The Graying of AIDS

2 minute read

Thirty years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first recognized AIDS in the United States in 1981, there’s remains a perception that the disease is one that primarily affects people from poor, developing countries and—when it does affect Americans— is most prevalent in the gay and African American communities. Photographer Katja Heinemann addresses this misconception with her project, “The Graying of AIDS,” which documents the effects of the disease among people age 50 and older. According to the CDC, more than half of all people living with HIV in the country will be over 50 by 2015.

“The Graying of AIDS” began in 2006 as a TIME magazine feature, and Heinemann has continued shooting in an attempt to both raise awareness about AIDS prevention among senior citizens and document hopeful stories about survival. “I wanted to try to find ways to connect with people and remind them that the epidemic isn’t over in this country,” Heinemann says. “We can’t really talk about sex and drug use in society, and we especially can’t talk about those things when it comes to older people. We just prefer not to think of our grandparents having sex, and it’s driven by the overall culture. Think about the last time you saw some really hot senior sex in a movie or on television.”

Heinemann says she’s been surprised by how candid her subjects have been in telling their stories. One woman, Sue Saunders, recalls her nurse asking if she got AIDS through needles. When Saunders explained that she contracted the disease from sex, the nurse reportedly said, “You’re having sex at your age? That’s disgusting!”

Feelings of rejection and a longing for companionship are common themes in her subjects’ stories, Heinemann says, and the photographer hopes that “The Graying of AIDS” will provide a more understanding environment for older people living with the disease. “Sometimes the risky choices they make are because of that—wanting to be accepted and loved.”

December 1 is World Aids Day. Read more about “The Graying of Aids” here.

Feifei Sun is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @Feifei_Sun or on Facebook.

"You have this ageism in the community — it’s so youth-oriented, you don’t feel welcome. As if you turn 40 and you turn straight or something. I can assure you that didn’t happen." -Larry McKeon. Springfield, Illinois. McKeon has since passed away.Katja Heinemann
"When people first found out that I had HIV, nobody would call me, nobody would talk to me. Nobody would touch me. You can have cancer, you can have multiple sclerosis, you can have – bird flu. And that’s acceptable. But HIV is not acceptable. In any way." -Sue Saunders. Fort Lauderdale, Florida.Katja Heinemann
"When I started getting sick, I went on disability, and everything happened from there. I lost a lot of things when I was unconscious—a lot of paperwork, most of my clothes, all my jewelry. Everything I lost. It’s gone. It’s gone." -Dee (named changed for privacy). Newark, New Jersey. Dee has since passed away.Katja Heinemann
"I thought that only happened to people that was, like, homeless, or wasn’t taking care of themselves, wasn’t eating or sleeping proper… It didn’t really hit either one of us how bad the disease was." -Linda Jones. The Bronx, New York.Katja Heinemann
"With all the pills and all the drugs and all the radiation and all the stuff that I’ve gone through, I’ve always used a certain amount of alternative aides that were not a part of the normal HIV routine. I think that’s one of the real main reasons that I’m still alive today." -Robert Brewster. New York City, New York.Katja Heinemann

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com