Why a red ribbon against AIDS? I + History

This Wednesday the world is flooded with red ribbons which serve to remind us that, despite being very concerned about the variants of the coronavirus, in the world there are other diseases that can be deadly, such as AIDS.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus was described in 1983 and seeing the spread of the disease, in 1988 the first World AIDS Day was already celebrated. An action promoted by international organizations to help raise awareness in the population to make people understand that anyone could be infected if the necessary precautions were not taken.

That same year 1988, in New York, was launched a collective of plastic creators called Visual AIDS. It was established to support artists who had contracted the virus and also to organize awareness campaigns about that disease, which between the eighties and the nineties would cause a strong collective emotional impact, as a result of the death of celebrities such as actor Rock Hudson in 1985 or the musician Freddie Mercury, whose 30th anniversary of his death has been commemorated this November.

A few months earlier, in June 1991, the presenter of the prestigious Tony Theater Awards gala, the actor Jeremy Irons, appeared on stage at the Minksoff Theater on Broadway wearing a red bow on his lapel. The idea had been Visual AIDS, who had been looking for a powerful enough symbol to make the problem of HIV visible.

In the United States there was already a long tradition of using colored bows to support different causes. During the Second World War, for instance, the women wore a yellow one to remember the men who were fighting on the front lines. From that moment on, the tradition was maintained and, every time there has been a conflict, the relatives of soldiers have continued to use ties as a show of support for the troops.

Drawing inspiration from this phenomenon, Visual AIDS thought it could do something similar for sick people. However, in this case he chose red as a allegory to blood (element of transmission of the infection) and, at the same time, because it was a color that is associated with passion and love; two values ​​that they wanted to contrast with the anger and rejection that those affected were often subjected to. In order to favor the popularization of this symbol, they did not register it and attributed the authorship to the entire group to avoid personalities. Whoever he wanted could use it and appropriate it.

The red ribbon definitely became global disease fight icon precisely in the tribute concert to the singer of Queen, held at Wembley in April 1992. That day one hundred thousand units were distributed among the attendees.

Since then, with each passing year, when the first day of December arrives, the red ribbon is more clearly occupying the public space and the headquarters of prominent organizations. In 2007, for example, during the presidency of George W. Bush, the White House joined the campaign, placing an 8.5 meter on the main facade of the building.

Now, although these gestures help to normalize the situation of people infected with HIV, do not lose sight of the situation of discrimination that certain groups have suffered, such as the homosexual community or drug addicts. During the first years, when little was known about the operation of viruses, they were singled out as culprits for its spread. However, it was soon realized that everyone could end up infected if the proper measures were not taken.

If we have learned anything since 2019, as a result of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus What has changed our lives is that there is a lot of energy and knowledge to fight infectious diseases. On the one hand, it is essential to invest money in research to be able to develop the necessary drugs and, on the other, it is also vital to carry out information campaigns to explain to the population how to deal with it. Covid is proof that when things are explained, people understand what they have to do and why they should do it. With HIV, it is necessary to do the same until it is eradicated: research and raise awareness.

Permanent activism

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After inventing the red ribbon, Visual AIDS has not stopped organizing artistic actions and the collective is still active to promote dialogue, help HIV-positive artists and preserve the legacy of those creators who died due to the disease, because as its slogan says in recent years “AIDS is not over”.