It may be seen that one part of the shame felt by others in being infected is the method of infection. Society highlighted the fact that infection occurs through sexual acts and promiscuity, so assumptions and ascriptions are present in the individual, which turns into feeling of shame. Shame This shame then produces other difficulties for a person with HIV/AIDS. Social positivism discusses cause and effect as explanations for social processes. With the way the shame occurs in the individual, one may be able to predict the way a person would act once knowledge of infection occurs.
One would try her best to hide the information from others and to act as if she was not infected with HIV/AIDS. This could even include abstinence from taking medication (Long; undated). This would be especially apparent in patients who have gone into relationships after the knowledge of infection. The status of HIV/AIDS patient is so socially unacceptable and connoted with so many negative perceptions that the initial relationship may be entirely voided after knowledge of the partner’s infection.
This would of course be aided by the thought of the partner’s imminent infection while in the relationship. Ultimately, a question may be asked to oneself when faced with the knowledge of a partner who is infected with HIV/AIDS, “Am I willing to risk getting infected with this person? ” Even to their partners, HIV/AIDS patients are ashamed to admit their condition. This was also shown in Kia’s case, specifically in lines 35 and 36, where she says “I have met Ozias who wants to marry me and does not know of my true condition.
How can I tell him? ” This shows how socially stigmatizing it is to be infected. Intimate relationships may be completely discounted and forgotten, just to avoid infection. Layers However, to truly understand Kia’s case, one must look past her HIV/AIDS patient status and connect the other roles and statuses which comprise her. Using the statuses mentioned before, being an HIV/AIDS patient affects all other statuses in ways that further make her existence in society difficult. Being a mother, she had infected her child.
Mothers, as typified by society, are required to care for their child. Infecting a child is clearly not part of providing care. Immediately, negative perceptions are connected to her individual role of being a mother. Being a woman as well supplies further negative connotations. People would initially perceive her as promiscuous or engaged in weird sexual acts, explaining her infection. Using feminist theory to show the dominance of men over women and the devaluation that women often experience, she as a woman is being further devalued by having the disease.
Finding a partner in life such as a husband or father for her daughter, Kia, would become nearly impossible. This is discounting the fact that Liz would accept a fellow HIV? AIDS patient as a stepfather and husband. It was not mentioned in the case what her feelings were towards male patients. Another status ascribed to Liz would be her race, which is African. Racial misconceptions often shortchange those with darker skin. Along with race is class, where Liz might be even more devalued because of her association with the lower classes. Consequences
Having thus enumerated the negative perceptions and connotations, what are the consequences of the previously-mentioned phenomenological thoughts? One of the most frequent and largest consequences of infection especially in women is gender-based violence (Chinouya 2003). This would include all types of abuse from social and emotional, to physical and economic. This can be borne from so many aspects of the disease. It is not highlighted in Liz’s case, but it is very apparent that she is afraid of it. Religion as well, is part of the consequences.
As Liz mentioned in the first paragraph, she no longer ‘enjoyed’ religion. Calling religion a ‘comfort’, Liz clearly is determined to face the consequences head on without religion coloring her decisions and perceptions. Religion as a social institution serves as many persons’ inspiration and guide. However, because of the graveness of Liz’ condition (as she perceives), the institution is wiped away from those that she recognizes. Also, the option of returning to her home was not entertained in Liz’s mind, her immediate perception would be that her family would ‘shun’ her because of her condition.
She is already able to predict that her relationship with her own family would be voided on account of her disease. Pariah Examining the case, it may be seen that almost all the statuses ascribed to these two females are negative in the perception of general society, mostly because of their medical condition. Their lives are governed by their condition and they live every moment in fear of society’s reaction. Sociological understanding then gives way to how society has been shaped by these perceptions and how patients with the disease become forced to hide in shame and in other cases, feel isolated and outcast.
If one were to look at the situation in a positivist manner, the root cause of society’s reaction would be the disease. HIV/AIDS, a disease and affliction that does not outwardly deform a person, creates so much negative perceptions which force people into isolation due to fear, shame and disgust. How negative propaganda and the highlighting of sexual acts disgusts society in general and being less-informed only causes distress and difficulty for those who are infected. Indeed, one may call these people ‘pariahs’ as to the way they try to disguise and hide their condition.
Once their condition is surfaced, the reactions are so negative that they are forced to leave or go elsewhere. Adding up all the other statuses to a person with HIV/AIDS, it seems that all the perceptions about each of the statuses are turned to the negative side just because of the superseding status of HI/AIDS patient. In the writer’s opinion, after all the examinations and analyses conducted, HIV/AIDS is the most debilitating disease, if not medically, then socially. 2965 words Appendix Postscript
Writing this essay made me realize just how much being an HIV/AIDS patient changes everything about a person’s social functioning. It is very demeaning and shameful to be an HIV/AIDS patient, merely because society wishes to highlight the negative aspects of the disease, especially the acquisition. Virtually pariahs, even relationships are voided. I have no renewed pity or sympathy towards this group of people but I wish that more research and work be done to improve their condition. Especially those women in Africa and the children, who will continue to infect further generations.
Perhaps in the future HIV/AIDS may become the reason for our extinction
Bibliography
Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2007 (Geneva: UNAIDS, December 2007), http://data. unaids. org/pub/EPISlides/2007/2007_epiupdate_en. pdf, (accessed November 20, 2007), p. 1. Aggleton P, Chase E (2001) Stigma, HIV/AIDS and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission: a pilot study in Zambia, India, Ukraine and Burkina Fasso. Panos Anderson J, Doyal L (2004) ‘Women from Africa living with HIV in London: a descriptive study’ AIDS Care 16 (1): 95-105