldn't have to explain that we're not dangerous.

I'm a little older than me now, and we're just papers in the media, and seeing all the progress we've made doesn't make me deny all that remains the same, all that keeps the virus so alive. Learning, setting aside prejudices, empathizing, and staying informed are also part of fighting for a cure. For now, we must fight for a cure for ignorance and move forward together toward a cure for the virus. Let's go for it all!

         

Visit Presentes every Thursday to find a new installment of Bicho and me.

Bicho and I #25: #LivingWithHIV Bicho and I: From Words to Deeds

Bug and I #24: In the medical world, containment is everything

Bicho and I #23: “No one is obligated to say they live with HIV”

Bug and Me #22: Until the cure, always!

Bicho and I #21: Take a hug 

Bicho and I #19 go to the movies: 120 beats per minute

Bug and Me #18: Your question is annoying

Bicho and I #17: “Yes, I live with a strain of HIV”

Bug and I #16 “It’s not contagious!”

Bicho and I #15: #8M Three women living with HIV explain why they stop

Bicho and I #14: #LivingWithHIV “Where is Bicho?”

Bicho and I #13: “We are not carriers”

Bicho and I #12: “How can you not tell me you have a Bicho?”

Bicho and I #11: HIV and AIDS are not the same

BichoYYo#10: Bicho, me and medication: “People with HIV are much more than a pill”

BichoYYo #9: We urgently need our medication

Bicho and I #8 The Dangers of Activism

Bug and I #7 Superpowers for an X-Men cover

Bicho and I #6 “Happy New Year!”

Bicho and I #5: “Nine years with Bicho”

Bug and I #4: “The scapegoat”

Bicho and I #3 “Without Grindr there is no paradise”

Bicho and I #2 “The best thing about medication”

Bicho and I #1: the comic strip that tells in the first person what it's like to live with HIV

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