Vulnerable Bodies

Vulnerable Bodies offers an in-depth, personalized portrait of what it means to live with HIV in one of the world’s most economically advantaged societies where the majority of the population has access to healthcare. Through vivid ethnographic storytelling, medical anthropologist and Japan scholar Pamela Runestad introduces cultural constructions of HIV visible in art and policy alongside narratives of HIV-positive people who refuse to be reduced to their diagnosis as they engage with people and institutions that struggle to see past it.

Runestad argues that individual experiences living with HIV both shape and are shaped by culture-driven health strategies crafted by political, medical, and educational institutions in Japan. Although members of the general public view an HIV diagnosis as deadly and subsequently assume that someone who is HIV-positive cannot be healthy or, perhaps more importantly, contribute to society, people living with HIV challenge these narratives with their own stories of resilience and hope.

Drawing on personal narratives, and analysis of public health brochures and posters, art exhibitions, and NGO and government initiatives, this book illuminates HIV/AIDS in Japan while offering an accessible, compelling resource for courses in medical anthropology, public and global health, Asian studies, and related fields.