ABSTRACT

It must be recognized that the advent of the HIV infection has given rise to a new situation, namely, the reappearance of explicit normativization as regards sexual behaviour. Whereas, for a relatively brief period, sexuality was simply a private action without normativization, it now belongs markedly to the public sphere. We are witnessing the growth of very detailed and explicit information about HIV and AIDS that includes how it originated, how it is transmitted, who may be infected and what the future holds. Most of all, what we have before us is the elaboration and codification of prescriptive collective norms regarding the private life of each and every individual, both generally (how concerned we should be, how we should behave towards those infected, etc.), and more intimately (how we should behave in our sex lives). This normativization has certain specific features. Its form is a message that is present and visible, especially in the mass communication media.