Constructing Gender and Sexuality in HIV/AIDS IEC Materials in Tamil Nadu: a Social Semiotic Approach
Keywords:
Gender, Sexuality, HIV/AIDS, Social Semiotics, IEC materials.Abstract
The epidemic HIV/AIDS has been alarmingly threatening the developing countries like India. To address the issues of control and management of this vexatious infection, nations of the world have developed, created and circulated Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials. Following in the footsteps of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Tamil Nadu has produced many IEC materials. It is in the portrayals of such materials that construction of gender and sexuality takes place in the form of gendered social actors. Many impact studies have been conducted on these materials. But this study concentrates on the less researched area of how the construction of Gender and Sexuality in these IEC materials takes place using Social Semiotic Approach through the Gupta’s Continuum of Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality in HIV/AIDS programmes. Five IEC materials in the form of posters were taken for the analysis. While analysing these materials under Gupta’s continuum consisting of stereotypical, neutral, sensitive, transformative and empowering constructions, the fact as to what type of gendered social actors were made of were also revealed.
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