ABSTRACT

AIDS, the transmission of HIV, and the whole issue of safe sex are above all emotionally-arousing topics. The nature and history of the AIDS pandemic, particularly in Western countries, have meant that AIDS has never been considered simply as a serious disease. Rather, its life-threatening nature, the lack of a cure and the consequent importance of prevention, and its association in the West with minority and stigmatized groups have produced a construction of this disease as a moral issue with a focus of social identity. The mass media, whether in public service announcements (PSAs) on prevention or in popular discussion, have contributed to this construction of AIDS and HIV in mainly emotional terms. When one considers this context, it is surprising that there has been so little discussion of the emotional language around this issue.