If there were ever a time defined largely by public health disasters and increased social inequality, look no further than the 2020s. In the past two years alone, the world has dealt with coronavirus, recessions, mass death, and now the sudden emergence of monkeypox in the United States. Monkeypox, once a disease mainly present in Central and West Africa, somehow found its way overseas in May of this year. Now, in an age when public health emergencies are fairly commonplace, it feels fair to assume that governmental response to monkeypox would be swift and all-encompassing. However, recent messaging surrounding monkeypox echoes political jargon one might find coming out of the mouths of 1980s politicians. Many characterize monkeypox as a “gay disease,” thus minimizing the potential threat for those outside of the LGBTQ+ community. Moreover, this labeling has led to the minimization of the disease. By presenting it as an issue only LGBTQ+ people must worry about, the media has crafted the narrative that the public need not care about diseases that do not affect them. More specifically, that they need not care about diseases that affect queer people.

This narrative is not dissimilar from those touted by American politicians at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Labeling HIV/AIDS with titles such as “gay cancer” led to widespread stigma. Additionally, it allowed the government to justify its inaction in HIV/AIDS research and funding through homophobia and transphobia.

Of course, while both monkeypox and HIV/AIDS are not “gay diseases,” they do disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community. There is no need to ignore the unique threat that certain communities face in contracting or being impacted by the two diseases. However, if HIV/AIDS has taught us anything about public health and its political repercussions, it is that we cannot truly address this outbreak if we do not adopt a global and equitable response. By singling out particular communities as carriers of a disease, the risk of mass spread grows as those outside of said group minimize the likelihood that they, too, might contract it.