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AIDS testing for all
February 10, 2005
There’s been a big push in the subways recently for a new free daily newspaper, the Metro. Usually I breeze right by the folks handing them out, but today the front page, above-the-fold headline caught my attention: “AIDS testing for all.”
The brief article, plucked from the Associated Press wire and written without a byline, is not too terrible, but the headline and the pulled quote are ghastly.
Maybe I’m a romantic, but I believe in the power of words. I believe that, in the year 2005, newspapers shouldn’t be throwing around phrases like “AIDS testing” and “drug cocktails.” I know, I know, I can be accused of being a PC thug, but I think that the proper and up-to-date use of phrases is a useful thing, because otherwise there is a persistence of misinformation.
There is no such thing as “AIDS testing” – the most popular test, the Elisa, tests for the presence of HIV antibodies, while the PCR-DNA (used in the adult industry) tests for the presence of the virus itself. And “drug cocktails” is a phrase that is not in circulation within AIDS service organizations (ASOs) anymore because it has a connotation of partying, and taking drugs to combat HIV is no fucking party. These days, the phrase “combination therapy” is used in its stead.
So – why is a newspaper using these phrases? Its certainly not because the more contemporary terms are hard to find – they are everywhere in the literature of ASOs, often with explanations like the one I offered above. I could chalk it up to bad research, but the rest of the article is well written and employs accurate terminology.
I suspect that the reason for the inclusion of these phrases is that the newspaper editors (not the AP newswire folks) assumed these phrases would be more recognizable by the “commoners.” This springs from the bullshit notion that writing to the lowest common denominator is a good thing to do. Call me an intellectual snob or whatever, but I don’t think it’s useful to talk down to an audience, particularly if that entails using improper terminology. Phrases reflecting the parlance of ASOs would be more useful in subtly infusing accurate information into the minds of the “commoners.” Correct information starts with correct language. I know I get caught up in semantics, but I don’t think this is a frivolous concern. I should also mention what the article is about – it’s based on a recently released study about the efficacy of making HIV testing routine for virtually all Americans. You can check out the study at the New England Journal of Medicine’s (NEJM) website, here.
Posted by Dacia at February 10, 2005 01:14 PM
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