Lindsay
Sprague
The
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast,
Northern Ireland
The discipline of anthropology has continuously
highlighted the inconsistent manner by which HIV/AIDS has affected
distinct communities. Moreover, HIV has been inclined to emphasise social
inequality, thereby highlighting the heterogeneity of illness experience.
In studies of gender and HIV, it has been noted that historically women
were ignored in clinical accounts and were talked about mainly in relation
to prostitution or childbearing. This paper will take an entirely
different approach and explore how a ‘community’ of Irish women have
been affected by HIV in their everyday lives. An in-depth ethnographic
study was used to explore how several women ‘live out’ their illness
in an environment where men comprise the majority of those living with
HIV. Issues, such as powerlessness, social withdrawal, ostracism, and
inappropriate medical support will be discussed based on narrative
accounts and life histories. In addition, this paper will identify the
mechanisms used by some individuals to cope with not only their illness
but the stigma they have encountered due to their positive status.
Finally, it will demonstrate how being HIV-positive has motivated some
into making constructive life changes and encouraged a renewed sense of
being.
About Lindsay Sprague
I am currently entering my third year as a PhD
student in the Department of History and Anthropology at the Queen’s
University in Belfast Northern Ireland. I am in the process of writing a
narrative-based thesis surrounding people living with HIV and AIDS in
Northern Ireland. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of
Waterloo in Ontario Canada, where I focused on African studies and
HIV/AIDS.
