When HIV Figures in Family Life: Exploring the Relational Reach of Serodiscordance

Newman, Christy E.; Persson, Asha; Ellard, Jeanne

doi:10.1007/s12119-018-9542-2

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Newman et al . (2018) have similarly found that despite medical advances, fear of stigma remains a pertinent issue for those living with HIV, with enduring tensions regarding the public and private dimensions of serodiscordance. Our findings therefore highlight how ‘normal’ operates and is challenged in different domains .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘normality’ of living as a gay serodiscordant couple in Sydney, Australia

Philpot

Persson

Prestage

et al. 2020

Sociology Health & Illness

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Serodiscordant couples are often understood through a discourse of HIV‐risk or researched in terms of the psychological stressors they face. However, due to antiretroviral treatments people living with HIV can achieve undetectable viral loads, which not only make them non‐infectious to partners, but allow them to think of their lives and relationships as safe and viable. These realisations mean that serodiscordant couples often embrace an HIV ‘normalisation’ discourse. In this article, we argue that this discourse of HIV ‘normalisation’ can overlook the more nuanced complexity of issues still faced by couples today, which reveal how their experiences of ‘normal’ are sometimes challenged and are not necessarily ‘normal’. Utilising semi‐structured interviews with 21 gay men in serodiscordant relationships in Sydney, Australia, we draw on the concept of ‘home’ life to explore how men engage with discourses of normalisation to describe and enact their relationships. We argue that although HIV is managed well enough to be insignificant in the context of home life, experiences or anticipation of stigma in public often remind couples that they are yet to be considered ‘normal’ socially.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘normality’ of living as a gay serodiscordant couple in Sydney, Australia

Philpot

Persson

Prestage

et al. 2020

Sociology Health & Illness

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“…The former stereotype (of the rejected queer child) overemphasizes the intersecting conditions which constrain the possibility of family belonging in many contexts, whereas the latter stereotype (of the cherished queer child) tends to obscure these conditions or frame them as a denial of basic rights, rather than as the products of social, cultural, religious, and economic circumstances. We conclude that these consistent and divergent accounts of family belonging both reveal the continued importance of family to the well-being and flourishing to all populations, including LGBTQ+ people (Newman, Persson, & Ellard, 2018), but that they also confirm the deep and complex entanglement between individual and social understandings of what family acceptance comprises and how it should be performed to be experienced as meaningful and knowable.…”

Section: Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Experiences of Family Belonging among Two Generations of Sexually Diverse Australians

et al. 2019

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Objective To extend knowledge about how lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans+, and queer (LGBTQ+) people relate to their families of origin by paying particular attention to their experiences of belonging within this context. Background Although the impact of family rejection on young LGBTQ+ people is well established, circumstances and expressions of family belonging are less well understood. Method Taking a qualitative, social generational approach, we asked two groups of Australians, born in the 1970s (n = 14) and 1990s (n = 18), about their experiences of family relationships when they were growing up sexually and/or gender diverse. Results A subset of participants described feeling accepted by families of origin, although very few were gender diverse. The 1970s cohort described these experiences as culturally exceptional, and the 1990s cohort as a birthright. Examples from both demonstrate how family belonging can remain conditional. Conclusion Experiences of family belonging reveal both the importance of family to the well‐being and flourishing of LGBTQ+ people, and the entanglement between individual and social understandings of what family acceptance comprises. Implications Scholars and support service providers may benefit from recognizing that some sexual minorities experience belonging in their families of origin, but work remains in understanding and challenging the conditions that some families continue to impose.

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“…Qualitative studies have shown that, for heterosexual men living with HIV, having an undetectable viral load is a key consideration in managing conception (Kelly et al 2011) and that serodiscordant heterosexual couples rely on the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs to ensure that HIV is not transmitted to either the sexual partner or the child (Newman et al 2018). Existing research on the meanings of being undetectable among gay men living with HIV (Bourne et al 2016, Grace et al 2015, Race 2015 makes no mention of possible reproductive implications of having an undetectable viral load.…”

Section: Hiv Sexualit Y and Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a quantitative study conducted at a London HIV clinic, Sherr (2010) found that approximately one third of men who have sex with men 'had considered having children' (5). In a more recent qualitative study conducted in Australia, some HIV-positive gay men were co-parenting children conceived in prior heterosexual relationships or through donor conception whereas others considered surrogacy or fostering (Newman et al 2018).…”

Section: Hiv Sexualit Y and Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%