AIDS and Sexual Fear

American Psycho

This flow traces the period's AIDS panic as it turns sex, desire, and social contact into calculations of contamination and risk.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Disease Catalogue Disease Catalogue from "American Psycho". Disease Catalogue Panic Speech Timothy Price recites diseases that he believes can be transmitted through sex.

Disease Catalogue from "American Psycho". Disease Catalogue Panic Speech Timothy Price recites diseases that he believes can be transmitted through sex.

Disease Catalogue Panic Speech Timothy Price recites diseases that he believes can be transmitted through sex. Ignorant Certainty Medical uncertainty becomes an excuse for prejudice and disgust. Significance AIDS panic reveals fear disguised as knowledge.

Condom Arguments Condom Arguments from "American Psycho". Condom Arguments Sexual Procedure Bateman and Courtney argue about condoms, spermicide, and the possibility of infection.

Condom Arguments from "American Psycho". Condom Arguments Sexual Procedure Bateman and Courtney argue about condoms, spermicide, and the possibility of infection.

Condom Arguments Sexual Procedure Bateman and Courtney argue about condoms, spermicide, and the possibility of infection. Emotional Absence Protection is discussed technically while trust remains absent. Significance The body becomes a site of risk management rather than intimacy.

Stash's Diagnosis Stash's Diagnosis from "American Psycho". Stash's Diagnosis Social Rumor Evelyn mentions that Stash tested positive for the AIDS virus.

Stash's Diagnosis from "American Psycho". Stash's Diagnosis Social Rumor Evelyn mentions that Stash tested positive for the AIDS virus.

Stash's Diagnosis Social Rumor Evelyn mentions that Stash tested positive for the AIDS virus. Casual Response The group responds with embarrassment, gossip, and aesthetic judgment rather than care. Significance Illness is absorbed into the same hierarchy that ranks clothes and restaurants.

Vassar Stereotype Vassar Stereotype from "American Psycho". Vassar Stereotype Sexual Talk The men joke about condoms, gloves, and the supposed safety of privileged women.

Vassar Stereotype from "American Psycho". Vassar Stereotype Sexual Talk The men joke about condoms, gloves, and the supposed safety of privileged women.

Vassar Stereotype Sexual Talk The men joke about condoms, gloves, and the supposed safety of privileged women. False Immunity They treat class and race as protection against disease. Significance AIDS panic reinforces social prejudice instead of producing responsibility.

Unsafe Bodies Unsafe Bodies from "American Psycho". Unsafe Bodies Repeated Exposure Bateman pursues sex while cycling through drugs, strangers, and contradictory precautions.

Unsafe Bodies from "American Psycho". Unsafe Bodies Repeated Exposure Bateman pursues sex while cycling through drugs, strangers, and contradictory precautions.

Unsafe Bodies Repeated Exposure Bateman pursues sex while cycling through drugs, strangers, and contradictory precautions. Risk Normalization Danger becomes another ordinary feature of his routine. Significance The fear of contamination coexists with deliberate disregard for other bodies.

April

late spring

April dinner aftermath

Harry's in April

through late spring