AIDS phobia

(redirected from AIDS panic)

AIDS phobia

A generic term that encompasses unfounded fears of having contracted AIDS and incorrect beliefs as to how HIV is transmitted, which, in certain susceptible individuals, result in bizarre behaviours meant to avoid contracting AIDS, including cleaning rituals and avoidance of either people with AIDS or those whose work brings them in contact with HIV-positive people.

AIDS phobia

A morbid fear, unsupported by any clear evidence, that one is suffering from AIDS. All the features of HYPOCHONDRIASIS are present but with intense concentration on AIDS. Various normal body functions and minor symptoms and signs are interpreted as proof of the presence of the disease.
References in periodicals archive ?
In the 1980s, AIDS panic spread through the country--both in the halls of medicine and the halls of justice.
Physicians can lead change in H.I.V. laws
But the victories felt small, especially in the shadow of the AIDS panic, which cast gay men as afflicted, not funny.
Stand up and be funny
As in the great AIDS panic, the introduction of the Ebola infection into the American populace has resulted in confusion, speculation, and hysteria.
What W. Africa can teach us about Ebola
appeared in 1987, when the homophobia caused by AIDS panic had reached its height.
Sex and the Shattering Self
As Silversides documents, Michael's initial response to the AIDS panic was rooted in his political formation as a gay liberationist which led him to be extremely critical of both the medical profession, which had previously been very involved in labelling queers as sick, and also of the mainstream media framing of gay men.
Ann Silversides, AIDS Activist, Michael Lynch and the Politics of Community
If they read our story and realized who he was, they might also identify the young lady, possibly starting an AIDS panic and perhaps doing serious damage to her reputation.
Student paper handles alarm without panic
This AIDS panic brings to mind an occurrence best known in the aviation industry: the near miss.
The risk of AIDS infection from casual job contact
With AIDS panic and the "Just say no" (to sex, to drugs, to rebellion) movement spreading so alarmingly, it's an act of political resistance to insist publicly on the right to be gay.
From Dolan to da Vinci
The novel A Home at the End of the World, which was published in 1990 and so reflects the full horrors of the pandemic, is concerned not only with AIDS panic but with homophobia as well.
Closet-dwellers of the mind
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