Autore
Larsen, Bolette Frydendahl

Titolo
From disbelief and disidentification to ownership. Gay men’s responses to AIDS during the early years of AIDS in Denmark (1981-1986)
Periodico
Quaderni storici
Anno: 2024 - Volume: 177 - Fascicolo: 3 - Pagina iniziale: 541 - Pagina finale: 575

This paper explores the emergence of an understanding of AIDS among gay men in Denmark during the early 1980s as well as their initial responses to it in a time of epistemic uncertainties about the disease. It does so by analyzing published and unpublished sources from two gay organizations as well as seven oral history interviews. The paper argues that during the early years of the AIDS epidemic (1981-84), the majority of gay men in Denmark responded with disbelief and disidentification. At that time, only a minority took AIDS seriously as a health threat. The dominant concern was that it led to media hysteria and anti-gay rhetoric. This situation arose from experiences of non-recognition and pathologization in a heteronormative society as well as resistance to the morbidization of homosexual lifestyles portrayed in the media and medical theories regarding the disease. A drastic shift occurred in 1984-85. The introduction of the HIV test in Denmark led gay men to become aware of the widespread prevalence of the virus in their community. This awareness spurred cultural productions related to AIDS and the formation of several AIDS-specific organizations in 1985 and 1986.



SICI: 0301-6307(2024)177:3<541:FDADTO>2.0.ZU;2-G
Testo completo: https://www.rivisteweb.it/download/article/10.1408/118957
Testo completo alternativo: https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1408/118957

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