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Telling Scotland about AIDS

From the first reports of AIDS in Scotland, individual activists and organisations have sought to educate and protect their local communities. Historian Colin Moore shows how their campaigns evolved from simple pamphlets to fun and innovative messages incorporating sex, comics, football, and even a bright pink bus.

Words by Colin Moore

  • In pictures
Postcard in black, white and red showing various scottish symbols with red ribbons, the symbol of aids awareness, picked out on them. There is a sporran, a loch ness monster, a map image of Picardy Place roundabout, and a Scottish terrier with a red collar.
Symbol of AIDS awareness : wear a red ribbon to show your commitment. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Lothian Health Board.
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Scotland has set its own course for healthcare, even before devolution. This is clear from the Scottish response to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Though also covered by the UK government’s well-remembered ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ campaign (1986), the Scottish experience of HIV/AIDS was powerfully shaped by smaller, local initiatives.

Colour photograph of the site of the Fire Island nightclub in Edinburgh. It is a stone building with a prominent round central window on the first floor. Below are now a Waterstones store and a Vans store.
Former site of Fire Island nightclub in Edinburgh, Sara Thomas.
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In Edinburgh, Derek Ogg, a lawyer, and Sandy McMillan, a doctor, were among the first to respond to the snowballing AIDS crisis in Scotland. Ogg later recalled a night out in Edinburgh’s most notorious gay club, Fire Island (premises pictured above), when he realised “this is all going to change and they can’t see this coming”. A short time later, Ogg and McMillan returned to Fire Island – on a busy Friday or Saturday night – to deliver their first lecture on AIDS. They went on to give talks at queer venues all around Scotland – a simple but effective form of communication.

Black and white typed page titled "AIDS and Blood Transfusion", signed Dr A. Smith and dated May, 1983. Headings include "Has AIDS occured in the UK?" and "Whose blood could be a risk?"
AIDS and Blood Transfusion, Dr A. Smith. © The Penrose Inquiry.
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There were no official attempts to intervene in the AIDS crisis in Scotland until the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) produced a pamphlet in 1983 about who should and who should not donate blood. Not only was the pamphlet uninformative, but it was also laced with homophobic and biphobic language. It conflated the supposed risk of all homosexual and bisexual men with that of heterosexual women “who continually have multiple sexual partners”. The Scottish Human Rights Organisation (SHRG), of which Ogg was a member, criticised SNBTS for amplifying the dangerous stereotype that all gay and bisexual men were promiscuous and perpetuating the myth of AIDS as a “gay disease”.

Numerous figures form the word 'SAM'. They carry banners with text such as "welfare rights", "services to the gay community", "services for drug users", "safer sex roadshow" and "bereavement support". The large title text underneath reads "Services for all because AIDS affects us all.
Numerous figures form the word 'SAM'; advertisement for services, J. P. Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Scottish Aids Monitor.
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Ogg, McMillan, SHRG colleagues and the SNBTS collaborated to create an AIDS monitoring group, later known as the Scottish AIDS Monitor (SAM). SAM was devoted to communicating accurate, up-to-date information. To achieve this, it cultivated a close working relationship with Scottish medical organisations and physicians. As an Edinburgh blood-transfusion consultant put it, SAM was “desperately needed to combat the rumour and misinformation being spread”. Initially SAM continued as Ogg and McMillan had done – spreading prevention information through in-person speeches.

Colour photograph of one folded sheet pamphlet with the red title A.I.D.S The Latest Facts. There is a lot of black text and red subheads including "is it safe to have anal intercourse?" and "How do I know if I have AIDS?"
A.I.D.S : the latest facts. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Scottish Aids Monitor.
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SAM began producing information pamphlets in 1984 to reach a larger audience. The first of these, ‘AIDS – The Facts’, communicated what little knowledge experts could agree on at the time. As significant critics of the SNBTS pamphlet, SAM needed to ensure that their material was beyond reproach. It was soon followed by ‘AIDS – The Latest Facts’ (1985), which included updated information. Both pamphlets conveyed information in a formal, plain and unengaging manner, much like the ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ and the Scottish Health Education Group (SHEG) pamphlets that would circulate in the following years.

Photograph of the inside of a pamphlet folded in three. The title is "Staying Safe... For Life". In the middle section, there is an image of two women chatting at an outside table, with the caption "Of course, safe sex is a good policy to adopt... in your case, simply removing the revolving door to your bedroom would be a big help." There is information in the pamphlet about the Scottish Aids Monitor and various sexual practices such as fisting, rimming, bondage and toys.
Staying Safe... For Life (c. 1985-87). Source: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Archives, GB0908/8/6.
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SAM’s communication strategy evolved significantly as the decade wore on. The group pivoted from producing dry, informational pamphlets to material that sought to engage readers through humour and titillation. For instance, the ‘Staying Safe… For Life’ pamphlet was risqué, humorous, and featured cartoons that added levity to a difficult topic. Striking a more sex-positive note, it provided realistic guidance for specific sexual practices and alternatives.

Black and white lithograph featuring a seated bare-chested man wearing a belted kilt. His left elbow rests on his knee, with his hand on his face in a pose reminscent of The Thinker by Rodin. He is smiling and his eyebrows are raised provocatively. The text under the image asks "What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt?" and provides telephone numbers for AIDS organisations and the Scottish Aids Monitor logo.
What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt?. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Scottish Aids Monitor.
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The success of ‘Staying Safe… For Life’ emboldened SAM to double down on sexual content and imagery. From 1987 onwards, the organisation took out a series of risqué advertisements in Gay Scotland, a bimonthly magazine with several thousand readers. The nude and semi-nude visuals were intended to draw in the reader and encouraged them to have safe sex and to consult guides on safe sex.

Colour photograph of the inside of a booklet called "Get ready for Action: a gay man's guide to safer sex". The pages photographed show Action Man toys, one with a blindfold and rope around wrists, to represent bondage, and another in snorkeling gear, to represent sexual watersports.
Safe sex guide : to you from SAM. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Scottish AIDS Monitor.
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Throughout SAM’s lifespan, they continued to produce provocative media that drew in the reader in with creative imagery. However, their stylistic choices evolved over time, challenging the concept of what an HIV/AIDS pamphlet could be. This can be seen above, where SAM have used an Action Man figurine to communicate safe-sex advice for those who enjoyed various fetishes.

Poster with a large greyscale image of a syringe at the top and orange capitalised text saying "Don't touch needles or syringes". The black text below gives advice on what to do immediately and then as soon as possible. The City of Edinburgh District Council logo is at the bottom centre.
Don't Touch Needles or Syringes, AIDS / City of Edinburgh District Council, Environmental Health Department. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Edinburgh (Scotland). District Council. Environmental Health Department.
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The availability of cheap heroin in Edinburgh and other popular intravenous (IV) drugs elsewhere in Scotland resulted in an increasing number of heterosexual Scots testing positive for HIV and new awareness campaigns to highlight the risks of passing on AIDS via needles.

Black and white cartoon image with a red title "Sam & Julie". A woman sitting beside a pool asks "Do you know what AIDS is, Julie?". A woman in a swimming hat standing up in the pool replies "Yeah! It's a disease which can kill. It's caused by a virus." The man sitting at the pool asks "Can I catch it here?" and a man whose head is just visible floating in the water replies "Don't be daft! Do you think we'd be here if you could?"
Sam & Julie. Source: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Archives, GB0908/8/6.
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As cases continued to skyrocket, Edinburgh became known as the ‘AIDS Capital of Europe’. To educate this new audience, SAM developed new materials aimed at heterosexuals. Engaging comic strips, such as ‘Sam & Julie’, tackled myths that HIV could be transmitted by swimming in a public pool or eating at a restaurant.

Colour image of the front cover if the Lothian Health Board annual report for 1988-89, featuring a pink bus that says "Take care" in large letters and AIDS concerns us all" in smaller letters at the base of the bus.
'Take Care' Bus. Source: Lothian Health Services Archive.
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Meanwhile, the Lothian Regional Council teamed up with the Lothian Health Board to develop the ‘Take Care’ campaign. Together they produced an array of health-education materials, such as pamphlets and teaching packs for schools. They even created a bright pink city bus that drove around Edinburgh several years.

Colour photograph of a 1990s Lothian Football team with a circular graphic logo at the bottom centre of the image that says "Take Care" in the team colours of maroon and white.
AIDS: the facts ... : What does Taking Care mean for you? / Lothian Health Board.. Source: Wellcome Collection. © Lothian Health Board.
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The ‘Take Care’ campaign also partnered with rival football teams, Hibernian Football Club and Heart of Midlothian Football Club, to specifically encourage men to “take care” of themselves. Postcards invited football fans to learn about HIV/AIDS. From kilts and comics to city buses and football, the Scottish experience of the AIDS crisis was structured in locally specific and media-specific ways. Nightclubs would never be the same, but neither could the high street or football pitch.

About the author

Colin Moore

(he/him)

Colin Moore is a health history PhD researcher with the University of Strathclyde and University of Edinburgh. He is working on a project called ‘Communicating Prevention’, which examines activism, health education and lived experiences of HIV/AIDS in Scotland during the 1980s and 1990s.