Queering the matrix? Language and identity troubles in HIV/AIDS contexts

  • Tommaso Milani University of the Witwatersrand
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5842/41-0-83
Keywords: Angels in America, healthcare, identity, queer theory, sexuality

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to take a queer approach to language and HIV/AIDS discourse, one which problematizes the notions of sexual identity and group categories, and instead calls for a foregrounding of (sexual) practices and desires. In support of this argument, I will examine two very different examples of patient-doctor interaction. One is a fictional verbal exchange taken from the TV miniseries Angels in America, in which one of the main characters, the lawyer Roy Cohn, is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The other one is a personal experience in a state-financed medical practice in Stockholm, Sweden, where the symptoms of tonsillitis became re-interpreted by the doctor as manifestations of HIV/AIDS infection as soon as I disclosed that I was dating a man.

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Published
2012-12-10
How to Cite
Milani, T. (2012). Queering the matrix? Language and identity troubles in HIV/AIDS contexts. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 41, 59-75. https://doi.org/10.5842/41-0-83
Issue
Vol. 41 (2012): (Super) Diversities & HIV/AIDS: Multilingualism in Multiple Modalities
Section
Articles
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