Using symbolic interactionism in analyzing Kia’s initial reaction to being infected, she did not simply worry about the medication and the length of her life, but the shame involved in having HIV/AIDS. What different systems afford this reaction? To understand this, it must first be kept in mind that in symbolic interactionism, statuses and different perceptions are ascribed based on interactions. The case did not mention if Kia had interacted with other HIV/AIDS prior to infection, but it may be inferred that she shared general perceptions about HIV/AIDS.
Unlike other diseases such as cancer or polio, which elicit sympathy, pity and notions of caring from others, HIV/AIDS patients, upon knowledge of their condition by others, first register shock which then turns into perhaps fear and often disgust. Kia was overcome with shame upon hearing her and her daughter’s condition, meaning that other people would not look pleasantly on her condition. Society’s reaction to the disease may be seen in Kia’s account of other peoples’ experiences.
In line 27 it may be seen that knowledge of the disease may cause isolation and rejection, as shown by the school which had to decide whether an HIV/AIDS infected child would be allowed to continue to come to their school. Also, the exclamation of the teacher in line 33 of the case, “move back, move back, he’s dangerous, he’s got AIDS” shows how violent some reactions can be and also how demeaning. Symbolic interactionism would then presume that a negative reaction would be borne from a negative interaction. This negative interaction may be assumed to be the circumstances of how HIV/AIDS is transferred.
Primarily, HIV/AIDS was thought to be transmitted through sexual contact. The aspect of sexual contact was highlighted perhaps due to the vulgar nature of the process, but what was not put into focus is the process of exchanging bodily fluids. Sexual acts involve prolonged exchange of bodily fluids and in some case, copious amounts. This is the process of infection. Perhaps the negative and vulgar connotations ascribed by society to the evidence of sexual acts give precursor to this perception. In which case the answer to the question of “Where does the shame come from?
” emerges. Due to the highlighting of society as to how a person can be infected by HIV/AIDS, specifically through sexual contact, people with the disease are immediately perceived to have negative types of sexual encounters. It was not highlighted that bodily fluids may include blood and saliva, which can be exchanged in ways completely detached from the perceptions of sexual acts. One can acquire HIV/AIDS through blood spatter in the eye, through other innocent and less sexually-underscored means. Other ways of infection would also include the use of needles (DOH 2005).
This way would mean that the virus from one person is one the fluid on the needle and the use of the needle by another person constitutes the infection. Highlighted once again is the use of dangerous drugs, where injectible drugs that are highly addictive are used, and needles are shared among those who are in the drug session. In Liz’s case a new trend in infection is shown, wherein the mother passes the infection to her child. This is the case as well in many infections in Sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS has circulated so much that having the disease has become more of the rule than the exception.
This occurrence shows that HIV/AIDS has a different face with children. If HIV/AIDS comes as a stigma for the parents because of the sexual connotation of infection, for children their helplessness brings about feelings of pity and fear. Disgust usually comes in the form of possible infection, but from the acquisition of the disease itself, the stigma is felt much more by the mother. Also, the status of being a child strips her of defending herself against the same stigma that is felt by her mother. Older people can think of ways to hide and cope with the disease.
For a child, however, coping is difficult and often nonexistent. Even understanding the disease and the implications would be a huge hurdle to overcome, as shown by Liz’s worry over the knowledge of her daughter as to the function of the drugs she takes in lines 23 and 24, “How can I tell Kia what the medication is for? ” Liz is clearly afraid of her own daughter’s reaction to the disease. Perhaps the coping mechanisms of people are more developed and more linked with acceptable methods than those that can be expected from children.