Visual Perceptions of HIV/AIDS a project by
Meade Inglis, Kerry Mallinson, Jesse Mangold, Chandler Moore, Samantha Morales Fall 2017
Table of Contents
I. Project Overview…………..……..…………………………………………………...…. 3 II. Thematic Analysis from Presentation…………………………. 4 - 19 III. Conclusions …………………………………………....…………………………………. 20 IV. All Collected Responses .………………………………………….….…. 21 - 65
Project Overview ❖ Asked participants “What does HIV/AIDS look like to you?” and collected a total 48 responses ➢ Participants were given the opportunity to describe/explain their drawings in a brief interview ❖ Aimed to collect responses from a diverse group of participants ➢ What does the Duke community think about HIV? ❖ Why collect drawings? ➢ Participants can express ideas visually that may be harder to put into words
Biomedical Interpretation
❖ All drawn by STEM majors, representing 6/48 of the drawings ❖ Artists are likely to have been introduced to the virus in a scientific context ❖ More impersonal and objective than other drawings, without including context or consequences
Biomedical Interpretation
Evil Personification of HIV
â?– â?–
HIV personified and characterized with malintent Reminiscent of our reading and discussion about The Book of the Dead by Moele, in which the HIV virus within Khutso gains a moral dimension with explicit goal to infect as many people as possible
Isolation and Stigma
❖ Depiction of isolation, quarantine ❖ Only one person in cohort personally knew someone with HIV. A factor could be that since these people don’t see HIV in their daily lives, they form an image in their heads that the virus is far away--and that those with the virus are isolated
Isolation and Stigma
“I drew a cliff to convey a sense of loneliness, since people who are HIV+ are often ostracized from society. HIV+ people are on the edge, yearning to fit in and debating whether their lives are still worth living.� -Male, 21, Student
Social Support as Key to HIV Management
â?– Stark contrast to images of isolation/loneliness â?– Some recognition of the importance of social support/community for HIV+ individuals
People with HIV are like anyone else
People with HIV are like anyone else
“You can’t tell they have HIV. It doesn’t change them, just like any other disease.” -Female, 18, GH interest
❖ Represents a more positive outlook on HIV ❖ Conception that HIV stigma is minor OR an representation of an attempt to reduce stigma ❖ Normalization: HIV is like any other virus ❖ Connection to normalization in Chiedza’s Song
HIV/AIDS Fatalism and Death
“When I think of HIV, I think of finality and how permanent it is. For many it’s a death sentence.” -Male, 22, Student
HIV/AIDS Fatalism and Death
“I think of HIV as being on the verge of a death sentence but not quite there. I think of it as something that is somewhat preventable—people tend to put themselves in high-risk positions, so that’s why I drew a noose.” -Female, 19, Student
“Dead leaves remind me of the epidemic and how HIV left many people looking thin, fragile, and many died.” -Male, 49
HIV in media and popular culture
“This is Tom Hanks in the movie Philadelphia. He is a lawyer who gets diagnosed with HIV and is heavily discriminated against in the law community.� -
Female, 48
HIV in media and popular culture
“There are certain common risk factors for HIV, but just because you have it doesn’t make it a death sentence. Magic Johnson is the best example of that to me. The technology is there and has come a long way.” -
Male, 24, Student
AIDS in Africa
Patterns by Age of Participants
â?– â?–
Youngest participant (15 years old) drew death, possibly due to lack of exposure to information at school Older participants had a wide range of responses, possibly due to more exposure to the epidemic and disease throughout their lives
Patterns by Major- STEM majors â?–
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Tended to draw more biologically based images with focuses on medicalization of the virus, immunosuppression, and visuals of the virus itself Many also drew needles, and visuals that dealt more with stigma and isolation
Patterns by Major- Non STEM majors â?–
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A wide range of responses depending on the amount of information each participant had about the virus and its history Some visuals were more abstract than those drawn by STEM majors
Conclusions ❖ What we did not see: ➢ We saw images of death more than we saw images of sickness or healing ➢ No mother-to-child transmission depicted ➢ No doctors or medical professionals ❖ Limitations: ➢ Difficulty engaging with HIV+ individuals ➢ Lack of complete anonymity during drawing process ❖ Only one participant had a close relationship with an HIV+ person ➢ How does distance from the virus affect perceptions of HIV? ❖ Art is a valuable tool for assessing perceptions of HIV and identifying areas for improving public opinion
Female, 119, 9, MMechanical echanical Engineering and B&iology Female, Engineering Biology
Female, GlobalHealth Health Female,19, 20,Sociology Biology &&Global
Male, 20, Biology & Chemistry
Male, 24, Engineer “There are certain common risk factors for HIV, but just because you have it doesn’t make it a death sentence. Magic Johnson is the best example of that to me. The technology is there and has come a long way.”
Female, 19, Biology Male, 21, Mechanical Engineering
Male, 21, Neuroscience & French
Male, 19, Biology and Psychology
Male, 21, Biology “When I was working at an HIV clinic in Kenya, no one wanted to come in to get tested.�
Male, 23,Female, Mechanical Engineering 15, theater
Male, 21, Mechanical Engineering
Female, Health and Economics Male,18, 19,Global Chemistry & Global Health
“You can’t tell they have HIV. It doesn’t change them, just like any other disease.”
Female, 23, Engineering
“I drew a person who I know who disclosed to me that she was HIV+.”
Female, 48, Business Administration
“This is Tom Hanks in the movie Philadelphia. He is a lawyer who gets diagnosed with HIV and is heavily discriminated against in the law community.�
Male, 19, Public Policy
Male, 19, Biomedical Engineering
Female,21, 20,Biology Biology&&Global Global Health Health Male,
Male, 70, Global Health Professor
“My first exposure to patients with HIV was in Africa in 1972 before we knew what the disease was. All of these guys were very thin and were said to have Slim Disease.�
Female, 22, ComputerEngineering Science Male, 21, Mechanical
Female, 21, Political Science and Economics
Female, 21, Psychology and Chinese Male, 20, Biology & Chemistry
Male, 21, Sociology
Male, 20, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Female, 20, Biology & Global Health
Male, 20, Electrical and Computer Engineering & Computer Science
Female, 19, Psychology
Female, 55, Lawyer
“My drawing is supposed to represent mostly images of fear, despair, and isolation, but with rays of hope because of drugs that can now treat HIV and the burgeoning acceptance of people with HIV/AIDS as human beings.�
Female, 19, Biology & Global Health
Female, BiologyScience & Global&Health Male, 19, 19, Computer Biology
Male, 20, Neuroscience & Computer Science
Male, 19, Chemistry & Global Health
Male, 20, Neuroscience & Philosophy
Female, 19, English
Male, 21, Mechanical Engineering
“When I think of HIV, I think of finality and how permanent it is. For many it’s a death sentence.”
Female, 19, Biology
“I drew a person surrounded by both support and the virus.�
Female, 20, Biology and Innovation & Entreprenuership
“I think of HIV as being on the verge of a death sentence but not quite there. I think of it as something that is somewhat preventable—people tend to put themselves in high-risk positions, so that’s why I drew a noose.”
Female, 19, Marine Biology
Male, 49, Digital Media Production
“Dead leaves remind me of the epidemic and how HIV left many people looking thin, fragile, and many died.�
Male, 21, Biology
Male, 21,Computer Science
“I drew a cliff to convey a sense of loneliness, since people who are HIV+ are often ostracized from society. HIV+ people are on the edge, yearning to fit in and debating whether their lives are still worth living.�
Male, 22, Electrical and Computer Engineering & Computer Science
Female, 20, Neuroscience
Male, 21, Computer Science
Female, 15, Theater Male, 23, Mechanical Engineering
Female, 22, Biomedical Engineering & Electrical and Computer Engineering
“I wanted to represent the stigma of HIV, so I drew people separated on two sides.�
Female, 19, Environmental Science