A Pilgrim's Progress: Metaphor in the Rhetoric of Mary Fisher, AIDS Activist

Abstract

This paper examines the first two years of Mary Fisher's career as a public speaker, focusing particularly on a rhetorical shift that occurred early in her career. From referring to people with AIDS as a “family,” Fisher moved to an organizing metaphor of the AIDS experience as a “pilgrimage.” This shift reveals Fisher to be struggling with the same issues that engage more radical AIDS activists: issues of personhood, volition, and victimage.