Justin B. Terry-Smith has been involved in LGBTQ and HIV Activism since 1999. He is an Air Force 9/11 Disabled Vet. Raised in Silver Spring, MD, he now lives in Albuequerque, New Meixco with his husband Phil. He writes an HIV/STI Advice Column for A&U Magazine, is a Contributing writer for thebody.com, a Life Coach and an Adjunct Professor. He has earned his Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in Infectious Disease and his Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
On the Oprah:
Where Are The Now? 39 years old former child star of the show Who's the Boss? Danny Pintauro, came out
this past weekend as HIV positive. It
turns out that Pintauro has been living with HIV for 12 years. One the show Who’s the Boss? Pintauro
played the role of Johnathan. When
Pintauro was 17 he came out as gay while attending Stanford University. A tabloid forced him to come out because they
were going to run with the story about his sexuality whether he liked it or
not. Pintauro stated this about the
forced outing, "I missed the opportunity to be a beacon of light for gay
kids who were going through what I was going through because I was outed; it
wasn't by choice,” This time Pintauro is
coming out as HIV positive and wanted to do it when he was ready. When learning about his HIV status Pintauro
said this, "You've spent so much time terrified that you're going to get
it," he says, "and then you have it, and you don't have to be
terrified anymore."
Pintauro is now happily married to Wil Tabares. The
couple married in 2014.
2015 marked the beginning of a new era in the evolution of HIV. Of the estimated 1.2 million Americans with HIV, one-thirdare over 50 years old; within 2015, half of the total HIV-positive population will be over 50 years old.[i]
The exhibit, curated in collaboration with Walgreens and The Graying of AIDS, focuses on the challenges and triumphs of this aging HIV community through captivating portraits and insightful testimonials.
The Well Beyond HIV art exhibit will be on public display September 10th an 11th from 11am-6pm at the Carnegie Library – Literary Hall, 801 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 – We encourage you to stop by if you have a chance.
If interested we ask that you also encourage your followers to:
It is official I’ve earned my Master’s in Public Health. Now I can officially say I’m a Public Health
professional. After 2 ½ years of school
work I’ve accomplished what I set out to accomplished. It was a big goal for me to finally get this
obstacle out of way. Having HIV I want
you all to know you cannot let it get in your way.
REACH YOUR GOAL AND MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME
TRUE.
People need to understand that HIV
is NOT the end of your life. You need to
keep moving and live your life to the best of your abilities. When I
found out I had HIV school was the furthest thing from my mind. But now it has helped me get a new job that
is amazing. I am now a Global Public
Health Analyst. As a present my loving
husband bought me a new car. He is an
amazing man and has stuck by me through my Associates and Bachelor’s degree as
well.
GRADUATION IS IN JULY IN BALTIMORE!!
But most of you know I can’t stop there I will be attempting
to earn my Doctorate in Public Health.
I
got a notification on my phone from my Grindr application so I click on it to
check the message. This guy immediately
started with, “Really Justin?” I then didn't understand what he was referring to, so I replied, “Really what?” He then went on to say that he was disappointed
in me for having my HIV status at the bottom of my Grindr profile and that I
was once his hero and etc. I just couldn't believe this. All I could do was block
the immaturity out and off my phone.
1)There are people on Grindr that don’t even say their status
2)One of the first things I put is that I’m married and that
my husband knows I have this application on my phone
3)It’s really none of your business what I’m doing in my own
bedroom but I’m open about my HIV status to all sexual partners – FYI.
4)If the basis of me not being your role model HIV positive
activist is that my status is at the bottom of my Grindr profile than find
another HIV activist to follow because you've been following me for the wrong
reasons.
The article
below can be found on Baltimore Gay Life Newspaper:
Many
people this holiday season will get what they want and what they don’t want. My
gift to you this year, dear reader, is the gift of purity. Many of us think of
the word purity and automatically think of virginity. I am by no means a
virgin, and neither are the majority of you reading this column. With that idea
in mind, I ask – why on earth do we engage in slut shaming?
At
the recent Mr. Maryland Leather contest one of the contestants gave a speech
about slut shaming in the gay community and I was truly touched. He talked
about how two of his friends had committed suicide because of the constant slut
shaming (which is another form of bullying) they endured from their so-called
friends.
As
I do every year, I took the stage with all the former Mr. Maryland Leathers,
and as my name was being called I heard the words, “Whore” being yelled at me.
I stopped and realized that this was not right because to look on my husband’s
face was the look of embarrassment and shame. When the contest was over, I
marched up to those three people and told them to stop slut shaming me. The
whole time I thought to myself this doesn’t just affect me but it affects my
husband. If they don’t have any respect for me at least respect my husband and
in turn respect my marriage. I really didn’t deserve it, neither did my husband
or my son.
For
HIV negative people, slut shaming can lead to a lowered self-esteem, which
could make them at greater risk of contracting HIV. Having people shame you
because of your sexual appetites only leads you to keep them secret and pushes
them back into the closet. This also can be said for people who use
preventative measure like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). People think because
you are on PrEP means that you do not use a condom and you have promiscuous sex,
which is not the case at all because this is a form of HIV prevention.
People
will do with their own bodies as they would like and it is not up to us to tell
them what to do. It takes two (sometimes more) to tango and if it’s consensual
then who the hell are you to tell them what they cannot do.
I suggest to all of you reading this column to keep that in mind before
you shame someone into thinking that what they do sexually is wrong. People
need to wake up to the ways of the world and get their head out of their
behinds and other people’s personal lives; because frankly it’s none of your
damn slut shaming business
Friend and fellow HIV Activist Jack Mackenroth has come up with an amazing way to combat HIV Stigma.
In social media and dating sites (especially in the gay community) we hear, "I'm clean" meaning I don't have HIV and I'm STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) free. These words, "I'm clean" only further stigmatized people living with HIV. "I'm clean" gives the perception that people living with HIV are somehow dirty. This is an awesome HIV Campaign and I'm very proud to participate. Here are INSTRUCTIONS on how you can become apart of his movement.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Take a selfie or Vine video of yourself in the shower.** NO EXPLICIT NUDITY**
2) Post your photo on Moovz and all social media platforms with the
caption "Take HIV Shower Selfie Challenge raise $$ for AIDS cure bit.ly/CUREAIDS#weareALLclean"
3) Challenge 3 or more other people to participate!
4) (Optional) DONATE!! Please consider a small donation if you are able. Every penny counts! bit.ly/CUREAIDS
5) On World AIDS Day: Monday, December 1st, please change all your
social media profile pix to your shower selfie photo and spread the
word!!
For more information contact: Jack MackenrothJackmax2@gmail.com
Justin's HIV Journal was very happy to help out in the HIV Equal Campaign along side the DC Center and Whitman Walker Health.
The point of this campaign is to show that YES we ALL have an HIV status...Do you know yours? HIV Equal is an international multimedia campaign that aims to end HIV stigma and promote HIV testing by creating a social art movement that changes the way people think about HIV and which reopens the national dialogue about HIV.
My son Lundyn was very proud to participate.
He knows how important it is for one to know their HIV Status
ANNOUNCEMENT: Looking for South African participants for HIV Campaign. They can be HIV negative or positive. Looking for a very diverse group of people of all walks of life and languages. Apply from within (meaning send me a private message on Facebook or to my e-mail jsmithco98@hotmail.com). PLEASE SHARE!!
Joan Rivers died on September 4th, 2014 at the age
of 81 Many of you do not know that Joan Rivers wasn’t just a comedian, but she
was an HIV/AIDS activist.She would
distribute food to HIV/AIDS patients in the NYC area, for a non-profit called
God’s Love We Deliver.In 2009 when
Rivers won The Celebrity Apprentice in 2009 her prize money bought 56,000
meals, since then it’s grown to other cities such as Detroit, Chicago and San
Francisco.
Joan River’s God’s
Love We Deliver Video
Joan River’s One Day
a children’s AIDS foundation Video
BUT this woman was so funny that we have to celebrate her
life in this entry as well so I’ve attached her Uncensored Comedy Roast.Now let the tears dry up and let the laughs
begin!!
On August 16, 2014 NovaSalud Inc. put on a beautiful fashion show are the O street Mansion in NW DC. Clothing designed by Juan Jose Saenz-Ferreyros Peruvian Fashion Designer and Owner of Ferreyros Couture Company Photography by Chris Zarconi Photography and Jose Dimas C M. All models have been affecting in some shape of form by HIV/AIDS. The fashion show was meant to fight against the stigma of HIV. I participated in the fashion show and mini-doc and I really appreciate all the NovaSalud does and continues to do in the community. Fellow HIV/AIDS activist Rod McCoy and Patrick Ingram were models as well. I hope to work with NovaSalud again.
NovaSalud is established by and for the
community, NovaSalud, Inc's mission is to improve and strengthen the
health and well-being of our diverse Northern Virginia community through
culturally-competent and language-appropriate HIV/AIDS services and
prevention education. NovaSalud works to effect the change necessary to
instill understanding and compassion, and strives to mitigate the
discrimination and stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
(VIDEO AND PICTURES BELOW)
This is the mini-documentary from the Break The Stigma of HIV -- Open That Closet Door Fashion Show -- Presented by NovaSalud, Inc
