Needling HIV

AIDS activists go to great lengths to assure privacy and
confidentiality forthose who are HIV-positive. Now, some AIDS patients
are announcing their status in a very personal and permanent way: a
tattoo.

Such markings range from the ambiguous (the symbol for biohazardous
waste; the word "POZ") to the explicit ("HIV POSITIVE" in inch-high
letters). But each is an attempt to bring AIDS out into the open, says
Dan Brouwer, an instructor of communications at Loyola University, whose
study of such symbols appears in the journal Text and Performance.

He found that some tattoo wearers wanted to bolster awareness of
AIDS and felt that a tattoo would have more impact than the now-familiar
red ribbon. Others intended to do away with the shame and secrecy that
often accompanies an AIDS diagnosis. Still others wanted to challenge the
public's ideas about health and illness, especially at a time when
protease inhibitors and other treatments have made living with AIDS a
reality.

Brouwer's subjects also mentioned more personal reasons for getting
an AIDS tattoo. It makes a preemptive strike against social rejection,
for example, disclosing the wearer's HIV status to potential partners up
front and screening out those who might be scared off by the illness. The
tattoos may also signal a commitment to safe sex practices, since their
wearers have no choice but to inform sexual partners of their
infection.

A.M.P.

PHOTO (COLOR): Brouwer's subjects also mentioned more personal
reasons for getting an AIDS tattoo.