Pedro Zamora Character Traits

Pedro Zamora was truly a remarkable and inspiring man. Before him, most people in the US viewed people with HIV/AIDS as scary. Fearful that the disease might contract to them. Zamora changed the opinion of millions of Americans and his roommates whom he had been living with of a person who was HIV-positive after his appearance on the popular TV show “The Real World” where his character was just himself. His sole purpose to go on the show was to get attention and spread the truth about HIV and AIDS. Pedro Zamora was truly a very brave and unique individual, he ignored the stereotypes of people with HIV/AIDS and went out his way to educate people the truth about this disease and how dangerous it can actually be.
Living with AIDs in the 1980s

and 90s was a pretty tough time. There was no cure, and there is still no 100% cure to this day. Very little medication was around to take to keep you healthy/alive, and people with the disease were often ridiculed for it. Edmund White, another popular HIV-positive author writes, “People did not want to kiss you on the cheek.” (Landau) Despite this, Zamora threw himself out into the public and on national television with no fear. His motive? Simply to educate the world the truths about HIV/AIDS, how to prevent getting the disease, and show that people with AIDS are normal people just like us and that anybody can get it. Zamora was involved in various AIDS organizations and spoke at schools all over the country hoping to make a difference. Although he was gay, Zamora made it clear to people that the disease can be contracted to anybody, gay or straight. And that you shouldn’t think it’s just some “gay disease” which seemed to be the normal belief in the 1980s. Zamora definitely changed these viewpoints of many, and become a very popular figure after his appearance on national television.
HIV/AIDS was taking its toll on not just the LGBT community but the world in the 1980s-2000. As of December 31, 2000, 774,467 persons had been reported with AIDS in the United States; 448,060 of these had died; 3542 persons had unknown vital status. In the early 1980s, people really had no idea where this disease was coming from. Gay men? Drug users? It was probably a mixture of both really. Zamora received little to none sex education while in high school, and a rumor led him to believe only drug users could contract the disease. Obviously being wrong, he contracted the disease and was diagnosed in 1989. Zamora was taking meds and coping with it and pretty much become the face of AIDS as you can see on his appearance of the “The Real World”.
Pedro Zamora was chosen as a cast member of the MTV reality show, “The Real World San Francisco” in 1994. He took this opportunity to teach HIV/AIDS awareness. At the beginning of the series, even his roommates were a little scared at first because they were uneducated of the disease. Zamora eased their anxieties as the show progressed, and definitely made an impact on the people he was living with. He became close friends with them and they still miss him to this day. (livehighlivemighty) In 1994, there were very few gay men or people with AIDS on television. Zamora living with the disease on camera definitely helped shape a young generation’s view of homosexuality and living with HIV and AIDS. (Teeman) Also while on the show Zamora began dating another AIDS activist named Sean Sasser and this became a key point on the show. They exchanged vows in the Real World loft and it was the first same-sex ceremony in television history. This was a big