Border crossings and mestiza consciousness in AIDS art in the US: a content analysis

Abstract

In this thesis, I argue that "the AIDS body" faces a crisis of representation. Mainstream representations of the AIDS body work through discourses of sexism, homophobia, and racism to "other" the AIDS body and create arbitrary "borders." I discuss the inadequacies of many US feminist responses to AIDS: namely, their insistence on an oppositional framework that ultimately limited these responses. I suggest that Chicana feminisms offer a framework for action that might broaden the possibilities of feminist response to the AIDS crisis. This framework includes mestiza consciousness and "border"-crossing. AIDS art is one place where the crisis of representation can be addressed and resolved. I undertake an analysis of AIDS art in the US to show that AIDS art can cross "borders" and cultivate mestiza consciousness in such a way as to resolve the crisis of representation faced by the AIDS body.