PMID: 9447635Feb 3, 1998Paper

"Survivors" and "victims": long-term HIV positive individuals and the ethos of self-empowerment

Social Science & Medicine
M L Crossley

Abstract

Recent research on contemporary processes of self-construction has suggested that the concepts of "self", "health", "morality" and "responsibility" have become inextricably interconnected, to the extent that the "pursuit of health has become the pursuit of moral personhood" [R. Crawford (1994) The boundaries of the self and the unhealthy other: reflections on health, culture and AIDS, Social Science & Medicine 38(10), 1347-1365]. What happens then when a person becomes "diseased"? Are they doomed to the stagnant mire of "illness" and "immorality", to the role of undesirable "other"? What if the disease is HIV infection? Is it the case of HIV = AIDS = DEATH = "OTHER" par excellence? This paper addresses these issues by examining the constructions of "self" and "other" used by HIV positive individuals themselves. By reference to a specific group of people living with long-term HIV positive diagnoses, it demonstrates how unhealthy HIV infected "others", as perceived by "healthy" members of society, create their own conceptions of "self" and "other" which microcosmically mirror typical processes of identity construction. The content, function and potential advantages and disadvantages of these processes are highlighted.

References

Apr 1, 1992·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·A R LifsonG W Rutherford
Nov 1, 1990·Psychological Bulletin·A O'Leary
Jul 30, 1994·BMJ : British Medical Journal·G W Rutherford
Mar 1, 1997·Social Science & Medicine·M L Davies
Oct 7, 1986·The Journal of Ambulatory Care Management·A Stergachis

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Citations

Jul 10, 1999·Social Science & Medicine·M L Crossley
May 5, 2000·Social Science & Medicine·J Pierret
Sep 5, 2012·Culture, Health & Sexuality·Georgia Ovenden
Nov 28, 2007·SAHARA J : Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance·K Hlongwana, S Mkhize
Feb 2, 2008·Social Science & Medicine·Mark Finn, Srikant Sarangi
Jun 28, 2006·Clinical Nursing Research·Barbara L PatersonBarbara Moffat
Mar 4, 2006·Health·Martin Holt, Niamh Stephenson

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