whereas AIDS was only conclusively found to be the result of an STI in 1983. 18 Assuming the
discussion went as described by Dritz and repeated in And the Band Played On occurred as
described, the fact that medical understandings of AIDS were limited and contradictory in
the early years makes Dugas’ scepticism seem far more reasonable. Mckay also highlights
how perso nal bias may have played heavily into Shilts’ portrayal of Dugas. Shilts had
traumatic experiences with casual sex, having contracted Hepatitis from a sexual contact
whom he blamed for his infection in the 1970s. 19
Crimp also highlights how the personal biases of Shilts impact his portrayal of Dugas.
Crimp focuses on Shilts’ antipathy toward gay politics, promiscuity, and the use of
homophobic tropes. Crimp attributes the homophobic tone of And the Band Played On to
Shilts taking on a ‘bourgeois universalist’ and ‘heterosexual’ point of view. Crimp argues that
by doing this, Shilts erases his own identity as a gay man, allowing him to use homophobic
tropes to portray Dugas, and to push for gay men to take up a monogamous lifestyle. Crimp
also argues that des pite Shilts’ wanting to draw attention to the Reagan administration’s lack
of action, he still portrays AIDS as a ‘gay disease’ by focusing so intensely on the sexual
habits of gay men. This is then contrasted to the actions of LGBT activists who worked to
educate and protect their communities through advocacy of safe sex. 20 The contrast is stark,
while Shilts took on a sex-negative approach of lecturing gay men on the dangers of free
love, activists taught people how they could save their lives through safe sex.
These criticisms all have merit. Crimp and Mckay’s argue that Shilts attitudes towards
gay male promiscuity led to a problematic portrayal of Dugas, and this is reinforced multiple
18 McKay, p. 179 19 McKay, p. 174 20 Crimp, p. 245-255.
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