Why build the HIVe?

Networked and digital technologies mediate the sexual behaviours and practices of many gay men, other men that have sex with men (MSM) and transgenders. These changes challenge the effectiveness of biomedical HIV and AIDS research, prevention and care. Driven by the normative positivist philosophy of science, these approaches—while paramount to fighting the epidemic—have neglected to rethink their ontological and epistemological assumptions when confronting the cognitive, social, cultural, material and technological drivers of HIV. The HIVe is a dynamic model that stimulates ongoing systems-wide strategic collaboration among HIV research, policy and practice sectors to share effective digital community-based and led HIV prevention and care interventions across gay men, other MSM and transgender communities. ‘Building the HIVe’ fore fronts community-based and led social sciences HIV and AIDS research, prevention and care. The model addresses digitally mediated and driven sexual behaviours to reduce vulnerabilities, construct and exchange social, cultural, economic and symbolic capitals, and challenge stigma and discrimination with the aim of stopping new HIV infections. The HIVe disrupts and queers biomedical approaches by building an accessible and dynamic open source, universal access research community engaged in reflexive performativity to improve the health and human rights of marginalised communities disproportionately at risk of HIV and AIDS.

Rationale for ‘building’ The HIVe

• Social sciences v. medical models exist to educate prevent and treat HIV for and with gay men, other MSM and transgenders and other communities disproportionately at risk of HIV, but
• Unlike social sciences models, medical models tacitly assume individuals are simply ‘bodies’ to be treated with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. This ignores the social, health and human rights issues of HIV, stigma and discrimination that prevent useful, meaningful, and relevant HIV prevention, education and care.

In response, we present The HIVe, a model based on based on sociological, queer and feminist understandings and the notion of reflexive performativity (Bourdieu, 1997; Butler, 1990) which:

• Proposes to ‘turn the tables’ and ‘flip’ medical models by combining social and political theories in HIV prevention, education & care;
• Understands digital technologies can promote high-risk sexual behaviours through easier access to more sexual partners;
• Is a dynamic learning and empowering social justice approach which uses digital technologies to help gay, other MSM, TG and other marginalised communities achieve health and human rights; and
• Is ‘community’ that is not simply something ‘out there’ but an entity we grow together everyday by immersing mind, body and experience through acknowledging pleasure and intimacy to fight HIV.

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© Copyright: Singh & Walsh, 2012