Constructing a complex of contagion: The perceptions of AIDS among working prostitutes in Costa Rica

This paper explores the perceptions of HIV/AIDS held by a group of women working as prostitutes in San José, Costa Rica. Adopting the theoretical perspective of critical medical anthropology, the analysis of the prostitutesʹ constructions of HIV/AIDS is linked to the political and historical context of power that constitutes a medical cultural hegemony. The way in which the research participants associate threats of HIV/AIDS with violence to create a complex of contagion that both perpetuates and challenges the hegemonic model of disease is discussed. Specifically, biomedicineʹs designation of the prostitute as the “vector” of disease is contrasted with the position that the prostitutes create for themselves. Through a critical analysis of this complex of contagion, oppressive power structures come into sharp focus.