AIDS and the Body Politic

This book demonstates the extent to which establis hed ideas about the virus, the immune system, the HIV test and the epidemiology of the disease rely upon unexamined, conservative assumptions about sexual identity and sexual difference. Catherine Waldby's informative study draws on feminist theory, cultural studies, the philosophy of science and gay and lesbian studies to problematise the factual scientific discourse about AIDS and interpret it as a political discourse. Waldby argues that much AIDS discourse relies on an implicit and unconscious equation between sexual health and heterosexual masculinity. In this equation between women, bisexual and gay men are the targets of preventative programmes, while heterosexual men tend to remain unaddressed by such programmes.

Catherine Waldby's informative study draws on feminist theory, cultural studies, the philosophy of science and gay and lesbian studies to problematise the factual scientific discourse about AIDS and interpret it as a political discourse. Waldby argues that much AIDS discourse relies on an implicit and unconscious equation between sexual health and heterosexual masculinity. In this equation between women, bisexual and gay men are the targets of preventative programmes, while heterosexual men tend to remain unaddressed by such programmes.