Does a Poignant Photo of Gay Men’s Choir Show Devastating Impact of HIV/AIDS? – Snopes.com

In September 2021, a poignant photograph included in a popular Reddit post appeared to illustrate the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the gay community, especially in the 1980s. 

The picture showed a choir of more than 100 members, with seven facing the camera wearing white shirts, and the rest in dark suits, with their backs turned. The caption read:

“The men in white are the surviving members of the original San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir. The rest represent those lost to AIDS.”

That photograph is authentic, and is a heart-breaking illustration of the death and destruction that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has levied upon the gay community over the years, especially in the 1980s. However, although shared widely online in recent years, the picture was actually taken in 1993, almost three decades ago.

Since then, the number of former members of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) who have died from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses has outstripped the number of current performers — an even more poignant reflection of the devastating impact of the epidemic on the choir itself, and the gay community more broadly. As a result, we are issuing a rating of “Outdated,” because the underlying facts behind the symbolism in the photo have changed in a significant way. 

According to the choir’s own website, Stan Hill, then artistic director, devised the idea and symbolism behind the poignant “black and white” photograph back in 1993, and the picture was taken by San Francisco Chronicle photographer Eric Luse. The original photograph can be seen below:

Syndicated via the Associated Press in 1994, the caption under the photograph explained that those singers with their backs turned to the camera represented the “115 members of the SFGMC who have died from AIDS since 1989.”

The choir was founded in 1978. HIV/AIDS-related deaths were widely-reported in the U.S. from the early 1980s, so the total number of SFGMC members who died of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses by 1993 was likely to have been even higher than 115, and from there, it continued to grow. 

In 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, of the photograph:

Those dressed in black, with their backs turned, represent those who had died. Today, all their backs would be turned because the obituary list is now 47 names longer than the chorus roster. For each man singing these days, more than one chorus member has died of AIDS.

At that time, 15 years ago, the Chronicle reported that four of the choir’s founding members continued to sing with the SFGMC. At least one of those men has since died.

In December 2020, the SFGMC posted the 1993 picture to its Facebook profile, adding that:

“The Chorus has lost over 300 members to HIV/AIDS since 1981, and we sing for them each time we take the stage.” 

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