Subject Area
Health care policy; Public health
Description
Early stigmatization of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US as a gay man’s disease left women fighting for visibility in the epidemic for the last forty years. By the late 1980s, women were at the forefront of HIV/AIDS grassroots advocacy yet largely removed from public discourse about susceptibility. Women of color faced a more difficult battle for inclusion because the erasure of their intersectionality muted their experience as individuals with multiple identities, such as black and gay or black and HIV positive. Furthermore, white women fought to emerge from the shadows of the media’s rumors and be recognized as victims of the epidemic rather than bystanders. The insidiousness of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination is how it weaponizes visibility, amplifying some and erasing others. There was a blatant disregard for women, particularly women of color, who were consistently excluded from the HIV conversations. Despite the general understanding of modes of transmission and the existence of effective treatments (for those with accessibility) that can render most living with HIV undetectable, women with HIV still face the stigma of being hypersexual and immoral. Women were considered safe from HIV if they did not engage in sexually unethical behavior. This work will examine women’s marginalized status in the HIV/AIDS epidemic through erasure over time and investigate the hyper-invisibility of women of color due to their intersectional experiences. Furthermore, research will reveal how historical medical mistrust, gendered social norms, and systemic oppression left women disadvantaged in women’s continuous fight for equal treatment.
Publisher
Providence College
Date
Spring 3-25-2023
Start Date
3-25-2023 11:00 AM
Type
Presentation
Format
Text
Language
English
