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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 21, 2011
CONTACT
Gerard Koskovich
(415) 641-5364
gkoskovich@gmail.com
Historian of HIV/AIDS to Unravel Myths,
Facts in Journalist's Story of Patient Zero
San Francisco -- Historian Richard McKay will present "Randy Shilts and the Creation of Patient Zero: Humanizing the AIDS Epidemic?" on Thursday, Dec. 15, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at The GLBT History Museum in San Francisco's Castro District. The talk will take a critical look at the story of Patient Zero -- the moniker given by federal epidemiologists to a gay flight attendant from Quebec who was alleged to have knowingly infected hundreds of men with AIDS at the beginning of the 1980s, thereby causing the epidemic in the United States.
Popularized by the late San Francisco journalist Randy Shilts in his best-selling book And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic (1987), the figure of Patient Zero is internationally recognized as a stereotype of gay hedonism and a reproach to the supposed effects of the sexual freedom promoted by the gay liberation movement. Drawing on in-depth research from his recent doctoral dissertation at Oxford University, McKay will unravel the facts behind the myths -- and will trace the ongoing cultural, political and medical impact of the story of Patient Zero.
McKay is currently an Economic and Social Research Council Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of History and Centre for the Humanities and Health at King's College, London.
The GLBT History Museum is located at 4127 18th St. near Castro Street in San Francisco. Admission to the talk: $5.00 donation requested. For more information, contact the museum at (415) 621-1107 or info@glbthistory.org.
ABOUT THE GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM
The GLBT History Museum opened in January 2011 as the first full-scale, stand-alone museum of its kind in the United States. Currently featured are two major exhibitions: "Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating San Francisco's GLBT History" and "Great Collections of the GLBT Historical Society Archives." The museum is a project of the GLBT Historical Society, a research center and archives founded in 1985 that houses one of the world's largest collections of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender historical materials.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following photo of Richard McKay may be reproduced free of charge in association with coverage of his talk at The GLBT History Museum. Photo credit: Alan McFarlane.
McKay is available for interviews regarding his talk at the museum. Address requests to Gerard Koskovich at gkoskovich@gmail.com.
 | Historian Richard McKay
Photo Credit: Alan McFarlane |
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