The process of political praxis: Efforts of the gay community to transform the social signification of AIDS

Abstract

This study analyzes the processes by which gay people see themselves in relation to the social construction of AIDS discourse, both as individuals and as a collective. By the use of Foucault's concepts of “subjectification” and “bio‐power,” the various self‐defining constructs of People With AIDS (PWAs) are described, and their interaction with the political sphere explicated.

Key concepts:

• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• Bio‐Power
• Foucault
• Gay Community
• People with AIDS
• Political Praxis
• Signification
• Subjectification