Activist and activated: politics and subjectivies in the HIV+ movement state of Paraná – Brazil

Abstract

From my participation in a meeting of HIV+ activists, it was possible to perceive that the political notion adopted by this movement, in the state of Paraná, had a peculiar trait in relation to the praxis performed by the ones who referred to themselves as “activists”. This trait was constituted from activism and leadership training courses directed to the insertion of People Living with HIV/Aids (PWA) in the fight against the epidemic. Such training courses grounded the emergence of subjectivities connected to the HIV/Aids. Within the range of possibilities of what is defined as “activism”, it is implicit that every HIV+ person must be an “activist” as well. In this process, personal narratives seem to assume a relevant role in the structuration of the “activist” subject and also as a political tool. Thus, based on the biographical reports and life itineraries enunciated in this context, this study observes some specificities of the “activist” politics as well as of the “activist” subject.