Core Response #4

Reading the article about Rock Hudson's body reminded me of our discussion of Valentino in the way that he was the object of the gaze, a position usually reserved for women. The thing that struck me most about the article was the treatment Rock Hudson received from the press after he revealed his diagnosis of AIDS. I had read about this before, but in a world in which AIDS has been named and identified as something that anyone can get I struggle with the idea of the media treatment.

When reading about the treatment that Rock Hudson received by the media I was reminded of another star who revealed a diagnosis of HIV and was treated markedly differently than Hudson, Magic Johnson. This makes me wonder if the homophobia of the 1980s is truly the reason Hudson was treated differently, as Johnson got HIV from a heterosexual affair rather than a life of homosexuality. While Hudson was said to give AIDS a face it seems that Johnson is the more enduring face for HIV and AIDS, as I remember a few years ago a special about him twenty years after he revealed his diagnosis.

The other thing that struck me about the article about Hudson was that there was no mention of the panic surrounding Dorris Day after he revealed his status with AIDS. This is what I remember from reading about Hudson in the past, he had kissed Dorris Day when they were together, and people feared that he could have transmitted AIDS to her that way. I wonder if this is because the kiss does not fit with the author's discussion of homophobia and misunderstanding of AIDS that came from the media during this time period or whether Day is simply not as important in the article because she does not fit into the theme of Hudson's body. In my mind the panic over Dorris Day almost outweighs the dismissal of Rock Hudson as a liar; she was authentic so there was truly concern for her while there was nothing but condemnation for Hudson.