‘We had to fight for a seat at the table’: Why the dance floor matters in the fight for HIV justice

Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, gay men have been at the centre. The disease was regularly referred to as the “gay cancer”, and back in 1982 the pre-AIDS medical term for the disease was GRID: Gay Related Immunodeficiency. From the start of this 45-year epidemic, gay, bisexual, and queer folks have been disproportionately impacted by HIV. Mpact was founded 20 years ago in response to this reality: gay, bisexual, and queer men around the world were bearing a disproportionate share of the HIV burden, yet the resources, attention, and investment reaching our communities were minuscule.

Over the course of those 20 years, that has not changed much, as gay men are still disproportionately impacted by HIV, divestment continues, and in many parts of the world, social and legal conditions for LGBTQ+ people have become even more hostile. But that is precisely why Mpact exists, and our work is more important than ever. While governments and institutions criminalise or abandon our queer communities, Mpact cultivates and invests in gay, bisexual, and queer leaders and organisations. Over the past two decades, Mpact has supported community-led HIV and LGBTQ+ health work and advocacy in more than 62 countries and directed $20 million to community partners.

20 years of Mpact

As we celebrate 20 years of Mpact, we can see how our history has shaped us. For 45 years, HIV has been incidental to our sex lives; much of HIV stigma was born out of homophobia, and we’ve endured the loss of millions of our community members. We learned that we had to do it ourselves. We had to fight for a seat at the table, for every potentially lifesaving pill, and for every single penny.

But while our history is rooted in HIV, our shared lived experience is so much more expansive than just a virus. As we look to the future, we must integrate the various intersecting issues of our lives, build queer community, and create opportunities for leadership, freedom of expression, and mobilisation.

Most recently, Mpact’s HIV Kiss-in was a demonstration of the political power of a collective public display of the sexuality of queer people living with HIV. It allowed us to increase visibility, celebrate our sexuality, and create a shared moment of queer joy.

It’s difficult to overstate the value of queer joy, particularly as, around the globe, gay men are being arrested and tortured, and health and human rights appear to be endangered species. It’s easy to forget that one of the simplest yet cherished shared experiences we have is queer joy.

The importance of queer joy

Queer joy has such value and meaning that we will risk arrest, persecution, violence, and disease simply to experience it. It is what sustains us amidst the harshest circumstances. This is our superpower.

Recently, Mpact’s logo underwent a refresh, and it’s an homage to queer joy and the community spaces created under the shining disco ball. Music and dance are joyful acts of expression, liberation, and rebellion and have always been a special part of our community, history, and movement.

One of the reasons there was an uprising at Stonewall was that it was illegal for two men to dance together. After Stonewall came disco. Pure joy and extravaganza as men could press their bodies together on the dance floor, serenaded by Sylvester in a shimmering caftan. During the dark years of AIDS, the dance floor was a sanctuary; a place to come together so we could dance through our pain and anguish. In the 90s, the epidemic changed, and so did our dance floor experience. The circuit party was created, and our community, who had endured so much, sought to reclaim that collective joy.

LGBTQ+ nightlife

Now, the concept of queer spaces and the dance floor has evolved, and we find ourselves searching for ways to share that joyful experience, even under the most difficult circumstances. I recall being in Botswana, before gay sex had been decriminalised, and I was lucky enough to go to a “gay friendly” club full of gay men who found community together on the dance floor, even though the government viewed them as criminals. Seeing men dance together there was to witness utter courage, resistance, and joy. They accepted the risks because it was critical for them to share in that experience together, as a community.

Our queer community inspires, fascinates, and drives me, and also brings me great joy. It helped me navigate life with HIV, find meaningful connections, and empowered me to become an advocate for myself and those around me. This is what drives my work at Mpact. To build a strong community that relentlessly fights to improve health, invests in leaders, amplifies voices, and defends human rights.

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Alex Garner is the interim executive director at Mpact Global, a global non-profit organisation founded in 2006 that advocates for the sexual health, human rights, and well-being of gay men, bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men.