Can Selfies in the Shower Fight HIV Stigma?
If you’re looking for HIV’s answer to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised over US$100 million for the ALS Association, Jack Mackenroth just may have it: the HIV Shower Selfie Challenge. Mackenroth, a famous HIV-positive activist and prior contestant on Project Runway, has partnered with Moovz, a global gay social networking app, to launch the project. Playing to a culture that loves a good selfie, Mackenroth is urging everyone to fight HIV stigma by simply taking a special kind of selfie.
 INSTRUCTIONS: 1) Take a selfie or Vine video of yourself in the shower.**NO EXPLICIT NUDITY** 2) Post your photo now on Moovz and all social media platforms with the caption “Take HIV Shower Selfie Challenge raise $$ for AIDS cure bit.ly/CUREAIDS #weareALLclean” 3) Nominate 3 or more other people to participate! 4) (Optional) DONATE!! Please consider a small donation if you are able. Every penny counts! bit.ly/CUREAIDS 5) On World AIDS Day (or before): Monday, December 1st, please change all your social media profile pix to your shower selfie photo and spread the word!! Jack Mackenroth |
“I was inspired by the use of the word ‘clean,’ especially common in gay culture, to describe oneself as STI/STD free. Indirectly this implies that HIV-positive people are somehow ‘dirty,’” says Mackenroth. “I thought a PG or PG-13 shower selfie or Vine video would be a fun way that everyone could easily show their support for finding a cure on social media by using the hashtag #weareALLclean when they post their photo with the link. They then nominate 3 other people to participate and hopefully donate to the project as well.”
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