A loss of moral experience: Understanding HIV-related stigma in the New York city house and ball community

G.R. Galindo

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 2, 293-299

Abstract: Objectives. I incorporated qualitative methods to explore how HIV-related stigma functions in New York City's House and Ball Community (HBC). Methods. From January through March 2009, I conducted 20 in-depth 1-on-1 interviews with a diverse sample of New York City HBC members. Interviews addressed perceptions of HIV-related stigma, the treatment of HIV-positive members in the community, and the potential impact of HIV-related stigma on risk behaviors. Results. HIV-related stigma contributes to a loss of moral experience for HBC members. Moral experience (i.e., threats to what really matters in a community) disrupts established social connections and hinders the attainment of "ball status" (i.e., amassing social recognition) in the local world of these individuals. Conclusions. My recommendations address HIV-related stigma in the New York City HBC from the vantage of moral experience and highlight the need for longitudinal studies of individual house members and for the implementation of stigma-focused interventions in the community that utilize the unique ball status hierarchy and HBC network to influence social norms surrounding the treatment of HIV-positive community members. Copyright © 2012 by the American Public Health Association®.

Keywords: adolescent; adult; article; female; Hispanic; homosexuality; human; Human immunodeficiency virus infection; interview; male; minority group; Negro; psychological aspect; social stigma; United States, Adolescent; Adult; African Continental Ancestry Group; Female; Hispanic Americans; HIV Seropositivity; Homosexuality, Male; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Minority Groups; New York City; Social Stigma; Young Adult (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300916

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.300916_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300916

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().