Description
Book SynopsisThe American public responded to the first cases of AIDS with fear and panic. This work offers an examination of how the nation attempted, with mixed results, to negotiate the fears and concerns brought on by the epidemic. It traces a slow separation between official advice and that provided by those on the front lines in the battle against AIDS.
Trade Review“A book of life-and-death importance on the politics of safe-sex. I can think of few other books that contribute so significantly to both cultural criticism and, in every sense of the term, public health.”—Constance Penley, author of
The Future of an Illusion and coeditor of
Male Trouble“An urgent and important work. Once again, Patton’s usual brilliance is much in evidence—her irreverent and eclectic roving around different cultural and disciplinary domains, her perceptive readings of specific texts, her ear to various subcultural grounds, her wisdom based on personal history in the queer media and AIDS community movements.”—Thomas Waugh, author of
The Fruit MachineTable of ContentsAcknowledgments 1
1. Around 1989 3
2. Between Innocence and Safety 35
3. The Erotics of Innocence 63
4. "The Only Weapon We Have . . ." 95
5. Visualizing Safe Sex 118
Conclusion: From Visibility to Insurrection: A Manifesto 139
Notes 157
Bibliography 171
Index 177
