Welcome to the 4th Annual POZ Awards, which spotlight the best representations of HIV/AIDS in media and culture.
The POZ editorial staff selects the nominees, but POZ readers choose the winners.
Eligible nominees were active or were presented, published or produced between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019.
Be sure to vote for your favorite nominees by the World AIDS Day deadline: Sunday, December 1, 2019.
VOTING IS CLOSED!
Here are the nominees:
Need we say more? The United States elections coming in November of 2020 have the potential to dramatically change our country’s direction – or cement the ways things are. So much is up for grabs, from municipal elections to Senate seats to the Presidency itself. Have you registered to vote?
Donald Trump Did/Said/Tweeted What...?
While the elections may change the political landscape, they cannot change what is happening in the here and now, and the Trump administration continues to keep activism groups extremely busy, including groups like #RiseandResist, which employs tactics straight out of the vintage ACT UP playbook.
This activism has produced no less than a House of Representatives congressional hearing, at least one major lawsuit, and an ongoing skirmish between the powerful pharma complex and grassroots activists. What is at stake? The profits and patents from the development of Truvada and Descovy as PrEP, and the not-so-wild chance that billions could end up returned to CDC and used for HIV treatment and prevention programs. People underestimated #PrEP4All when they started questioning the system. People don’t do that anymore.
This new hot topic is gaining steam and the concern of major advocacy organizations like The Positive Women’s Network (USA). Newly diagnosed people, without their direct consent, are having the genetic makeup of their HIV examined by the CDC so that “clusters” of new infections can be developed and connections between people who share the same genetic virus can be made. This might be helpful on a public health level, but the potential it can be used to criminalize people with HIV is certainly possible. Big Brother called and he wants a blood sample, please.
