Sexuality And Social Issues In The Dallas Buyers Club

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The 1980’s in America were a very iconic time period for the country. Music, films, and history were created that will never be forgotten. But during the 1980’s the AIDS epidemic became a very serious matter. According to Macionis, AIDS, first identified in 1981, is an incurable, deadly disease transmitted through bodily fluids including blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. The Dallas Buyers Club portrays what happened during the AIDS epidemic, and the social issues that people were faced with. Sexuality and AIDS were seen as directly linked, drug abuse and AIDS were also linked, and AIDS patients experienced difficulties with healthcare facilities.
First and foremost, the Dallas Buyers Club was created in 2013. It is an American …show more content…

This is not only within the movie, but in reality as well. People truly believed that you could only contract HIV/AIDS from being a homosexual man. Gay men were highly discriminated against. Once being diagnosed, even Ron refused to accept the fact that he tested positive for HIV. His immediate reaction was extreme offense, and he continuously said he was not gay. Once word got out of his diagnosis, Ron was out casted by his friends. They even vandalized his home, spray-painting the words “faggot blood” on it. This portrays the solidified connection people made with homosexuals and HIV/AIDS. Not only was the disease linked to homosexuals, but also it had an extremely negative stigma. AIDS was actually referred to as “the gay disease”, “gay cancer” or “the gay plague.” People were very much so blamed for their contraction of the disease as well. Especially since homosexuality was linked to the disease, antigay attitudes arose and people became more prejudice. In chapter 7, Macionis states that at the beginning of the 20th century, homosexuality was viewed as a social problem itself. And also stated, the AIDS epidemic is another unfortunate social …show more content…

In Dallas Buyers Club, once diagnosed, Ron is truly in disbelief that he has contracted the disease. He begins researching the disease, searching for an answer to how he could’ve contracted it. He begins reading, and learns that drug abuse is a way to contract the disease due to the exchange of blood on needles. Ron then remembers when he had sex with a woman who was a drug addict. In that moment, his diagnosis becomes real for him. Ron experiences a violent, angry reaction. Using a needle that has HIV contaminated blood on it is one of the way HIV/AIDS is spread. Sharing needles and syringes widely spreads the disease. Also, the use of drugs can lead to being incoherent and unable to make safer decisions. When under the influence, it is likely that you could make a risky choice of having unprotected sex with one or multiple partners, or using contaminated drug

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