Patient Zero Was Real Person Not Taylor Swift Toxic BF Song

Taylor Swift co-opts stigmatized AIDS era term to lament here latest toxic relationship in new song, “Patient Zero.” The term “patient zero” has always been a convenient narrative device. Swift utilizes it in a clumsy metaphor about yet another failed relationship. But Randy Shilts, the originator of the term, used it to create a mythical AIDS villain while stigmatizing a real person living with HIV.  That real person was a gay Canadian flight attendant named Gaëtan Dugas. 

It’s unclear just how familiar Swift is with the history of the term “patient zero” but regardless of her intentions or ignorance, the new song provides an opportunity to understand how the myth of patient zero was created and the far-reaching impact of stigma and homophobia.  

Randy Shilts mistakenly created the term “patient zero” for his book, And The Band Played On. The CDC had categorized Gaëtan as Patient “O”, meaning “outside of California” but Shilts read the “O” as a zero and inadvertently created a more ominous sounding, yet fictitious, character to prop up his book.  

Shilts’ lazy writing reinforced and amplified the prevailing notion that gay men were responsible for the spread of HIV. He delivered the perfect perpetrator – the promiscuous gay flight attendant crisscrossing the globe to spread HIV, one hook up at a time. 

Gaëtan Dugas was not the villain. Instead, he served as a convenient distraction from the true villains of the AIDS epidemic.  

President Ronald Reagan was the villain as his administration did next to nothing to respond to the epidemic. He and his administration actively worked against AIDS education efforts and continually demonstrated how little they cared about the lives of gay men. In fact, it would be 7 years before the president even said the word in public.  

Jesse Helms and other elected officials were the villains as they spewed homophobia, hate, and misinformation from the floor of Congress and denied lifesaving resources to our communities.  

Churches and televangelists were the villains who prevented vital sex education information from getting to the public as they told their millions of followers and viewers that AIDS was a punishment for the sin of homosexuality.  

Gaëtan Dugas was a human being trying to make his way in a world that was hostile and violent to gay men and people living with HIV. He deserved respect and compassion but instead was turned into a fictional monster that will forever be associated with the term “patient zero.” Fortunately, science and facts have vindicated Dugas but the damage we done. The phrase became part of our lexicon and so it was only a matter of time before it became a Taylor Swift song 

Taylor Swft songs will come and go, but the legacy of HIV stigma has left a permanent imprint on our culture and politics. That is why we must seize every opportunity to talk about what happened in the beginning of the pandemic, correct the misinformation, remember the lives lost, and the world changing struggle of AIDS activists. The history of the AIDS epidemic is profoundly important because it helps us understand how stigma is created, why it spreads faster than a virus, and how facts and sunlight are the best antidote.