NCJ Number
126253
Date Published
1991
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The study describes some of the common denominators of the homophobic belief system as it relates to the AIDS problem by examining its tacit assumptions about medical wisdom, individual virtue and responsibility, and deviant sexual practices to see how labels of deviance trigger reactions against those identified as AIDS sufferers or as potential victims of the infection.
Abstract
The essay explores why the AIDS crisis has raised a configuration of social forces that seem resolutely determined to defeat the development of sensible social policies on AIDS. Several obstacles of progress in the AIDS fight include the fact that AIDS is thought of as a homosexual disease, created by promiscuous sexual practices, and that public health agencies and interest groups are reporting misinformation and causing confusion due to their lack of accurate, detailed knowledge about the disease. The statistics show that there is a rising percentage of AIDS attributable to intravenous drug users and heterosexual transmission, yet, the homosexual community's response to the AIDS crisis and changing percentages are both ambivalent and militant. Overall public apprehension about AIDS has intensified, and there is increasing anti-gay discrimination shown by hostile societal reactions to the gay community and to those with AIDS. 1 note, 2 tables, and 24 references.