A Study On The Stigmatization Of HIV/AIDS In A Rural Wa Community On The Sino-Myanma Border

HIV/AIDS is a worldwide disease. Since the HIV was identified, it draws human being into extreme nervousness and fear for its infectious and incurable. The discrimination and stigma of AIDS hinder the effective prevention of AIDS and the salvation of AIDS patients. HIV/AIDS is one of the diseases that has been discriminated and stigma. HIV/AIDS is no longer a simple biological disease, but a complex social disease influenced by social, economic, and cultural factors.HIV/AIDS stigmatization is an interactive process of stigma "imposer" and "bearer", a discourse construct field. It shaped by specific culture and history, changed as times changed. Stigmatization has different meaning in different social and cultural beliefs, ideas, and values. HIV/AIDS stigma led to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) s'humiliation and inferiority, the masses' social exclusion or condemnation, and other social sanctions. "AIDS" have become a social "label" for the fear of the disease, and severe stigma and discrimination. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) suffered from the double torture of AIDS, one is the physical pain, and the other is psychological trauma, the pressure and pain from the AIDS label. To reduce the HIV/AIDS stigma, we should probe into the social and cultural context which causes the stigma and discrimination, analysis the formation and operation mechanism of stigmatization comprehensively.The author tried on the basis of previous research, towards the ordinary villagers and people living with HIV/AIDS in a border Wa rural community in Yunnan, using ethnographic field research methods and living with villagers together. Based on the relationship of mutual trust, through the methods of participant observation, chat, and deep interviews for get information. Through the methods of linguistic analysis, historical document analysis, media analysis and case studies to think and organize the field information. Combined the stigma theory, social control theory, and condemn theory to analyze the formation mechanism, operation mechanism and impact of HIV/AIDS stigmatization which existed in the Wa rural community. The author explores in this thesis two major issues. First, explore the socio-cultural construction of a dominant HIV/AIDS discourse that breeds stigma and discrimination. Second, I explore the impact of sigma and discrimination upon people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) and the coping strategies. While the first attempt constitutes interview, observation and discursive analysis, the second attempt is a record of daily life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), and the analysis of illness narratives and inner experience. Through the research, on the one hand, to keep their inner experience of disease and discrimination fighting, by recording the voices and behavior of those infected on the other hand, to accumulate the ethnography academic achievements of HIV/AIDS stigmatization research.Through the comprehensive analysis, the author found that the stem of HIV/AIDS stigmatization in Wa rural community not only from the government policies, social security system, work ethics and ways of AIDS-related staff, the combined influences of the communal traditions, belief system, and notions about sex also produced a profound impact on the local HIV/AIDS stigmatization. This series of formation and consequences of stigma and discrimination are all fully reflected on the psychology, concepts, attitudes and behavior of ordinary villagers and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). In the face of strong stigma and discrimination, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) will not only have the psychological response, such as self-contempt, agony and fear, but also have the behaviors response, such as self-isolation, away from society or give up the treatment. But out of self-interest and the overall interest of the family, they will take the resistance strategy of concealment and exposure their infection status. The emotional and behavioral responses and coping strategies of People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) and their families can lead us to deeper understand the social and cultural construction and the negative impact of HIV/AIDS as "ethical label".