At the height of the US/European AIDS scare in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many public health departments embarked on expensive and aggressive "information" campaigns designed to prevent what was loudly proclaimed everywhere as a pandemic of a sexually transmitted deadly virus.
It was the hay-day of the Padians, and some of you will remember the mass mailing that came with Anthony Fauci's earnest imploration to wear rubbers on all occasions.
Now, at the dawn of the 21st C., the French have their own take on the best way to deliver this urgent message in the form of a poster campaign with rather graphic depictions. You may Click here to view one example.
We do not think it suitable for children (or anybody for that matter), although apparently the French authorities, imbued with a passion only they can understand, thought otherwise.
UPDATE:
Received a few e-mails from folks asking 2 questions.
1. Yes, the photo is authentic. It's history is precisely as Dr. Alagon writes.
2. Yes, the photo is highly evocative --but that's a reflection of the propaganda campaign waged by AIDS experts bunglers. In order to sell drugs, you gotta sell sickness. And, in order to sell sickness, ya gotta gin up fear. The whole sex=death meme was purely a propaganda campaign to sow fear, in order to turn on the gov't research spigot and pharmaceutical profit spigot. Nothing more.
Regarding the source of the disturbing image.
It was indeed originally published as part of a French anti-SIDA campaign.
Here is what I know concerning its origin.
About 4 months ago, an article appeared in La Reforma with this surrealistic depiction of how many men (myself included at times) have felt after an amorous relationship. It was at the top of a story concerning "promising AIDS vaccines" :).
At the bottom of the article, a photo credit for the scorpion woman collage indicated exactly what is printed (in English) on the reproduction appearing at your link.
My colleague, Dr. Roberto Stock, exclaimed when I showed him the newspaper, "es la Demonización del sexo", and scanned it.
Since Dr. Stock is the translator of Dr. Bialy's account of the scientific life and times of Peter Duesberg, even JP Moore could probably deduce how Hank obtained his copy.
Posted by: Alejandro Alagon | September 17, 2006 at 03:02 PM
Nice buns, but that's about the only true thing in this picture as a sexual pandemic has not panned out so well.
Posted by: noreen martin | September 17, 2006 at 04:06 PM
I can imagine an infinitely perverse castrated catholic monk turned publicist making this ad to "educate" the young into the risks of sex. By comparison, the more abstract terrors of sulphur and flames for eternity - or endless unreachability à la Paolo e Francesca - are far less scary.
Posted by: Roberto P. Stock | September 17, 2006 at 06:28 PM