“I gotta tell you something”: Managing seropositivity in the context of the affective-sexual relationships of young people living with HIV

Abstract

As successful therapy progresses, HIV-infected children are reaching adolescence and having affective sexual experiences. The diagnosis, however, becomes a milestone in the trajectory of the subjects, establishing new webs of relationships and social processes. This work reflects – from a socio-anthropological perspective – on discourses and practices (re) produced and organized by young people infected by HIV through mother-to-baby transmission in the management of their serological condition in the context of affective-sexual relationships. Starting from the construction of narratives through open-ended interviews, we analyze the meanings attributed to living with the disease in everyday life, with emphasis on the importance of bonding in the process of disclosure, the strategies of (non) use of protection and concerns about infecting other people. We also discuss concerns about stigma, reproductive life planning and the place of partners in care management.