How HIV/AIDS got its name − the words Americans used for the crisis were steeped in science, stigma and religious language
- Written by Anthony Petro, Associate Professor of Religion and of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Boston University
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first used the term “AIDS” on Sept. 24, 1982, more than a year after the first cases appeared in medical records. Those early years of the crisis were marked by a great deal of confusion over what caused the disease, who it affected and how it spread.
But the naming itself – acquired...