''Understanding AIDS'' is a
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
or brochure created by the
United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
and mailed to every American household in 1988 as a response to the
AIDS epidemic
The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...
.
It was the largest mass mailing in American history.
The decision to create the pamphlet was made by Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop
Charles Everett Koop (October 14, 1916 – February 25, 2013) was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the 13th Surgeon Ge ...
.
Contents
The pamphlet contains simple information about AIDS and HIV, and factual descriptions of
how it is transmitted through sexual contact and drug use. It advocates for
abstinence
Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, etc.
...
,
monogamy
Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyga ...
,
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...
use, and
sex education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
for young people. It encourages the reader not to fear day-to-day contact with people with AIDS, but to instead offer them love and support.
Distribution
Approximately 126 million copies of ''Understanding AIDS'' were distributed. Their printing and mailing cost about 20
cents per copy.
One million advance copies of the brochure were sent to doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, hospitals, and
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
officials to prepare them for questions about AIDS from the public.
The 1988 distribution of ''Understanding AIDS'' was of an English-language version of the brochure, with a Spanish version distributed in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. Only later would the brochure be translated into other languages or distributed electronically.
Response
A
national survey
A national mapping agency is an organisation, usually publicly owned, that produces topographic maps and geographic data, geographic information of a country. Some national mapping agencies also deal with cadastre, cadastral matters.
According to ...
found that at least 60 percent of people interviewed following the mailing remembered receiving ''Understanding AIDS''. Of these, 80 percent read at least some of the pamphlet, and 40 to 50 percent reported discussing it with family or friends.
Call centers for AIDS-related questions, which were created or expanded in advance of the mailer, were flooded with calls.
As a result of preparatory research on how to make the pamphlet understandable to a wide audience, the authors avoided labels for people like "gay" or "drug addicts," and instead described behaviors like anal sex or needle sharing. This type of explicit description, pioneered by ''Understanding AIDS'', would later become standard in sex education.
The frank descriptions of
human sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
in the pamphlet upset some American
religious conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
.
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocons ...
remarked that the pamphlet looks "like it was edited by the Gay Task Force" because of its avoidance of the subject of
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
.
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...
expressed skepticism of the pamphlet, saying a simple message of "no sex outside of marriage would have saved taxpayers' money."
Surgeon General Koop was himself an
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
Christian and a friend of Falwell's who believed the pamphlet was consistent with his religious beliefs on sexual morality.
Footnotes
{{reflist
External links
''Understanding AIDS''digitized at CDC stacks
Pamphlets
Sex education in the United States
Publications of the United States government
HIV/AIDS in the United States
History of HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS in literature