(Photo: Courtesy Bravo)

In the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kandi Burruss' mom gets ready for an online dating profile photo shoot and takes the opportunity to talk about the stigmas behind HIV/AIDS among the 50-and-older set and being careful as she re-enters the dating world.
"Oprah had a segment on her program about women over 40, in the 45-year range, that had contracted HIV, and they were saying that women at that particular age were one of the largest groups contracting the disease, especially Black women," Joyce Jones says.
It's a sad statistic that Jones blames on a "don't ask, don't tell" mentality within the community. Ageism and the misconception that older adults are not having as much sex as they did in their youth has led to a lack of outreach and education about risky behaviors, making them more susceptible to infections.
"I really feel like people don't want to know, if they like somebody that well," she says. "The young kids get so involved and so in love, and women my age, some of them are so desperate that they don't want to know."
"Speaking as an older woman and talking with other women, men that age feel like they don't have to use condoms and women feel like they're safe, especially if it's a well-kept man. They just automatically assume the looks make them OK," Jones continues.
She also says that older men are having sex with younger women who sleep with young men who in turn could be sleeping with other partners, putting everyone on the chain at risk.
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