???????????

I seriously couldn't think of a better title.

Above is a poster from a German AIDs awareness group, which professes "AIDs is a mass murderer."

Due to sleep deprivation, I've written this post in the form of my thought process:

• What the hell?
• Is that Hitler?
• Oh, it's about AIDs.
• Wait, it's about AIDs?
• Oh, cuz both Hitler and AIDs are mass murderers.
• But...he's not murdering in the poster. He's having sex. And looking at us. Creepily.
• Is this a warning to women?
• Who is that lady?
• Okay, I think I got it. Have sex with Hitler = you get AIDs.
• What?
  

While I'm all about raising awareness about important issues, and educating people on having safe sex, but I'm not sure what shocking / shaming people accomplishes. Oh, there's also a graphic video (you've been warned).

So far, I'm only seeing women having sex with terrible dictators as a metaphor for contracting AIDs, and can't help but see this as more slut-shaming (woman making bad choices, and is apparently into the sex with that evil evil man--dirty slut!). And what does this say to those people with HIV and AIDs?

I certainly get why it would be problematic to show posters of Hitler and Stalin actually mass murdering people, but why didn't it occur to those behind this campaign that images of women having sex with mass murderers acting as a metaphor for contracting AIDs is also problematic?