HIV, Constructionism and Biopower

Abstract

In recent years we have seen the emergence of a wide range of critical analyses of political and social practices conducted under the heading of ‘constructionism’. Drawing on Michel Foucault's historical work on sexuality and the formation of the sexed body, a branch of constructionist analysis has taken as its primary task to question the cultural constructions of gender, sex and sexuality as ‘hetero-normative’ bearings. We argue that the sexual critique posed by constructionism, despite its intention to break with the objectifying mechanisms of power over sexuality, may actually re-enforce those workings of power that target the sexual being. Through an analysis of health strategies aimed at homosexuals in the fight against AIDS in Brazil, we illustrate how constructionism has contributed to rendering a fluid and changeable sexual identity amenable to public health interventions both through and beyond the state apparatus.

KEY WORDS:

• Biopower
• Brazil
• constructionism
• Foucault
• HIV
• the repressive hypothesis
• sexuality
• subjectivity