Lauren Curtis
English I – 1613
Rexann McKinley

A Story of Many;
Analysis of Mary Fisher’s Speech

On August 19th, 1992 Mary Fischer, a Caucasian married mother and an HIV carrier presented the speech “A Whisper of Aids’’ to the Republican National Convention in Houston Texas. The crowd filled with RESEARCH people as they listened to Fisher present a humble speech with confidence and strength. Fisher’s voice rang through the audience telling her story and the story of many others that were in hiding from the shame of what was known as the virus of gay men and not of the mother who was married and soft spoken. The speaker lured the audience in with her motherly voice. Behind that very same voice was a woman with a strong message not only to tell the attendees of the convention but also the audience that was listening through the waves of media. The American woman made a plea to all political parties and every person in the nation to realize the severity of the HIV epidemic at hand. Fisher was determined to demonstrate that not only was it gay men suffering from this infectious virus, it was small innocent children, young women, and faithful spouses alike. In symbolism of HIV awareness, Fisher wore a red ribbon that illustrated the exact message that she was striving to bring to the nation, that HIV was real and was prevalent not only in the gay community but in communities where no one suspected. The soft spoken woman urged every listening ear to be aware and wake up to the reality that HIV is everywhere. Fisher effectively influenced the audiences view on HIV awareness and how important it is through her speech “A Whisper of AIDS.” In 1992 HIV and AIDS wore an entirely different title. As the Max Pemberton an author for the Telegraph, a British newspaper expressed it was 1987 when Princess Diana received national attention for even shaking an HIV positive patient’s hand. That was only five years prior to Fishers speech (Pemberton). Too many HIV and AIDS was a disease that only homosexual men had to worry about. This view on the subject was especially prominent in a typical republican home that valued traditional family values and what is said to be traditional marriage. In their eyes they did not carry any type of risk for becoming a victim of this horrific disease. Many women in the audience in some way shared similar social backgrounds as the speaker. Fisher wore the face of the typical all American successful woman, she was a mother and a daughter to a distinguished man. To many HIV was surely something that would be addressed by the Democratic Party that were in the midst of addressing issues such as abortion, radical feminism, and gay rights. In this party’s eyes this was not a main topic but when Fisher took the stage it became their issue. When Fisher spoke to the audience at the convention she had a purpose and she immediately let the audience know what it was. Fisher was determined to along with others lift the silence that was being draped over the issue of HIV. With her request Fisher instantly captured the entire audience’s attention. Fisher did not present her purpose to the audience in a dialogue that was unlike their own, she did not yell, and she did not cry. Fisher presented the purpose of her occupying the stage in a way that was so close to the audiences own that