Positive Life NSW

Why a social club for positive heterosexuals? Mia Dawson explains.

Our social club is for heterosexual men and women living with HIV, set up and run by us. The club came about because we recognised a need in our very diverse community for peer connectedness in a friendly and accepting social milieu that's also completely confidential. Our aim is to provide a social network that's empowering and allows us to meet other HIV-positive heterosexual people in an environment of mutual understanding and support.

Disconnected

There's an increasing body of research which indicates that social connectedness is beneficial to the wellbeing of HIV positive people. But phase one of the Straight Poz study noted that heterosexual people living with HIV "often feel like 'cultural outsiders' in the HIV sector and are generally disconnected from other positive people and from communal forms of dialogue and support around HIV." The report goes on to note that social contact between positive heterosexual people is problematic because of the unique challenges experienced by this group, including not necessarily having anything in common beyond HIV, unlike positive gay men.

"Few participants had close friends with HIV and most had little or no contact with other positive people … An estimated one in five people with HIV in Australia identify as heterosexual, yet they remain largely invisible in Australian heterosexual society, as well as in the broader HIV epidemic, and little is known about their experiences of living with HIV. The history of the HIV epidemic in Australia is closely linked with the gay community, which has been disproportionally affected by the virus… Meanwhile, HIV has gradually receded from mainstream awareness and today exists on the periphery of heterosexual society. It is not woven into language, relationships and awareness in the way it tends to be among many gay men. While there are shared issues across affected populations, heterosexuals’ experiences of living with HIV are culturally different from gay men’s experiences because disclosure, relationships, sex, reproduction and community have different subtexts and priorities in a heterosexual context."

As an HIV positive heterosexual, it can sometimes seem as though you're a minority within a minority and this has impacts on our relationships and sociality. Phase two of the Straight Poz study acknowledges that "because of their limited contact with the HIV community or with peers, the participants had limited exposure to diverse discourses or ways of living with HIV." The Heterosexual HIV/AIDS service (PozHet) also recognises that "many living heterosexually with HIV described becoming isolated in their attempts to not be 'caught out', left in compromising circumstances or forced to disclose. Many people withdrew from social interactions, becoming socially isolated as a coping mechanism and a consequence of their need for ongoing secrecy." (Reakes and Manolas)

So the challenge has been to create a peer-run support group based around social interaction that's relevant to and meets the diverse needs of the positive heterosexual community. As Straight Poz phase one points out, "The diversity and geographical dispersal of positive heterosexuals in NSW, the deep need to protect privacy and confidentiality and the difficulties of accessing appropriate resources and support, create particular challenges for building a heterosexual HIV positive community."

Our club

Our club aims to provide a safe and supportive atmosphere for meeting socially around organised events or activities. We've recently reinstated the regular first Friday of every month get-togethers. Examples of past and planned future events include visits to restaurants, barefoot and tenpin bowling, film evenings and outings to the theatre, shows, galleries and concerts. Generally we try to source locations that are accessible and close to public transport and have been holding events in central Sydney, though we'd like to expand to other areas as well. We're also currently looking at adding weekend events, including picnics and meeting up for lunch or coffee. Above all, we encourage feedback about how our members would like the concept to work and what they'd like to see the group accomplish.

If you'd like to join us, please email us and we'll ensure that you're kept up to date with all our planned activities. We look forward to welcoming you to one of our events which are also posted monthly on the Pozhets website.

Mia Dawson

• The social club: phsocialclub@gmail.com
• Pozhet: http://www.pozhet.org.au

Persson A, Barton D and Richards W (2006), Men and women living heterosexually with HIV - The Straightpoz study, Volume 1 (Monograph 2/2006). Sydney: National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales.

Persson A, Barton D, Richards W, Reakes K (2009), Men and women living heterosexually with HIV -The Straightpoz study, Volume 2 (Monograph 1/2009). Sydney: National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales.

Reakes K and Manolas P (2009), Stigma, shame and secrecy: heterosexuals living with HIV. HIV Australia, Vol 7 No 3, September 2009. http://tinyurl.com/63hljvw