NARRATIVAS AUTOBIOGRÁFICAS DE MULHERES QUE (CON)VIVEM COM O HIV: IDENTIDADES SOCIAIS DE GÊNERO

Abstract

This study understands identity as a symbolic and discursive production process (Silva, T.T. 2014) through social practices and interactions. This research was based on the historical silencing of the identity construction of women, which in terms of relations of power have been marginalized. Thus, the discourses which are expressed are understood as being written in diverse practices. The research objectives were as follows: to understand the life experiences of the women who participated in the research before they were aware that they had contracted HIV; to understand the process of reconstruction of female social identity from their experiences of living with HIV; and to recognize future possibilities and prospects revealed as a social redefinition of gender identity in connection with living with HIV. This research was based on the theoretical framework of social identities of gender and on applied linguistic theory. In terms of gender identity, I referred to Louro (2009), Butler (2003) and Pinto (2009). Borba (2008, 2010) and Norton (2010) were used as theoretical references for issues of identity and gender in the context of HIV. This study was also theoretically based on the language studies and critical discourse analysis of Van Dijk (2008) and Fairclough (2001, 2008), as well as other authors. The methodology was qualitative narrative research, which was characterized as the methodology and research method. The three-dimensional space (Clandinin; Connelly, 2000) guided the instrumentalization and the production of field data, which were the autobiographical narratives of women who are HIV positive. The results of the narratives reveal that before contracting HIV, the social identities of the women in the survey revealed that they had affective bonds with males and they believed that housekeeping and care for others was part of their duty. They feared abandonment and being judged by others. In the narratives, shortly after the notification of their HIV status, they showed that their maternal, conjugal and filial identity tended to be superimposed onto their HIV positive identity. When they were undergoing antiretroviral therapy, instead of being concerned about their bodies and their health, they continued to worry about their children or other members of the family. They regretted not having previously paid more attention to their sexual health or having trusted their sexual partners too much. In the narratives regarding their future prospects, these women pointed out the importance of preventive sexual education for young people and they showed that they were more empowered when seeking other relationships and when searching for knowledge and information related to sexual health. They also stressed the importance of NGOs as a space to assume HIV-positive identity and to discuss that issue. The social identities of gender not only refer women to negative issues but also to a performative appeal of their identities for reconstruction and also to perform their lives in a reflective process about their social relations in affective, economic, social and personal terms. I conclude that the different identities of women intersect with each other and that the processes of construction and reconstruction are a part of their lives. Discussing the issue of HIV entails discussing social relations and social practices between humans. In talking about the other we reveal much about ourselves or the narratives that make up our own identities. To live is to construct and deconstruct ourselves in a continuous process.