Originally Posted by
NYCdoula
It is so interesting to me that this thread is active right now. I have been following for decades the editorial choices of Mothering Magazine around HIV- and AIDS-related issues. It was clear then, as it is clear now, that the Editor is, by refusing to come out AGAINST claims that HIV is not truly known to cause AIDS, and by instead providing a platform for people who wish to deny that breastfeeding is a risky behavior for transmission of HIV--(and, insult of insults, to encourage terrible theoretical slippage in implying that the advocates who call for HIV positive mothers to not breastfeed are somehow in the same camp as all the other forces that can make breastfeeding quite difficult in our society)--it is clear that by offering these positions as something other than dangerous and deadly, but merely information so as to make an informed choice, she is de facto supporting what most people call "AIDS denial." Here, as elsewhere in AIDS denial literature, it is framed by Peggy O'Mara as "informed choice" and by some other people as healthy skepticism of the medical establishments overreach. So then we get, in the culture of the natural parenting community, a slippage between the support of normal birth, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, and what can, in my opinion, only be called AIDS denialism.
In fact, this breed of "skepticism" has been very effectively promoted by Mothering, whether or not the Editor will ever openly admit it. (And she hasn't so far, so we can't expect her to now.) I mean, here we are having a long, drawn out discussion over it, and many of us were not even aware of the ongoing issue in Mothering: however, there are still people on this board debating about whether to forgo HIV testing, or, in the case of a positive status, to not breastfeed and not taking an HIV drug cocktail during pregnancy as possible healthy choices. These views have insidiously infiltrated the AP community at large. Last year, when I was at the Miles for Midwives fundraising race in NYC, I approached the head organizer for Holistic Parents NYC (a large, loose-knit organization) and asked about the group's stance on HIV, and while I don't remember if she said they have an official stance or not, I do remember that she immediately began to "educate" me on the fact that it hasn't been proven that HIV causes AIDS. Upset by her proud and wacky misinformation, I returned to the friends who I was with. When I shared my dismay with my spitfire, single mother, doula friend, she immediately began to spout the same misinformation at me too, saying, "whatever you say, you can't deny that there have been many studies, so much evidence that calls into question the supposed relationship between HIV and AIDS."
These cancerous views are alive and well in the AP and "holistic" parenting communities. I have no doubt that Peggy O'Mara's editorial choices played a major role in their spread. It is unfortunate that she continues to portray her position as one of being journalistically unbiased.
This editorial position has absolutely discredited Mothering magazine in my eyes. AIDS is not over in the United States, and as long as we are a responsible community, supporting responsible journalism, and responsible parenting, we must demand that the demon lurking in the background of this debate be faced: HIV is associated in peoples mind with gay men, with death, with drug users, prostitutes, and poverty, and yet it can affect anyone. It is deeply associated in the public mind with sexual shame and religious punishment. In order for us to be responsible, we must not let that association spook us or influence us into living and raising our children as if HIV is something that only affects other people. Every human being has a sexuality. Every human body is vulnerable. Each of our children will have a sexuality and many of us will be blessed with the gift of a gay son, whether or not we are ready for it. One in five gay men who are living in urban areas are HIV-positive today, and HIV is now the leading cause of death for black women aged 25 to 34. We need to learn to talk with our sisters, brothers, doctors AND children about sexuality, shame, and safer sex practices. We need to give the gift of correct information, not misinformation, so that mothers can, as you say, make informed choices.
My guess is that this is the real issue being talked around on this thread.