Shownotes
One of Britain's most enduring HIV and LGBTQ+ activists, who lived privately with HIV for years before becoming its most visible advocate.
Summary
Matthew Hodson has lived openly and, in his own words, shamelessly with HIV for over 27 years. His career in activism spans the pre-treatment era through to the age of U=U, and his core philosophy is simple: every time you take something that is used against you and make it into your own armour, it loses its power to hurt you.
Matthew worked as the first admin assistant and then project manager of the Positive Campaign Group at Gay Men Fighting AIDS, producing campaigns that encouraged openness about HIV status - while he himself had not yet gone public. A volunteer called James Quinlan was the one who stood in front of the camera: very handsome, very brash, drove like a maniac, and happy to be photographed in leather trousers and no shirt. James had made the decision that he wasn't going to hide. He died about sixteen years ago. His body had taken a beating from early drugs and the virus.
Matthew frames ageing with HIV as a privilege denied to many of his contemporaries from the 80s and 90s - people who never Googled anything, never went on Grindr, never knew a world where gay people could marry. He is sharply aware that global funding cuts mean people are dying in greater numbers this year than last.
Key Moments
- [00:01] Armour from shame - turning what is used against you into protection, and the power of living shamelessly
- [02:10] Three decades of activism - from the height of the epidemic to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, and the principle that what you do matters
- [38:42] The first openly HIV-positive chair - leading Gay Men Fighting AIDS in 2021, and why it took until then
- [38:47] The Denver Principles - nothing about us without us, established in 1983, and the Act Up protesters who stormed the Montreal Aids conference in 1989
- [40:12] HIV and the Covid vaccine - how HIV research enabled the rapid development of the Covid vaccine
- [40:19] Ageing as privilege - contemporaries who never Googled, never used Grindr, never saw gay marriage, because their lives were snuffed out
- [42:06] Funding cuts and rising deaths - Trump's cuts to USAID, UK budget reductions, and more people dying this year than last
Dedication
Matthew remembers James Quinlan, a Gay Men Fighting AIDS volunteer who was very handsome, drove like a maniac, and appeared on campaign posters in leather trousers with no shirt. James lived openly with HIV and died about sixteen years ago.
About Matthew Hodson
Matthew Hodson is one of the UK's most influential HIV and LGBTQ+ activists. He has lived with HIV for over 27 years and was the first openly HIV-positive chair of Gay Men Fighting AIDS. He is a writer, campaigner, and advocate for living shamelessly with HIV.
Resources
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
