OXYGEN MASKS WOULD STILL KEEP FALLING AUTOMATICALLY

HIV, AIDS, AND DISSIDENT SEXUALITIES IN THE 1980s

Abstract

This manuscript, a bibliographic and documentary study, constitutes an opinion article that analyzes the television series ‘Oxygen Masks Won’t Automatically Fall Off’, which aired on the streaming platform HBO Max, from the perspective of the real events that inspired its creation, related to dissident sexualities and the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. A narrative literature review was chosen as the methodological approach, which enabled us to address themes such as prejudice, the fight for human rights, and public policies focused on infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The analysis confirmed the relevance of the audiovisual work to the debate regarding these themes, highlighting the significant role of art in addressing central issues for society. However, we understood that the miniseries could have contributed more by emphasizing the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS), a fundamental element of the 1988 Constitution, and by remembering the strength of social movements, such as the Homosexual Movement, in achieving civil rights for the LGBTQIAPN+ population, especially the right to health, including the transformations that occurred in access to the national health system, which, before the SUS (Unified Health System), existed only for workers with formal employment contracts; and the free distribution of antiretroviral medications for people living with HIV.