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Richard Berkowitz Papers

Call Number

MSS.421

Dates

1925, 1944-2022, undated, inclusive
; 1982-2015, bulk

Creator

Berkowitz, Richard, 1955-

Extent

22.7 Linear Feet in 12 record cartons, 7 flat boxes, and 1 half manuscript box.
47 film reels
1 videoreels (1/2 inch)
131 audiocassettes
24 videocassettes
2 videodiscs (dvd)
3.02 Gigabytes in 18,824 computer files.
1 websites in 1 archived website.

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Richard Berkowitz (b. 1955) is a gay American author, AIDS activist, and a former sex worker. In 1983, Berkowitz and Michael Callen wrote the first safe sex guide, How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach. Berkowitz continued to write about and advocate for safe sex through the 1980s into the 2000s. The Richard Berkowitz Papers date from 1944 to 2015, with the bulk being between 1982-2015, and document his work as a writer, AIDS activist, and sex worker, as well as his family, his education, his medical history, and Daryl Wein's documentary about Berkowitz's life, Sex Positive. The papers contain correspondence, manuscripts, published material, clippings, programs, photographs, a scrapbook, audiovisual material, and a website.

Biographical Note

Richard Berkowitz (b. 1955) is a gay American author, AIDS activist, and former sex worker. He graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in communications in 1977. While at Rutgers, he wrote for the campus newspaper, The Daily Targum, and organized the first gay rights protest in New Jersey in 1976. After graduation, he attended New York University's (NYU) Graduate School of Film for one year. He moved to the Chelsea neighborhood of New York and worked as a sex worker, specifically as an S&M dominant, between 1978 and 1982.

In the late 1970s, Berkowitz met Dr. Joseph Sonnabend while seeking treatment at the Gay Men's Health Project clinic in New York City. In 1982, Berkowitz was diagnosed with AIDS. In laying out treatment options, Sonnabend shared his multifactorial theory of AIDS, which held that AIDS was caused by repeated exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in particular cytomegalovirus, and semen. This theory was in opposition to the more widely held theory at the time that a single, new infectious agent was the cause of AIDS. Berkowitz felt that gay men needed to know their risk of contracting AIDS and Sonnabend offered to introduce him to another of his patients with AIDS, Michael Callen, who was also interested in spreading this information to the gay community. Together, the three men are credited with creating the concept of safe sex. Berkowitz and Callen formed the support group Gay Men with AIDS and began writing about the multifactorial theory, AIDS, and safe sex. They wrote "We Know Who We Are", a warning to sexually active gay men with AIDS in New York, (published in the New York Native in 1982) and the first safe sex guide, How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach, published in 1983. They began making television appearances; speaking to support groups, legislators, and others; writing about AIDS; and were founding members of the People with AIDS Coalition.

Callen died in 1993 from AIDS-related complications. Sonnabend co-founded the AIDS Medical Foundation in 1983, and continued writing about AIDS issues and serving in private practice until his retirement in 2005. Berkowitz continued to write about AIDS, safe sex, and gay rights issues throughout the 1980s and into the 2000s. He returned to sex work in the late 1980s, promoting himself as a safe sex S&M dominant in Florida and New York. In 2003 he published his autobiography, Stayin' Alive, and in 2008 was the subject of Sex Positive, a documentary written and directed by Daryl Wein.

Arrangement

The Richard Berkowitz Papers are arranged in eight series, three of which have been further arranged into subseries. The series and subseries in the collection are as follows:

Series I. Correspondence, 1973-2016, undated

Subseries I.A. General, 1973-2016, undated

Subseries I.B. Southern REACH (Regional Expansion of Access and Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS)/Gulf Coast HIV/AIDS Evaluations, 2009-2012

Subseries I.C. Michael Callen Projects, 2012-2015

Subseries I.D. Joseph Sonnabend, 2008-2015

Series II. Education, 1974-1980, undated

Subseries II.A. Rutgers University, 1974-1977, undated

Subseries II.B. New York University, 1977-1980, undated

Series III. Family records, 1925, 1944-1994, undated

Series IV. Financial Records, 1982-2012, undated

Series V. Medical Records, 1979-2002, undated

Series VI. Sex Positive, 2007-2015

Series VII. Sex Work, 1978-2002, undated

Series VIII. Work Files, 1976-2015, undated

Subseries VIII.A. Audio Recordings, 1982-2005, undated

Subseries VIII.B. Correspondence, 1984-2015, undated

Subseries VIII.C. Research Files, 1976-2012, undated

Subseries VIII.D. Writings, 1982-2009

Subseries VIII.E. Archived Website, 2016

Scope and Content

The Richard Berkowitz Papers document the life and career of AIDS activist, writer, and safe-sex advocate Richard Berkowitz, particularly his writings on AIDS, safe sex, and gay rights issues; the documentary Sex Positive, about his life and work; his family; his education; his medical history; and his time as a sex worker. The papers date from 1944 to 2015, with the bulk being between 1982-2015. The bulk of the collection contains Berkowitz's work files, including drafts, notes, and published versions of his writings, including "We Know Who We Are", How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach, and Stayin' Alive; audio recordings of and correspondence with Michael Callen, Joseph Sonnabend, and others; video recordings of interviews with Callen, Larry Kramer, and others, and off-air recordings of AIDS-related programs; research files on different aspects of AIDS, safe sex, gay rights issues, and topics of interest to Berkowitz; and his website documenting his career, Safer Sex Positive. Material related to Berkowitz's undergraduate and graduate education includes his student films from Rutgers University and New York University. Material related to Berkowitz's medical history include his blood test results from the mid-1980s to the 2000s. Material related to Sex Positive includes correspondence with Daryl Wein, Sonnabend, and others; correspondence, programs, and other material related to film festivals Berkowitz attended in conjunction with the film; and newspaper and magazine clippings about the film. Material from Berkowitz's time as a sex worker includes correspondence with and photographs of clients; writings and photographs of clients used on his escort website, analorgasm.net; and some lists of clients and services he provided for them. His family records include a scrapbook compiled by his father, Milton Berkowitz, during his tour of duty with the United States Army in World War II; Milton Berkowitz's stag films; family home movies from the 1950s; and photographs of both parents, Berkowitz, his brothers, and their families.

Conditions Governing Access

Donor permission is required for access. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, which was created by Richard Berkowitz, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Richard Berkowitz Papers; MSS 421; box number; folder number; Fales Library & Special Collections, New York University.

For archived website: Identification of item, date; Collection Name; Collection Number; Wayback URL; Fales Library & Special Collections, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact fales.library@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Purchased from Richard Berkowitz in 2014. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 2014.421, 2015.421.001, 2015.421.002, 2015.421.003, 2015.421.004, and 2016.007.

https://richardberkowitz.com/ was selected by curators and captured through the use of Archive-It. Archive-It uses web crawling technology to capture websites at a scheduled time and displays only an archived copy, from the resulting WARC file, of the website. There is no accession number associated with the archived website.

Custodial History

The collection was purchased by New York University (NYU) in November 2014 and the first accretion (2014.421) was transferred in December 2014 from the homes of two friends of Berkowitz's, Patrick Merla and Norma C. Connolly. Accretions 2015.421.001 and 2015.421.002 were transferred from Berkowitz's New York City apartment. Accretions 2015.421.003 and 2015.421.004 consist of seven of Berkowitz's email folders, totaling 4870 email messages. Accretion 2016.007 consists of one folder of Berkowitz's email, totaling 10583 email messages.

Items from this collection were used in the Fales Library's 2015 exhibition "Positive/Negative".

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact nyuspecialcollections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Appraisal

Duplicates of periodicals and programs were deaccessioned, as were newspaper and magazine clippings, receipts, and ephemera not relevant to Berkowitz's interests or work. Floppy disks were deaccessioned after forensic imaging and analysis determined items contained no usable data.

Take Down Policy

Archived websites are made accessible for purposes of education and research. NYU Libraries have given attribution to rights holders when possible; however, due to the nature of archival collections, we are not always able to identify this information.

If you hold the rights to materials in our archived websites that are unattributed, please let us know so that we may maintain accurate information about these materials.

If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found material on this website for which you have not granted permission (or is not covered by a copyright exception under US copyright laws), you may request the removal of the material from our site by submitting a notice, with the elements described below, to the special.collections@nyu.edu.

Please include the following in your notice: Identification of the material that you believe to be infringing and information sufficient to permit us to locate the material; your contact information, such as an address, telephone number, and email address; a statement that you are the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed and that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and made under penalty of perjury; and your physical or electronic signature. Upon receiving a notice that includes the details listed above, we will remove the allegedly infringing material from public view while we assess the issues identified in your notice.

Related Materials

For more information regarding Joseph Sonnabend, see Joseph A. Sonnabend Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. For more information regarding Michael Callen, see the Michael Callen Papers at the LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

Collection processed by

Megan O'Shea

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-10-16 11:43:42 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Paper materials were housed in archival folders and boxes. Audiovisual material with damaged or no housing was housed; all audiovisual material was placed in archival boxes and labeled with unique identifiers. Floppy disks were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. Email was ingested into and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. Berkowitz's website was archived to the Internet Archive using the Archive-It service. Material that belonged together intellectually was brought together physically and duplicate publications were removed. Items of a sexually explicit nature were identified and will be restricted until two years after Berkowitz's death.

Descriptive information about the archived website was updated in 2022.

Revisions to this Guide

September 2018: Item-level records for five films added to Subseries II.A
July 2019: Updated by Kelly Haydon to reflect digitized access copies available for Subseries II.A
November 2022: Edited by Nicole Greenhouse to reflect additional administrative information related to archived website

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012