Dollsexposed Celebrates World AIDS Day

Manuel chooses Sylvia Rivera to honor both her bravery and their Latin heritage. Chrissy chooses Marsha P. Johnson to honor her legacy and struggles with mental illness.

Rivera and Johnson lived on the fringes of society. They knew firsthand what it was like to be destitute, outcasts, persecuted, discriminated against, and yet overlooked and invisible. They stared down fear and challenged it until the day they died.

Rivera’s photo: Valerie Shaff.
Johnson’s photo: Barbara Alper/Getty Image.

Resources:

• Randy Wicker interviews Sylvia Rivera on the Pier
• Sylvia Rivera Interview (Making Gay History Podcast)
• Marsha P. Johnson (National Women’s History Museum)

Gar didn’t have an easy childhood with his parents, but thankfully they’ve come to love and accept him later in life. To honor them, he chooses Nita Pippins, the mother of a gay man who died of AIDS and who later became the mother of so many other AIDS victims.

Pippins’ compassion helped other parents navigate their child’s sexuality, disease, and death. She held the hands of AIDS patients as they passed and helped other parents navigate their child’s sexuality, disease, and death.

Pippins’s photo: Marilynn K. Yee/ The New York Times.

Resources:

• Nita Pippins, a fearless activist who dedicated herself to queer people during the AIDS crisis, has died due to coronavirus
• Nita Pippins, New York’s HIV Mom, Dies at 93

Matt’s job in construction means he gets to meet and know many strong gay women. This is why he chooses Urvashi Vaid, the activist who confronted President George H.W. Bush during his address on AIDS in March 1990 in Arlington, Virginia.

Women, especially queer women like Vaid, have been shoved into the background when it comes to HIV/AIDS activism.

Vaid’s photo: Jurek Wajdowicz.

Resources:

• Remembering Urvashi Vaid, an LGBTQ activist who spent decades fighting for equality
• Urvashi Vaid, Legendary Activist for LGBTQ+ Civil Rights, Dies at 63

Takeshi chooses Kiyoshi Kuromiya, the Japanese- American activist who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and became his aide.

Not only did Kuromiya play a significant role in the HIV/AIDS movement, but he was also one of the people who shattered the Asian vs Black mentality.

Kuromiya’s photo: John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center

Resources:

• Life of Kiyoshi Kuromiya: From Selma Marcher to AIDS Activist
• The ‘Forrest Gump of Activism’ Who Helped HIV/AIDS Patients Get Life-Saving Treatment Information

Wade chooses Larry Kramer. He shares and respects Kramer’s militancy and brashness when it comes to HIV and AIDS activism.

Kramer’s essay, “1,112 and Counting” changed Wade’s life.

Kramer’s photo: Shaney Komulainen/ The Canadian Press.

Resources:

• “1,112 and Counting” by Larry Kramer
• Larry Kramer’s Obituary by James Krellenstein
• Larry Kramer’s Obituary by Peter Staley