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Peta
Remy / the neat jinx. posted a photo:
October is LGBTQ+ History Month and Pride at Home is celebrating this with a series of images being presented at our Equality Gallery. I’m far from a history buff, but in my research this month I came across an unthinkable amount of beautiful and painful moments in our history. There are so many individuals that stand out in our history, but one that really captured my heart was Peta.
You may not recognize the name, but many of us have seen Peta before without even realizing it. In 1990, as we were in some of the darkest days of the AIDs crisis in America, a journalism student named Therese Frare went to the Pater Noster House, an AIDS hospice in Columbus OH to volunteer. It was there that Frare captured a moment that was seen across the world.
The image shows a dying David Kirby who passed away moments after the photograph was taken. He was 32. This image was subject to great controversy – but David and his family wished to share the images of their final moments in hopes that it would show the humanity and destruction caused by this highly politicized epidemic that was killing so many in our community.
What most don’t notice in the photo of David and his family are the pair of hands attached to someone out of frame. These hands hold onto David’s as his father cradles his head and comforts him. These hands belonged to Pater Noster House volunteer, friend of Therese Frare and David’s caregiver – the then HIV positive Peta.
Peta was a two-spirit person, who Frare described as “…A person who rode the line between genders and one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.” In the time after David’s passing, Frare spent two years capturing Peta’s life. Many of the photographs she captured show them in the well-known Pine Ridge Indian Reservation while their health declined.
I have chosen to recreate one of the images from this time. While I wouldn’t say I did Peta’s beautiful likeness enough justice, I hope I captured the spirit of the original. You can view the original here.
By 1992, Peta returned to Pater Noster House. David Kirby’s family was there as well – this time to care for and say their goodbyes to Peta. The familial bond the Kirby’s developed with their son’s caregiver made them decide that when the time came for Peta – they would not face the end alone.
There are a million details we will never know about this story or about Peta. Peta died in 1992 of complications associated with AIDS. AIDS still kills almost one million people worldwide every year.
So much of our history has been buried. It hurts to think what we have missed, but I find comfort in the fact that someone like Peta existed and that through the work of Therese Frare, we were able to see what a bright light they were to our community and to the world.
If you would like to contribute a photo to the LGBTQ+ History Month Photo Challenge for a chance to display your work at Equality Gallery, you can find out more here.
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