Just Wear It

Black and white photograph of a condom, slightly unrolled, with yellow text superimposed on top of the photograph.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a condition that develops from an infection of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). AIDS typically creates a disintegration of the immune system that makes the person more susceptible to other infections. HIV/AIDS is primarily spread through unprotected sexual activity or needles contaminated with infected blood. It was first identified in humans in the United States in 1981, when previously healthy young gay men were contracting deadly diseases. As the epidemic spread, its association with gay men and drug use allowed for a damaging stigma that significantly furthered existing homophobia. 

The United States government was—and is, still—critiqued for ignoring the severity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. President Ronald Regan first spoke the name of the disease when he identified it as a top priority in 1985 after continued outcry from activists. Between 1987 and 1998, over 300,000 people died of AIDS in the US. By 1995, one in fifteen gay men had died of AIDS. 

In 1985, researchers at UC San Francisco confirmed what many AIDS care providers and people with AIDS already assumed: that consistent and correct use of condoms could prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. These findings, along with support from the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States, urged public health departments across the US to create and spread social marketing campaigns that encouraged the practice of safe sex by always wearing a condom. The phrase “Just Wear It!” accompanied by an image of a condom was common imagery in this campaign to promote condom use in all sexual encounters, whether between men or between men and women.