I do not share this fear, as homophobia has receded in Western societies, there is a growing acceptance of diversity in sexual preferences. I don’t believe in the activation of homophobia by this guy…
I do not share this fear, as homophobia has receded in Western societies, there is a growing acceptance of diversity in sexual preferences. I do not believe in the activation of homophobia by this type of disease which affects, in fact, in particular men with multiple relationships. Since the 1990s, there has been greater vigilance in our society vis-à-vis certain forms of discrimination. The epidemic occurs in a context where homosexuality has gradually normalized and is less subject to phenomena of stigmatization.
However, wouldn’t there be a risk of going back, a similarity with AIDS in the 1980s?
I don’t think so, first of all this disease does not kill. Granted, the symptoms are disabling for a few weeks, even painful, visually they can have impressive expressions, which has created their telegenic character, but I doubt the general public would be very concerned. There is a form of weariness and demotivation that has set in following the long two-year epidemic that we have gone through, with all the prohibitions, all the constraints, the masks, the tests, the sanitary passes, etc. I’m not sure monkeypox has the capacity to thrill crowds.
What do you observe in the dynamics of this epidemic?
The emerging viruses, are by definition agents that we do not know well, whose modes of contagion we do not control. However, it is these uncertainties that hold the attention of the population. Collective fears are often unrelated to the dangerousness of the disease. For example, we all know the devastating effects of tobacco, one out of two smokers will be a victim and, singularly, people are not worried. On the other hand, HIV, Ebola, Zika, Covid-19, etc., all aroused great interest. The second tendency, always the same, lies in the fact that this aversion to uncertainty encourages us to find ways to channel fears. The stigmatization of certain groups, but also the search for scapegoats, are unfortunately classic forms of social regulation of anxiety, as if misfortune or illness must necessarily be associated with immoral behavior.
Hence the fear of a risk of rejection from the gay community?
Probably the health authorities have kept in mind the stigmatization of homosexuals in the context of the AIDS epidemic, and they fear a return of these phenomena. Let’s remember, the Covid at the beginning caused a rejection of the Asian community, this epidemic reactivated old social tensions. During the confinements, we saw acts of incivility towards Parisians deconfined in the region, not to mention the young people who were the subject of denigrating speeches. Faced with monkeypox, the less lethal nature of the disease has a moderating effect on these stigmatization tendencies.