Transgender actress and member of the famed Arquette family, Alexis Arquette, passed away on September 11th at the young age of 47. For the past week, there has been a lot of speculation about what caused her death, but it has no been revealed she had a heart attack as a result of a heart infection which stemmed from her long-running battle with HIV.
Apparently, Alex had been battling HIV for 29 years, which is actually crazy! She literally battled HIV for the entire time I’ve been on this planet and contracted it in her teens, which, I assume, was a really terrifying thing to find out in the 1980s, when an HIV diagnosis basically came with a death certificate.
Literally just the other day I was talking about how no one talks about HIV and AIDS anymore. It just isn’t something people are educating themselves about these days. Growing up in the 90s AIDS was a HUGE thing. Even family based tv shows like Blossom did special episodes about condoms and AIDS. There were popular songs that talked about HIV and AIDS (TLC’s ‘Waterfalls’ for instance) and movies like Kids, Playing By Heart, Gia, Philadelphia, and Boys on the Side. Seriously, growing up in the 90s I legitimately assumed that EVERYONE was going to die of AIDS because it’s all anyone ever talked about.
Kids today will never understand the HIV and AIDS anxiety like it existed in the late-80s and 90s because it’s like people aren’t afraid of it anymore. Yes, there are so many amazing drugs that have made HIV and AIDS a disease that can be managed, meaning it’s no longer a guaranteed death sentence, but it’s still out there and it’s still really fucking shitty, and Alexis’ death really reminds us of that.
I would like to honor Alexis Arquette by sharing her beautiful Twitter rant against Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, because she kept things real af and I truly appreciate that:
Also, since popculture and the media aren’t as interested in informing young people about HIV and AIDS like they were in the 80s and 90s, I suggest you head over www.aids.gov to educate yourself. Anyone of any gender, sexuality, race, religion, etc. can get HIV/AIDS, but there are a lot of ways to keep yourself safe and support loved ones who have to deal with this disease. Get yoself informed.