HIV and corporal proximity. Sex, love and silence between gay men

Abstract

We present the results of an ethnographic study, which the main objective was to analyze the ways in which living with HIV is intertwined with norms of social valuation that delineate possibilities of corporal proximity. From a series of visits made to a place of sexual encounters for gay men called “las cabinas”, and resorting to other narratives about what it means to be gay and live with the virus, it is analyzed how the identity is positioned according to knowledge related to love and sex. In conclusion, some of the ways in which affective approaches and distances, as well as other elements that regulate sexual interaction - such as
silence - help to shape the experience of living with HIV.