The young, the rich, and the beautiful: Secrecy, suspicion and discourses of AIDS in the South African lowveld
Stadler, J.James.
African Journal of Aids Research Ajar 2(2): 127-139
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 1608-5906 PMID: 25872108 DOI: 10.2989/16085906.2003.9626567Document Number: 263443
This article provides an account regarding AIDS death cases in a village located at the Bushbuckridge district of the South African lowveld. I argue that while AIDS was publicly hidden and shrouded in secrecy, private gossip created moral scripts about those suspected of having died of AIDS. Details of 47 AIDS death cases revealed that young women and relatively wealthy, and sometimes powerful men, were vulnerable to AIDS. I suggest that AIDS constitutes a moral crisis; peoples' sexual secrets and desires for commodities and sex featured prominently in local AIDS discourses. This article explores the similarity between AIDS and witchcraft as a metaphorical analogy. Both were highly secretive and subjective, and circumstantial evidence identified witches and AIDS victims. AIDS and witchcraft were also concerned with the problem of unnatural and uncontrolled desire. The article explores these themes with regard to the experiences of both men and women. Young 'beautiful women' who used sex to acquire wealth were said to 'buy their own coffins' (die of AIDS), yet relationships with wealthy men ensured household survival. Relatively affluent men were labelled incorrigible 'womanizers' who spread AIDS. Discourses of masculine sexuality focused on men's lack of agency in sexual decision making. The article points to the tendency of ignoring men's vulnerability and its implications on AIDS prevention.