Graduation Year
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
Anthropology
Major Professor
Nancy Romero-Daza
Keywords
African American Women, Condom Use, Disclosure, HIV/AIDS, Relationships
Abstract
HIV/AIDS infections disproportionately impact African Americans within the United States. In 2010, black Americans made up 12 percent of the United States population, yet accounted for 44 percent of new HIV/AIDS infections (Kaiser Family Foundation 2013). The majority of black women (85 percent) are infected with the virus through heterosexual contact, meaning it is critical examine their sexual lives in order to gain insight into this infection within this population (CDC 2011b). Through semi-structured interviews at a Tampa, Florida AIDS service organization, this study presents the experiences of sexuality and intimacy among HIV positive black women. Results demonstrate that HIV impacts much more than sexuality in the lives of these women, and that their sexual and romantic satisfaction, disclosure patterns and mechanisms for decreasing further transmission are influenced by emotional connections, feelings of closeness, love, and intimacy, and are often motivated by non-traditional messages about health.
Scholar Commons Citation
Tewell, Mackenzie Rae, ""When You Tell Them, Your Secret is Out There": Experiences of Sexuality and Intimacy Among HIV Positive Black Women" (2013). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/4592
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Public Health Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
