"Black Sexual Politics and the Challenge of HIV/AIDS"

"Understanding how ideas about Black masculinity and Black femininity affect interpersonal relationships is intrinsically important, and it is necessary for addressing HIV/AIDS." -Patricia Hill Collins (Page 290)

Author: Patricia Hill Collins

In this section all of Collins’ ideas converge on the very practical results and reality of the current state of black sexual politics: HIV/AIDS. The issue of AIDS among black people in America and around the world is a important example of why black sexual politics matter.

Before beginning the text I was most interested in reading this chapter and the conclusion because it has the most relevance for the topic at hand, HIV/AIDS among black people. The entry point of black sexual politics is also important because it includes black men in the discussion. I’ve been having trouble doing that in my research. Despite Collins’ thorough investigation of black sexual politics and the new racism, I found this section something of a disappointment.

Collins spends most of the first part of the chapter discussing the idea of honest bodies and the dishonest body politics of black sexuality. While an interesting discussion of the metal, spiritual and physical aspects of sexuality, I did question what it had to do with HIV/AIDS. It seems to come out of nowhere.

That being said, when she does eventually get to a discussion of HIV/AIDS and how black sexual politics play a role in the spread of the disease, Collins does a good job of tying her theories into the practical realities of the disease. She shows how the social conditions of blacks exacerbated by black sexual politics and male and female gender identities allow for the continuing spread of HIV. She states this explicitly when she writes, “The issues raised by the HIV/AIDS epidemic suggest the need for a progressive Black sexual politics is far from an abstract, academic concern,” (296).

And it really is not just about abstraction, despite the detailed discussion of “honest bodies.” While reading this section and the conclusion I noticed a strange dichotomy present itself in the tension between Collins’ practical authority versus her theoretical authority as an academic when it comes to a discussion of HIV. She writes with the same assertiveness I took issue with in previous chapters about AIDS but in some ways lacks the practical qualifications (e.g. medical expertise) to do so. This points to the same tensions that exist in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS, that being the practical need to find a cure compared to the theories and concepts that attempt to account for its spread between people within a given group or society. Collins does not ever discuss that tension and I assume this is because her text focuses more on theory and politics, moreso than the medical dimension of HIV and AIDS.

Another interesting and important point that Collins brings up is the concept of the “black community.” It is a term that has already appeared a few times in my research and one that I have been cautioned to avoid because, to a certain extent, no single black community exists. It is extremely heterogenous and diverse. Different social classes, ethnicities and cultures of blacks have various ways of dealing with sexuality, community and issues like HIV/AIDS.

Collins suggests that one way of moving towards a progressive black sexual politics may be in “…developing inclusionary definitions of Black community,” (296). She goes on to discuss two ways of understanding the term and acknowledges that it would be hard for black people to conceive of themselves as a single a community and why it may not be beneficial. She notes specifically that having one notion of blackness within a single community will privilege some forms of blackness and disadvantage others (e.g. the mammy over the bad black mother in current conceptions of black women).

Before reading Collins' ideas about community, I found myself defending the idea of the black community and my choice to use the term in my work. Mainly because having black skin connotes certain social experiences that no matter your background is often universal. At least in my opinion. But I recognize that doing so doesn’t take into account personal experiences with race that individual black people have. There is some validity to my defence and more thought needs to be put into reconciling the two views, but even Collins agrees that some concept of community among black people is valuable and to some extent necessary. I think as I continue my research I will be able to come to a better way of understanding and using the term.

Collins has given me a lot to consider and to keep in mind as this project develops. Black sexual politics matter and will continue to matter among black people especially when it comes to issues like HIV/AIDS and its affect on black women.