This dissertation looks at the ways in which bug chasers establish transgenerational viral kinships through a resignification of HIV. These relationships are both of fatherhood and brotherhood. Excerpts from an online sex story, “Kevin is... more
This dissertation looks at the ways in which bug chasers establish transgenerational viral kinships through a resignification of HIV. These relationships are both of fatherhood and brotherhood. Excerpts from an online sex story, “Kevin is HIV+,” are analysed to illustrate these processes. The relevance of online sex stories is also discussed. First, this project defines bug chasing as a rhetorical practice and provides a characterization of the group. Additionally, it also establishes a dialogue and critique of Dean’s Unlimited Intimacy. Then, bug chasers’ attempts at establishing kinship are framed within the antirelational/ relational debate in queer theory, by examining the work of Bersani, Edelman and Muñoz. Finally, the resignification of HIV as a gift and a chain of history is examined, studying the ways in which HIV serves to transcend time and the unity of the self and create new alliances. All in all, by its reconceptualization of bug chasing as a social enterprise, this dissertation procures new frameworks for understanding bug chasers’ actions and hopes to contribute to the future opening new lines of dialogue between public health providers and bug chasers.
