In honor of National Gay Men’s HIV Awareness Day, senior director of communications at GLAAD, Tony Morrison, is offering advice for others who have tested positive.
Morrison tells Sonia Baghdady of Advocate Now that he first tested positive in 2013, and though it’s been an uphill battle, he’s emerged stronger than ever. Though he previously kept his diagnosis “under the rug in shame,” he was inspired to share his status in a 2021 personal essay.
Tony Morrison Opens Up About HIV Diagnosis
“HIV is actually the most managed thing in my life, which is crazy to say out loud,” Morrison explains. “I was just met with this feeling of, how dare I live a life of shame when so many like myself didn’t get that chance. Life became really good for me and worth living when I gave myself permission to really live like that.”
Though he felt as if “power was taken from me,” Morrison was able to take the time to “really look at myself in the mirror and grant that power back to myself.” While a diagnosis may bring feelings of powerlessness, those on proper medication can become “undetectable,” meaning they can no longer spread the virus, and are able to “live long and healthy lives.”
However, many people are unaware of the resources…
