COVID-19 has shaken the modern world to its core. Yet for the queer and HIV+ communities this has not been our first rodeo. Even for those who aren’t old enough to have lived through the AIDS crisis themselves, then the horror and despair of that time have most certainly been passed down to us, through stories and art.
Garry Wotherspoon, NSW-based author and queer historian, tells ArtsHub, ‘Initially no one had any idea what was causing it. Because it mainly manifested itself in the gay community – we were in a state of shock. Not only were our friends falling ill and dying, the mainstream media were also publishing some awful things, how the gays were “infecting everyone” or that “we should be put away in concentration camps”.
