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Young poet speaks to students on AIDS

River Huston does not like dental dams. She loves her body. And she recently performed a stand-up comedy show as a woman living with AIDS.

Huston, an activist and poet, looked like anyone of the almost 100 students in the U-Club at the Michigan Union last night as she spoke about her busy life and her struggle with AIDS.

Huston found out she was HIV-positive just before finals during her senior year at Hunter College in New York city.

She took a blood test because her new boyfriend suggested it, but she did not expect or consider the possibility of a positive test.

"The woman said `looking at your history you've got a few good years left,'" she said. "I just lost it."

And then Huston got angry. She said in the five years she attended Hunter College, there was not one program on AIDS, not one poster, nothing.

"I have two real passions," she said. "One is to help people living with AIDS and the other is to help you guys."

Body image and appearance plagued Huston for much of her life and she said she said she wants to help women love all of themselves, even their cellulite.

Huston said the first thing she did after the positive test was come to terms with her body and "learn to find beauty in reality."

"I stopped criticizing myself ... and got on with all the wonderful things in this world.

"You all can be sex-goddesses of the world," she said.

Displaying different forms of contraception, Huston talked about having safer, more creative sex.

"I've made it fun and I've integrated it into my life," she said and joked about initiating the use of protection: "I'll get the love glove on honey."

According to Huston, sex has two purposes, procreation and pleasure. She said too often people use sex for other reasons, like to feel better about themselves.

"Our world is so insular, we are so isolated," she said and "sometimes I just need someone to hold my hand."

Before Huston finished speaking, she reminded the audience that someone in the U-Club listening that night was probably HIV-positive and did not know it.

"I've seen it too many times," she said "And they look like you, and you, and you."