Revelations of women in narratives: reflections about HIV and gender in the field of Language Applied

Abstract

Understanding identity as a process of symbolic and discursive production (SILVA, 2014) through social practices and interactions, this article is part of the master's research (2015) that was justified by the historical silencing of women's identity construction in relationships of power. Thus the objective of this text is to present the life experiences of women, research participants, in a life period prior to living with HIV. The theoretical references on social identities of gender, applied linguistics and HIV are: Borba (2008, 2010) and Norton (2010). The qualitative narrative methodology was guided by the three-dimensional space Clandinin and Connelly (2000) for the analysis of autobiographical narratives of women living or living with HIV. As a result, it was found that the social identities, revealed in the women narratives before being infected with HIV, had an affective bond with the male figure and beliefs that domestic chores and caring for the other were their duties. They were in reconstruction in the process of reflection about their social relations in the affective, economic, social and personal fields. Thus, it was possible to conclude that the fact of being a woman intersects with the process of construction and reconstruction, then as a part of living when talking about HIV, it intertwined with people's social relations and practices, as well as with gender relations. Given the above, this article is composed by the introduction, social gender identities, narrative research, narratives of women who live with HIV and final considerations.