Photo: (YouTube)
Today, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched Let's Stop HIV Together, a national campaign that gives voice to Americans living with HIV and to their loved ones. The campaign reminds us that people still have wild misconceptions about the epidemic, and are all too quiet about its existence. Reality check: HIV affects every corner of society, nearly 1.1 million Americans live with HIV, and about 50,000 more become infected each year.
One especially inspirational woman who's featured in the Let's Stop HIV Together PSA is Hydeia Broadbent; a 4' 8" activist (Rando fact: She's an inch shorter than Snooki!) who has been speaking her mind about the epidemic since she was six years old. Yep, SIX, ya know, that age when you start learning addition and subtraction.
Hydeia was abandoned at a Las Vegas hospital by a crack-addicted mother and shortly after, taken in by her adoptive family, the Broadbents. When she was three years old, she was diagnosed with AIDS. The doctors told the Broadbents that Hydeia would die by her fifth birthday. They were wrong.
Some may remember Hydeia as the little girl who sat down with Magic Johnson during a Nickelodeon AIDS special, and bravely remarked through her tears, "I want people to know that we're just normal people." Now, at 28, Hydeia travels nationwide sharing that same message. Hydeia wants youth to know that HIV/AIDS is not a disease of the past, that it's here and it's real, and that everyone needs to get tested and get involved ASAP.
Check out what Hydeia had to say about living with AIDS, her third date rule, and speaking out. She is clearly the definition of a rockstar activist!
Photo: The loveable, hugable Hydeia Broadbent. (Hydeia Broadbent)
MTV ACT: It's unbelievable that you started talking about HIV/AIDS from such an early age. Were you ever mad at your parents for being so open about your HIV status from the get go?
HYDEIA: No, I was thankful for what my parents did for me because AIDS was never a burden for me. A lot of my friends growing up who also had AIDS had this big secret that they could not share with their best friends, or even their grandparents. They had to hide when it came time to take their medications and lie when they went into the hospital. Growing up, I understood AIDS was something that happened to me but did not define who I was as a person. If someone had a problem with the fact I have AIDS, it's their problem because I wasn't going anywhere!
MTV ACT: How did you find the courage to share your personal journey with the world?
HYDEIA: Sharing my story started out as just simply telling people what it was like having AIDS, always being in the hospital all the time and taking different medications. I would speak about acceptance for all people living with HIV and AIDS. My speaking out eventually took on a kind of snowball effect. I started talking to a small group of kids and it just grew. As I got older, I noticed a lot of young people were putting themselves at risk for contracting HIV. I don't hate my life but I don't want others to experience what I've gone through, so I share my struggle as a warning for others hoping they will take the warning to heart.
MTV ACT: A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that Americans who reported seeing or reading "some" or "a lot" about HIV fell from 70% in 2004 to 40% in 2011. That's INSANE. Why do you think people aren't talking about the epidemic as much?
HYDEIA: We as Americans have grown complacent because AIDS is not the death sentence it once was. People are not dying at an alarming rate nor are they walking around looking like death, as once happened in the late 80s, early 90s. Mainstream media does not consider AIDS an important issue because they feel that with the advancement of medication, AIDS is under control. Parents are not talking to their children about sex, let alone AIDS. We don't consider AIDS as our problem, when in all actuality, AIDS is everyone's problem. With the Let's Stop HIV Together campaign we are highlighting the stories of people with HIV to remind us that HIV does not discriminate across race, gender or age. The campaign calls on each of us to fight the growing complacency and stigma that helps keep HIV alive.
MTV ACT: What can millennials do to rev up the HIV/AIDS dialogue?
HYDEIA: First I encourage them to get tested, you can't help in the fight against HIV/AIDS if you don't know your own status. Ask or bring an HIV/AIDS awareness expert to your school or community. It's very easy to find a local HIV/AIDS activist who can come and speak at your event. Find out who in your city does HIV testing. Most of the time they can provide mobile testing and offer it on site at your event. Also something very easy to do is go to websites about HIV/AIDS awareness like Act Against AIDS or copy/paste interesting facts on your social media site. You can reach so many with just a few clicks of your mouse!
MTV ACT: When's the right time to tell the person you're dating you're HIV pos? How has dating been for you?
HYDEIA: I believe there should be a third date rule for bringing up the issue of your status -- that way you can see where a person is mentally, and if they are not open to the idea, you have not invested too much time and energy into them.
Dating for me has had its positives and negatives. I was once in love with a guy who liked me but could not deal with the negative view some had of me within our community. That was hard on me. But after that, I dated another guy for almost 9 years who didn't care about me having AIDS because he is educated on the disease, so he always knew how to be safe and remain HIV negative. Dating in general comes with ups and downs!
MTV ACT: If you could sum up your message to sexually active teens right now, what would you say?
HYDEIA: Where do I start!
First let me say that it's okay to hold out on being sexually active. I am by no means a virgin, but at this time I am practicing abstinence, so, no, not everyone is having sex. Be careful, sex is fun and beautiful, but know it can create life and also take life. The person at the greatest risk for contracting HIV is the person who doesn't believe they are at risk at all. Before you start a sexual relationship with someone, you have to bring up the issues of HIV/AIDS. Your life depends on it. If someone is not willing to be tested -- not just for HIV but for all STDs -- you should really ask yourself if this is the person you should be giving yourself to!
