Culture and the Construction of the ‘AIDS Celebrity’
Rodney H. Jones
Department of English
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon Tong
Hong Kong
enrodney@cityu.edu.hk
Discourse & Society 9 (3):309-338
Abstract
Since the first reported case of HIV infection in Hong Kong in 1985, only two HIV-positive individuals in the territory have voluntarily made public their seropositivity: a British dentist named Mike Sinclair, who disclosed his condition to the media in 1992 and died in 1995, and J. J. Chan, a local Chinese disc-jockey, who came forward in 1995 and died just a few months later. When they made their revelations, both became instant media personalities and were invited by the Hong Kong government to act as spokespeople for AIDS awareness and prevention. Mike Sinclair worked as an education officer for the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation, and J. J. Chan appeared in government television commercials about AIDS.
This paper explores how the public identities of these two figures were constructed in the cultural context of Hong Kong where both Eastern and Western values exist side by side and interact. It argues that the construction of ‘AIDS celebrities’ is a kind of ‘identity project’ negotiated among the players involved: the media, the government, the public, and the PWA himself, each bringing to the construction their own ‘theories’ regarding the self and communication. When the players in the construction hold shared assumptions about the nature of the self and the role of communication in enacting it, harmonious discourses arise, but when cultural models among the players differ, contradictory or ambiguous constructions result.
The effect of culture on the way 'AIDS celebrities' are constructed has implications for the way societies view the issue of AIDS and treat those who have it. It also helps reveal possible sites of difficulty when individuals of different cultures communicate about the issue.
(Key Words: AIDS, Identity, Intercultural Communication, Media Studies)
Introduction
Many cultural scholars in the West have examined ways in which the media and other public discourses have constructed the identities of people with AIDS (see for example Alcorn 1989, Cook and Colby 1992, Crimp 1988, Goldstein 1991, Jones 1997, Lupton 1994, Patton 1989, 1990, and Wellings 1988). In the early days of the epidemic, people with AIDS in the West were primarily portrayed as isolated and anonymous members of ‘risk groups’, represented as faceless images of gay men, arm in arm, walking down urban streets, shadowy ‘criminals’ (drug users and prostitutes) with their faces turned away from the cameras, and boatloads full of Haitians, one face indistinguishable from another (Albert 1986, Treichler 1988). Watney (1988) sees the spectacle of AIDS created in the media as a reenactment the dominant notions of guilt and deviance in society:
The spectacle of AIDS, as well as the public’s attitudes towards the disease, changed drastically in America when the issue ceased being ‘faceless’ after the revelations that movie star, Rock Hudson, and later, basketball player Magic Johnson, were infected with HIV. The emergence of these two famous figures, along with other ‘AIDS personalities’ like Ryan White and Arthur Ashe, helped to put a ‘human’ (and heterosexual) face on AIDS and ‘legitimatized the media's attention to the disease’ (Cook & Colby 1992:105). It also added a new ‘species’ to American public discourse: ‘the AIDS celebrity’, a figure who has had enormous impact not just on people’s ideas about HIV infection but also on the way HIV and AIDS has been constructed by the media. Biddle, Conte and Diamond (1993) use the term ‘medical infotainment’ to describe more recent American media coverage on AIDS which focuses more and more on ‘celebrity victims’ at the expense of information regarding the impact of the epidemic on maginalized communities such as lower income people and people of color. They write:
‘AIDS celebrities’ have also become important players in the cultural narratives of AIDS in other societies, though the extent to which they are willing to step into the spotlight, and the way their revelations are portrayed in the media do not always mirror the American experience. The way public figures with HIV are constructed depends on the ‘cultural models’ (Gee 1990) surrounding not just the disease, but also notions of public identity and deep seated conceptualizations of the self and the role of communication in enacting it (see Jones 1996b).
An example of how cultures manage media constructions of ‘AIDS celebrities’ differently can be seen in an article about the American diver Greg Louganis published in Hong Kong's’s popular Eastweek Magazine. Widely praised in American discourse, despite a brief period of ‘debunking’ (Payne and Mercuri 1993) centering on the issue of his failure to inform the doctor who treated his diving injury during the Olympics of his HIV status, Louganis is portrayed in the Hong Kong publication as <immoral>1 , a <devil>, <shamelessly utilizing his disease for self promotion> (Eastweek, 1/3/95).
The context of Hong Kong, with its colonial history throughout which Chinese and Western cultures have existed side by side and interacted, provides a valuable site in which the effect of cultural models on the construction of the ‘public PWA’ can be examined. So far the territory has had just two such figures. The first was a British dentist named Mike Sinclair, who ‘shocked’ the media in late 1992 when he revealed that he had continued in his practice, even after learning of his seropositivity, and who later went on to become an officer in the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation and a prominent activist for the rights of PWA's in Hong Kong. Sinclair died in 1995. The second was J. J. Chan, a local Chinese disc jockey, who appeared in a series of government AIDS awareness television commercials and died shortly after his revelation.
The purpose of the paper is to compare and contrast the ways the identities of these two figures were constructed in the local media and the extent to which these opposing constructions reveal the different cultural models for the self and communication enacted by the individuals and institutions involved. In it I argue that the public presentation of the ‘AIDS celebrity’ is what Harre (1986) calls an ‘identity project’, negotiated within the boundaries of existing ideologies and power structures within the society and dependent upon the particular ‘theories’ of the self and communication held by the actors, and that the outcome of the project depends largely on the degree to which the actors: the government, the media, the public, and the PWA himself, share, or fail to share, such ‘theories’.
Background
At the time of writing, there were 821 reported cases of HIV infection in Hong Kong, with experts predicting the actual number to be well over 5000. So far, 263 people have been diagnosed with AIDS in the territory. The majority of the reported cases of seropositivity are ethnic Chinese, and the most common route of transmission has been heterosexual sex, exceeding transmission through homosexual sex by more than two to one. Transmission through IV drug use is relatively rare, with only 16 cases being reported so far (Hong Kong Government Department of Health 1997).
Before Sinclair and Chan, images of PWA’s in the territory’s media and government educational materials were either ‘faceless’, horrifying, or both. An early Hong Kong government comic book, for example, portrays the HIV virus as a maniacal, pocked marked monster wearing a trench coat, who, in the following panel reveals himself as a flasher, exposing a phallic red tie with the words: <The real face of AIDS> ( Fig. 1a,b). The construction of actual PWA’s in the media has tended to divide them into two categories, innocent ‘AIDS victims’: hemophiliac children infected by ‘foreign’ blood products, an HIV positive school boy pseuodonymed ‘Ming Tsai’ who was denied entry to school, an infant born with HIV; and dangerous ‘AIDS carriers’: promiscuous homosexuals (especially foreign ones), prostitutes (especially foreign ones), drug addicts and criminals (an HIV positive prisoner who attacked a guard with a syringe). Jones (1995), in an analysis of government AIDS educational materials from 1987 to 1995 found that television commercials about AIDS constructed PWA’s as objects of public censure, deviants whose infection is seen as the result of violating cultural boundaries, especially those erected around the family. People with AIDS are portrayed as ‘Others’, ‘outsiders (wai) rather than ‘insiders’ (nei), cultural outcasts, and a strong family (rather than a strong condom) is offered as the best protection from the threat. Similarly, Chen (1997) in her study of AIDS education in Hong Kong schools, sees government authored materials as ‘pointing the finger of blame’ at particular social groups and giving the ‘general public’ the impression that they are not in danger.
Attitudes about AIDS in Hong Kong are inextricably tied to the territory's
colonial history and the way discourses of deviance and disease are inevitably
inscribed onto relations of power. The story of AIDS in Hong Kong has unfolded
against the backdrop of a not so elegant colonial withdrawal in which the
Governor of Hong Kong was all but ostracized by the Chinese side. Dikotter
(1995) notes that throughout recent Chinese history, both diseases and
unconventional sexual practices have been seen as consequences of colonization
and subsequent invasion of ‘uncontrolled foreign sexuality’. ‘Cultural
representations of syphilis,’ he writes, ‘gave expression to the idea that
China had been colonized by the dual force of foreign capital and fatal
disease’(130). Discourses of deviance and disease in Hong Kong have similarly
portrayed venereal diseases, prostitution (Buruma 1985), homosexuality
(Murphy 1983), and, finally, AIDS (Chen 1997, Jones 1995) as the results
of foreign control or ‘Westernization’: maladie Anglaise.
The revelation that Mike Sinclair, a Westerner, had contracted HIV in many ways conformed to and reinforced the notion that AIDS is a foreign disease, and the discourses used in his construction repeat its attendant stereotypes regarding ‘colonization’, ‘pollution’, and ‘uncontrolled sexuality’. The disclosure of Chan, a local Chinese, however, required that this model be altered to find a role for the ‘indigenous’ PWA within society which was consistent with dominant norms and values.
Methodology
The materials used for analysis consist of a collection of 95 local newspaper and magazine articles from both the English and Chinese press, as well as two documentaries on the two figures aired on Radio Television Hong Kong in both English and Chinese versions. The newspaper articles were collected by canvassing the major daily Chinese and English papers for articles focusing on either Sinclair or Chan from November 1992 (the month of Sinclair’s disclosure) to July 1995 (the month of Chan’s death).
The principles drawn upon to analyze these texts are drawn from the work of social psychologists like Harre (1979, 1984) who see identity as arising from individuals’ repertoire of discursive practices based on dominant ‘theories’ in societies regarding what it means to be a ‘self’ or a ‘person’, and the kind of behavior it entails. For Harre (1979:5), human’s are not simply biological life forms but ‘cluster(s) of material and social parctices’ existing ‘as nodes in a network of relations with others.’ One way to understand how material and symbolic practices are negotiated between individuals and societies, he suggests (1984: 273), is to observe the ‘identity projects’ of the ‘marginal: those who do not share, but might aspire to share, a certain social identity.’
Added to this approach are the observations of anthropologists (Schweder and Bourne 1984), psychologists (Bond and Hwang 1968, Hsu 1985) and anthropological linguists (Carbaugh 1988, Scollon and Scollon 1995) regarding human ‘theories’ of personhood and communication and how they differ among cultures. In particular I adopt Carbaugh’s (1988), approach, combining features of interpretive anthropology and the ethnography of communication, which entails the search for ‘themes’ of personhood and communication in a body of text guided by the following questions:
Finally, a closer examination of the texts was undertaken using tools from Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough 1992) which attempts to understand how particular texts and forms of texts are associated with particular social practices and how they reproduce social identities and relations. Fairclough (1992:64) identifies three aspects of the constructive effects of discourse:
Identity
The concept of identity is difficult to define and may imply different things in different discourse systems and different cultures. Potter and Wetherell (1987) suggest that in analyzing identity we should speak in terms of 'selves' rather than a 'self'.
From this perspective, the public self is not something an individual possesses. It is an ongoing ‘identity project’ negotiated between or among actors through their discourse and based on their cultural presuppositions about the appropriate relationship of the individual and society and the appropriate ways in which ‘selfhood’ is to be communicated. In the case of media personalities, such as politicians, entertainers and ‘AIDS celebrities’, this project involves negotiation among a host of players including the individual, the media, the government and the ‘public’, each bringing its own agenda and expectations to the project. Public personalities are on one hand authors of their own identities through the discourse they choose to create, and animators of identities authored for them by the other players (see Goffman 1981) or, in Edley’s (1993:399) words, ‘Individuals are both the producers and the products of history.’
When ‘theories’ of the self and communication among the parties in this project are at odds, contradictory, ambiguous, or problematic discourses can arise in the presentation of public identity (Harre 1984). Sites of contention between the self presented by the individual and the self portrayed by the media or the government and perceived by the public can reflect not just differences in agenda or ideology, but also deeper differences in the conceptualization of identity itself: what it means to be human, and how to ‘speak’ like one.
According to Harre (1984), different cultures have distinctive norms and values regarding the appropriate ‘ways of being’ in three realms: the corporeal, the personal and the social. Harris (1989) similarly asserts that studies of the person or self must distinguish among three different kinds of conceptualizations of the human being: the bodily self, which she calls the individual, the psychological entity, which she calls the self, and the self conceived as part of the social order, which she calls the person. In this study I adopt the term body to refer to what Harris calls the individual, the ‘somatic self’. Harris goes on to note that different cultures tend to focus on different conceptions of the self. Citing Shweder and Bourne (1984), she writes:
Other social psychologists (like Bond & Hwang 1968) make similar observations, noting that the self in Chinese society is conceived of within a strictly ordered pattern of hierarchical relationships, and its public communication is heavily dependent on the notion of ‘face’ (lian or mian-zi). An individual’s ‘face’ (or reputation) belongs not just to him or her self, but to the wider social group to which he or she belongs. Bond and Hwang write:
Related to differing cultural conceptualizations of the ‘self’ are differing ideas about the role of communication in enacting or performing the self in public. Many social scientists have pointed out differences in patterns of self disclosure across cultures. Chen (1995), for example, notes a difference in the degree to which Americans and Chinese are willing to self-disclose based both on topic and the identity of their interlocutors, and Wheeless, Erickson and Behrens (1986) observe greater amounts of self-disclosure among American subjects, and lower amounts but greater depth of self- disclosure among subjects of non-Western cultural origins. Other scholars, studying groups as diverse as the Teamsters of Chicago (Philipsen 1976) and the Ilongot of the Phillipines (Rosaldo 1984) indicate that ways of using language and patterns of communication are linked to culturally determined ways of symbolizing personhood. According to Carbaugh (1989:142), cultural ‘terms for talk’ as they occur in various systems of communication enact ‘overall types of personhood’ between the poles of more ‘sociocentic’ conceptualizations and more ‘egocentric’ conceptualizations. In his 1988 analysis of American communication in the discourse of Donahue, he found that in America. ‘personhood’ is enacted through three cultural categories of speech, all of which characterize speech as positive and constructive: ‘being honest’, ‘sharing’, and ‘communication’. In contrast, S. Scollon, in her comparison of English and Chinese metaphors for communication, points out that Chinese are more likely to characterize speech using negative metaphors, comparing it, for instance, to bodily excrement, and that communication seen as, at best, an imperfect means of self-expression.
In regard to the construction of the ‘public PWA’ in Hong Kong, and particularly in comparing the construction of Sinclair, a Westerner, and Chan, a local Chinese, the above observations have obvious relevance. Analysis of media coverage of these two figures reveals not just differences in the ways they are characterized, but also differences in the ways they are situated within the identity continuum between body and person, and how public and private ‘face’ are managed. Discourse on Sinclair, the Westerner, presents him as an independent self, an ‘outsider’ unrepentant and often at odds with the society around him. Chan, on the other hand, is presented as a person, whose infection and revelation are actions inseparable from his role in his family and in the larger society, which provides for him the identity of ‘an example for younger generations’, ‘a properly repentant deviant’, ‘a prodigal son’. Furthermore, the ways their patterns of communication are represented also show differences, with Sinclair adopting a discourse of individual rights and dignity similar to that observed by Carbaugh (1988), and Chan adopting a discourse of individual responsibility to the larger group (his family and ‘future generations’).
Some of the variation in the presentations of the two individuals in the media can be attributed to the relative positions of their stories in the history of AIDS in Hong Kong (Chan's disclosure coming after his way had been paved by Sinclair), and the difference in the length of their ‘careers’ (Sinclair living in the public eye for more than two years; Chan dying just a few months after his announcement). These factors, however, cannot account for such major differences in the portrayals of the two figures. A central factor seems to be the existence of different ‘theories’ about the self and communication held by the PWA, the media, and the society within which and for which their stories were constructed.
Two Faces of AIDS
In November 1992 the story of AIDS in Hong Kong took a dramatic turn when a practicing dentist revealed in an anonymous interview with The Peak magazine that he was HIV positive. The news ‘caused widespread fear’ (EE 15/2/95) and ‘stirred public concern ...of being infected.’ (SCMP 13/11/92). It also caused a ‘frenzy’ in the media. The South China Morning Post reported:
A few weeks later, HK Magazine ran a cover portraying the skyline of Hong Kong with the China Bank Building covered with an enormous condom and the headline ‘Is Hong Kong Safe from AIDS?’, and, perhaps coincidentally, less than two months after the story broke, the Chinese government announced random HIV testing for travelers crossing the border from Hong Kong into the Mainland.
In the Chinese press in particular, the story was presented as evidence of a ‘hidden threat’ and couched in the ‘discourse of scandal’. Sing Tao suggested that Hong Kong might have many undetected ‘carriers’ in the health professions, a ‘fact’, they claimed, was being concealed from the public by the Health Department, portrayed as <not wanting to reveal> the problem and <not eager to investigate the occupations of HIV patients>. The paper called for the enactment of strict rules regarding such individuals <based on the cultural background of the Hong Kong situation> (ST 12/11/92). Next Magazine (20/11/95) also called for laws to prohibit HIV health care providers from practicing.
Several days after The Peak magazine article, Sinclair allowed his name and photograph to be published in the Sunday Morning Post (15/11/92) and became an instant media personality, the new embodiment of AIDS in Hong Kong. The Chinese press dubbed him the <AIDS dentist>, a label that persisted throughout his public life and even after his death in 1995.
After Sinclair revealed his identity, the competing discourses of praise and blame began to focus on the PWA himself, with the PWA portrayed simultaneously as a ‘dangerous carrier’ and a ‘courageous educator’. In early news stories, his decision to reveal his condition was overshadowed by the fact that he had not done so earlier, that he
had continued to practice dentistry while concealing his HIV positive status from his patients (HKS 6/11/92, 26/11/92, Next 20/11/92, SCMP 11/11/92, 12/11/92, 13/11/92, 15/11/92, ST 12/11/92, Window 13/11/92). Papers editorialized about his irresponsibility, suggesting, despite contrary evidence from experts, that it was ‘an obligation for any professional to inform his client that he had tested positive’ (SCMP 11/11/92).
This ‘double edged’ portrayal can be seen particularly clearly in a South China Morning Post entitled ‘Hong Kong’s Magic Johnson?’, which, form the outset, undermines the positive associations with America’s most respected ‘AIDS celebrity’ by the subtle addition of a question mark:
Mr. Sinclair is a dentist. This makes his story not only poignant, but also pertinent. It raises questions not only about the behavior of society towards those with or about to become the victims of AIDS, but also about the responsibilities of the victims themselves.
As a dental practitioner, he continued to treat patients who knew nothing of his condition for several months after he was sure of his affliction. It is this which caused both anguish and outrage.
Although we do not doubt that he sincerely took every precaution to ensure their safety, those who placed themselves in his trust are right to feel grieved at being denied the knowledge of his condition. He argues that he would be out of business as soon as he told them. That is not the point, and would be scant comfort to anyone to whom he might have transmitted the disease by accident…
Medical practitioners must be told, in the name of the profession’s good reputation, to do what Mr. Sinclair did not do, and give patients the opportunity to make an informed choice.
Central to this presentation is the notion of ‘trust’, an important concept in public perceptions of AIDS in Hong Kong. Jones (1996a) and Jones and Lau (1997) note that discourse about HIV infection in the territory, both in the media and in everyday talk, portrays ‘trust’ as the most effective defense against AIDS (as in ‘trusting your partner’) and HIV infection itself as a ‘violation of trust’. ‘Trust can be dangerous’ the Hong Kong Standard reported one member of the public as remarking after the Sincalir disclosure. ‘Patients cannot protect themselves. It would be bad luck if one came across an infected practitioner. I hope I choose the right dentist’ (HKS 16/11/92).
Another example of contradictory discourses can be seen in the ambiguous representation of the mechanics of Sinclair’s disclosure, portrayed by the media and by Sinclair himself sometimes as the result of a forthright and courageous decision to step forward (‘I decided to stand up and state who I am and what I am and take the consequences’ (SCMP 29/11/92); ‘I want to give a human face to the situation...to stand up and say we are not monsters’ (Window, 13/11/92), and, at other times, as an instance of ‘outing’ in which Sinclair was ‘forced to go public about his HIV infection’(SMP 6/11/94), ‘catapulted into the spotlight’ (SCMP 2/12/92), ‘having his private hell wrenched open for public scrutiny’ (SMP 26/6/94), the ‘victim of a media witch-hunt’ (EE 15/2/95). ‘Basically, I had no choice,’ Sinclair said in an interview with M Magazine (May '93). ‘I was pushed into a corner. A lot of newspapers knew about me and put extreme pressure on me. The Chinese press were starting to do some real sleazo things to try and expose me.’
Shortly after his revelation, Sinclair was offered a job as education officer in the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation, a government funded AIDS service organization, a role very much seen as an opportunity to ‘redeem himself’ for his previous questionable behavior and a way to ‘turn a potentially tragic situation into something positive for Hong Kong’ (SCMP 5/9/93). It also served to transform Sinclair into an ‘official symbol of AIDS’ much as gay men in America were transformed in the media from ‘faceless threats’ into spokespersons, ‘owners of the problem’ (Cook & Colby 1992:97). His work with the foundation, however, was marred by disagreements with the Chinese staff about the appropriate focus of AIDS education in the territory, leading him to resign from the organization and strike out as an ‘independent activist’.
Although Sinclair succeeded to a large extent in gaining respect and acceptance from the public, the stigma of guilt thematized in early reportage persisted throughout his career as an ‘AIDS celebrity’. He was often presented as a victim of a ‘storm of discrimination’: being denied a visa to Vietnam (HKS, 19/2/93), thrown out of a local health club by an owner who characterized ‘AIDS sufferers’ as ‘endangering people’ (SCMP 9/12/92) and AIDS as ‘a death sentence’ (HKS, 10/12/92). Much attention was given in the press to his ‘promiscuous homosexuality’ (see for example HKS, 28/2/95, MP 11/12/94, A Painful Message, SCMP 15/11/92), and his ‘self-destructive life-style’ (SCMP 2/12/92, Window 13/11/92). In a story published shortly before his death, Next Magazine hinted at both Sinclair’s sexual deviance and his irresponsibility with the headline:
<Dying AIDS dentist doesn't give up having sex>
Sinclair died on the 14th of February, 1995, a little over a month after a ‘historical’ meeting with the Governor’s wife, Lavender Patten, compared in the press to Princess Diana's famous photo opportunity with an AIDS patient in 1988. The press flowed with accolades for the ‘AIDS pioneer’ from friends, doctors and government officials. Behind the praise, however, the subtle stain of guilt remained. Editorialists offered absolutions that could only come from assumptions of guilt: ‘Controversy surrounded him in life, but charity is due in death’ (HKS 15/2/95). The public was reminded that Sinclair was ‘Initially berated by the public and the press’ and that he was ‘not always so outspoken about AIDS’ (HKS, 15/2/95). ‘There was no doubt,’ the South China Morning Post declared, ‘that he had his regrets’ (SCMP, 15/2/95).
Very different patterns of media construction are evident in the shorter career of Chinese ‘AIDS celebrity’ J. J. Chan. Chan, a popular local disc jockey, came out in a press conference on May 20th, 1995 to announce his appearance in a new series of AIDS awareness television commercials. The move was immediately hailed in the press as ‘historical’ and a ‘breakthrough’. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that Chan was an ethnic Chinese whose revelation helped to ‘domesticate’ the issue (Dearing 1992) in the minds of the local people. The Eastern Express even innacuratly described Chan as ‘Hong Kong’s first local Chinese Aids Victim’ (EE 21/5/95). Like Magic Johnson, (Biddle, Conte and Diamond 1993), Chan was portrayed as ‘Everyman’, rather than as an individual with a specific sexual history, and his infection was seen as evidence that ‘anyone can get AIDS’. A quote from The head of the government’s Publicty Working Group on AIDS reveals both the affect that Chan’s disclosure had on bringing the issue ‘close’ to Chinese audiences and the failure of Sinclair’s earlier revelation to elicit the same degree of ‘closeness’:
The mechanics of Chan’s revelation, in contrast to Sinclair’s, were consistently portrayed as thoughtful and deliberate. Whereas Sinclair’s disclosure was presented as an 'admission’ or ‘confession’, Chan's announcement was portrayed with words like <bravely coming forward> (MP 15/4/95), ‘sharing his story to help educate the public’ and ‘talk(ing) openly about his feelings’ (HKS 20/5/95), the purpose of which was not to express his own needs and wants but to contribute to a collective effort to raise awareness about AIDS. In fact, it is precisely these personal needs and wants that he is seen as giving up by coming forward in favor of doing something for the ‘public good’:
"I want to tell everybody that anyone can catch AIDS, and I want to let them know more about this disease. My greatest wish is to leave something to educate people after I die. (EE 21/5/95)
Cultural Conceptions of Personhood and Communication
In order to account for the differences between the ways Mike Sinclair and J. J. Chan were constructed in the Hong Kong media, it is necessary to take into account the different cultural presuppositions about the self and communication held by the players involved and how the constructions were negotiated along the body/person continuum. The portrayal of Sinclair follows a distinctly Western pattern of self-disclosure in which identity is constructed upon the sites of the body and the self, independent of social context, thus resulting in contradictory or ambiguous discourses when it came into conflict with a media and society holding different conceptualizations of the self. Chan's identity, on the other hand, following a more Eastern conceptualization of the self and patterns of self disclosure, is constructed at the site of the person at which his actions and traits are seen in relation to his family, his society and his race, creating a more ‘harmonious’ and positive discourse.
The Body
Harris (1989:600) asserts that on the dimension of the body the most important consideration is ‘whether the entity is considered to be a "normal" member of the kind.’ In this regard, media images of Mike Sinclair and J. J. Chan show a clear difference. Sinclair is very much subjected to the clinical gaze, portrayed as a deteriorating body, isolated and helpless ( Fig. 2), or the focus of examination or interrogation ( Fig. 3) with considerable attention paid in the press to issues like weight and T-cell count (see for example WK 6/1/95, LH 6/1/95).
Sinclair's body is seen as a ‘battlefield’ and he himself as fighting a ‘life-and-death bout’ (HKS 1/10/93), ‘a veteran...battling full blown AIDS’ (SMP, 26/6/94). The disease itself is a foreign invader: ‘I can feel the disease inside me and it's eating me up’ (EE, 30/1/95). In a documentary produced by Radio Television Hong Kong and aired shortly after his death, Sinclair's body is graphically presented in various stages of declining health spanning to his very last days, interspersed with interpretive comments by Chinese doctors, nurses and AIDS officials. Even the widely publicized photo of Sinclair with the Governor's wife serves to reinforce his corporal identity as an isolated suffering body, a symbol of hopelessness and melancholy which reminds one of the iconography of syphilis (Gilman 1988). The tentative clasp of Mrs. Patten's hand serves to heighten rather than erase the sense of ‘Otherness’ ( Fig. 4). The text in the Hong Kong Standard which accompanied the photo of Patten and Sinclair, also contributed to the perception of Sinclair as a passive body, subject to inspection and interpretation by others:
Governor Chris Patten’s wife, Lavender, says she hopes her visit yesterday to the hospital bedside of AIDS patient Mike Sinclair will inspire others to treat people with the disease with compassion and understanding.
Mrs. Patten visited Mr. Sinclair at the Prince of Wales Hospital where he is being treated for AIDS.
The two met privately in Mr Sinclair’s room and then spoke together publicly about the significance of their visit.
"I hope that perhaps by my example I can show that people living with AIDS have a right to a normal life and the compassion of the whole community," she said.
Although Mrs Patten and Mr Sinclair said little about their conversation, the Governor’s wife revealed one insight she had gained from the visit.
She quoted Mr Sinclair as saying: "We should all be more responsible for our own bodies, protecting ourselves against the risk of infecting ourselves."
"That’s something we should all be teaching our children and telling our families," Mrs. Patten said.
Chan, on the other hand, is consitantly presented as healthy, immaculate, and even 'fashionable' (EE, 21/5/95)(Fig. 5, 6). Whether because of the brevity of his career as an ‘AIDS personality’, actions by himself or his family to maintain a low profile, or respect for his privacy by the media, hardly any images of Chan in his final days show him as anything other than ‘normal’. There are no pictures of him in hospital, no identifying marks of disease on his invariably smiling face.
Relatively little attention was given to the clinical aspects of Chan’s demise, the discourse focusing more on his psychological state, whether he ‘felt pain’ (MP 16/7/95, SCMP 15/7/95), or the fact that he died ‘peacefully’ (MP 16/7/95). A TV documentary about Chan, entitled The Story of J. J., segments of which were used in his government AIDS awareness commercial, shows a healthy, lively Chan talking directly to the camera with no mediating interviewer or voice-over, a contrast to the passive presentation of Sinclair as a deteriorating patient in A Painful Message, filtered through the intrusive questions of reporters and the expert eyes of the medical profession.
Furthermore, Sinclair's condition is attributed much more directly to his ‘abnormal’ sexuality and ‘self-destructive’ (Window 13/11/92) behavior. ‘I contracted the virus through...not respecting my own body’ (SCMP 2/12/92); ‘Sinclair confessed he had been a promiscuous homosexual’ (HKS, 28/2/95). His condition is seen as a direct result of going against his body, violating the ‘rules of nature’. In the A Painful Message, descriptions of Sinclair’s ‘promiscuous lifestyle’ are overlaid with photos which emphasize his ‘Otherness’:
1)snapshot of Sinclair shirtless He confessed he was a promiscuous
homosexual...
2)snapshot of Sinclair in tights He said he might have contracted
and singlet AIDS through sex...
3)snapshot of Sinclair dancing But it is also possible that the caught
in a chorus line the virus from one of his patients...
4)snapshot of Sinclair wearing It was a blood test in 1992 that revealed
a leather jacket, frowning and Mike to be an HIV carrier...
looking to the side
5)snapshot of Sinclair wearing He realized that he had led an unhealthy life
sunglasses and sitting on a bed.
The Self
One of the main sources of contention in the construction of Sinclair's public identity is the portrayal, by both himself and the media, of a Western style individual, a self, independent, ‘free’, unique and often at odds with his family (SMP 6/11/94) ) and Hong Kong society (SCMP 15/11/92, SCMP 15/11/92). Media discourse by and about Sinclair attribute to him individualistic traits: a decision ‘to stand up and state who and what I am and take the consequences’ (SCMP 29/11/92), a desire to ‘capitalise on who and what I am’ (EE 21/6/94), a longing for ‘freedom’ (EE 21/6/94, Next 11/1/95, SCMP 12/6/94) a choice to ‘go it alone on the AIDS publicity trail’ (SMP 26/6/94), a belief in ‘finding the healer within yourself’ (M Magazine May '93). The discourse of Sinclair and his advocates is one of individual rights which focus on the responsibility of society to the individual rather than the individual to society: 'Society should grant me the rights of a normal person' (SCMP, 8/3/93); 'Treat me as a human being, I will settle for no less' (SCMP, 17/4/93). This focus on individual rights was translated, in the Chinese context, to a portrayal of Sinclair as ‘shameless’ and ‘unrepentant’: <the dentist does not feel regret about contracting AIDS or being homosexual. He says: [I did what I did, no regrets]> (Next, 11/1/95). By seeking to ‘throw off the shackles of shame’ (SCMP 29/11/92) in a society in which shame is positively valued ( Fung 1994), Sinclair cuts himself off from the very means of public expression which, in Chinese terms, might lead to his redemption.
The press also focuses on Sinclair's unconventionality, his use of non-conventional treatments (M Magazine May '93, A Painful Message, SCMP 10/9/93) and the apparent incongruity of his hobby of stand-up comedy (see 'Making light of a killer' SCMP 26/6/94). Even his explorations of Chinese herbal medicine and Buddhist philosophy (A Painful Message) serve to paint him not so much as one who is attempting to assimilate into Chinese society, but as a rebel from his own culture.
The way Sincalir characterizes his own communication also puts him at odds with the surrounding culture. In terms of education, he regarded communication as an act of ‘confrontation’ a means through which people’s perceptions are ‘challenged’. In an interview with the South China Morning Post he declared, ‘Public opinion will only change if challenged and confronted with information and images that breakdown barriers, alter perceptions and appeal directly to the emotions’ (SCMP 29/11/92)
It was precisely the ‘constraints’ (SCMP 21/6/94) he felt on his ability to ‘speak more openly’ (HKS 21/6/94) that led to his resignation from the AIDS Foundation
His opposition to the Foundation's focus on ‘the family’, a resonant Chinese theme, and subsequent decision to go independent are portrayed at best as an attempt to assert individual freedom by subordinating the collective good, and at worst as an ‘attack’ on the government (EE 21/6/94, EE 2/12/94, SMP 26/6/94). ‘In my opinion they (the government) have failed to achieve anything of significance…It seems they are keeping the issue sweet and nice,’ he commented in the Eastern Express. ‘They shouldn’t be using balloons and streamers. I don’t think it gets the message across. They think AIDS is all fun and carnivals…We are going to have to push the barriers a little bit’ (EE 2/12/94).
Sinclair's apparent lack of clear status in the society, and his violation of Chinese rules of face and concepts of self and communication complicate the construction of his public identity in Hong Kong. Alongside public recognition of his ‘good works’ (HKS 15/2/95), a discourse of blame is maintained, with the press focusing throughout his career on his violation of norms of behavior associated with his status as both a dentist and an AIDS educator. Consequently, the construction of Sinclair in the social context of Hong Kong gives rise to ambiguous and contradictory discourses: the discourse of heroism and honesty competing with the discourse of deviance and deceit. Even the public role Sinclair tries to carve out for himself is seen as suspect:
The Person
‘By "human person",’ writes Harris (1989:602), ‘I mean a human being publicly considered...as agent-in-society.’ While Sinclair is constructed mostly at the site of the self, the identity of Chan, the first Hong Kong Chinese to reveal that he had AIDS, is clearly erected at the site of the person, thus giving rise to a discourse more in harmony with society's conception of the self and communication.
In stories on Sinclair, the press often highlighted the difficulties Chinese PWA’s might face if they followed the dentist’s example, invariably focusing on the impact such action might have on the group: ‘Concern about family reaction is the main reason given for the desire to remain anonymous’ (SCMP, 17/4/93). Sinclair's lack of status within the group is seen as a factor contributing to his ability to present himself for public scrutiny: The South China Morning Post quotes Dr. Patrick Li Chung-ki as saying: ‘In a sense it's different because Mike has lost his job, so he has nothing to fear. He was working for the AIDS Foundation and he didn't have any family in Hong Kong’ (SCMP 27/11/94). The dilemma of the ‘public PWA’ in Chinese culture can be located in the concept of collective face. Not only is it less likely for Chinese people to reveal intimate secrets (such as those having to do with sex) to ‘outsiders’, but an individual’s actions, whether praiseworthy or shameful, directly reflect on the individual's immediate social group, his family, and, in a multicultural context, on the culture as a whole (Bond and Hwang, 1968). Concerning the obligations of the individual to his or her family in Chinese culture, Kleinman (1980) writes:
J.J. Chan answered such demands.
Chan’s own statements and reports of his disclosure in the press focus
strongly on his relationship with his family. He is portrayed as a filial
son, totally responsible for his family’s welfare and dependent on their
acceptance, unwilling to consider suicide, for example, out of concern
that his mother would not be able to take care of herself (EE 21/5/95,
HKS
20/5/95, MP 20/5/95, ST 20/5/95, ST 6/7/95,
WW
20/5/95, The Story of J.J). The ‘story’ of J. J. is a ‘prodigal
son’ tale, in which the hero suffers a period of alienation and isolation
before repenting and returning to the bosom of the family: ‘The pressure
was so great, I thought I was going to die.’ He told reporters. ‘Then I
thought, ‘Nobody can escape death’. ‘Nothing is more important than family
love (SCMP 20/5/95).
The following example from The Hong Kong Standard is typical of reportage on Chan:
A 25-year old local disc-jockey suffering from AIDS is sharing his story to help educate the public about the disease.
J J Chan’s family is proof that AIDS is no hindrance to a happy home life, even after its youngest member got the killer virus four years ago.
"I told my family, thinking that they might throw me out. But on the contrary, my sister and brother encouraged me. They told me I had not committed a crime and it was just a kind of illness."
Mr Chan, the first local Chinese AIDS patient to talk publicly about his feelings, says people with AIDS need family support. He wants people to understand that AIDS is not spread through normal daily encounters.
"Me and my family dine together every day, and they are still fine. On the other hand," he smiles, "they give me colds at times."
An interview with Mr Chan will be shown on television starting on 20 June as one of the highlights of the new AIDS awareness campaign.
Mr Chan, a heterosexual, believes he got the disease through sex. "It starts with a fever and then tiny red spots on the skin."
A blood test showed he was positive with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. "It was like the end of the world. I just didn’t believe that I had the disease. I have thought of suicide, but how can I kill myself when my mother is still living and fighting hard with life at her age?"
Isn’t he worried that his television appearance could cause people to stare at him in the streets?
"No. Just let them stare. I want to educate the next generation. Today’s youngsters are very promiscuous," he says, adding that promoting sex education is not enough.
This year’s AIDS campaign will continue its drive for safe sex while discouraging sexual promiscuity.
At the end of 1995, Hong Kong had about 3,000 people with HIV, including 250 with full-blown AIDS.
By the year 2000, it is estimated that the number of HIV positive people in the territory will be more than 10,000 and will grow by about 300 annually. (HKS 20/5/95)
Through such a focus, the construction of identity is able to preserve both Chan’s own ‘face’ and the ‘face’ of the family. Mao (1994) points out that the conception of ‘face’ in Chinese culture contains two separate but complementary concepts embodied in the two terms lain and mian-zi. Mian-zi refers more to an individual’s standing in the eyes of others, ones superficial ‘prestige’ or feeling of being respected. Thus, mian-zi can be ‘granted’ by others independent of the individual’s actions, as in the phrase ‘to give face’. Lian, on the other hand, has a more moral connotation implying a social judgment of character dependent upon the individual’s actions in relation to the group. Lian cannot be ‘granted’; it must me ‘earned’. Mao writes:
<Although he cannot retract his mistake, he still leaves a good name for posterity;
The first Chinese AIDS sufferer bravely reveals his identity and makes a statement >
(MP 20/5/95)
In contrast, Sincalir, by not showing ‘regret’ for his past actions, and by focusing on his ‘right’ to be treated with ‘diginity’ and ‘respect’ by others, not only loses his minazi, but fails to earn lian.
Another contrast between Chan and Sinclair can be seen in the presentation of their respective relationships with the local AIDS establishment. Chan is portrayed as <the government’s favourite AIDS spokesperson> (MP 20/5/95), with headlines like ‘Courageous disc jockey gives AIDS campaign a friendly spin’ (HKS 20/5/95). Obviously, Chan's ‘family oriented message’ fit in more harmoniously with the government's agenda. His conceptualization of the role of communication in both the enactment of the self and in education is not, as in the case of Sinclair, to express his individual opinion or to ‘challenge’ existing perceptions, but rather to remind people of traditional values held by the society.
Unlike Sinclair, Chan is constructed within a harmonious discourse. He is never portrayed as anything but a hero, and his message is consistent with the prevailing values of the society. Whereas Sinclair is surrounded by controversy, Chan is presented consistently as a exemplary person and an effective educator, his attempts to inform the public about AIDS causing a <great change in people's lives> (MP, 15/4/96). The public's attitude towards him can be summed up in the words of a fan who sees him in a fast food restaurant (reported in MP 14/7/95):
J. J. nei hou ‘Yeah’!
<J. J., you're 'terrific'!>
The contrasting constructions of the identities of Mike Sinclair and J. J. Chan can be summarized as a list of binary oppositions, contrasting identity markers within the three dimensions of body, self, and person (table 1).
Table 1
Mike Sinclair
J. J. Chan
Body
object
subject
physical state
mental state
deteriorating body
immaculate body
homosexual
ambiguous
public memorial service
private funeral
weak
strong
Self
irresponsible
responsible
tragic
inspiring
shameless
repentant
not surprised at test result
shocked at test result
unlucky
lucky
activist
supportive
vulnerable
powerful
nervous
unafraid
promiscuous
formerly promiscuous
critical/outspoken
friendly
independent
cooperative
Person
‘outside’
‘inside’
foreign
local
‘AIDS dentist’
‘Courageous DJ’
AIDS carrier
AIDS patient
spokesperson
star
‘admit’, ‘confess’
‘share’, ‘speak out’
estranged son
filial son
feared by public
loved by public
discrimination
acceptance
Conclusion: Cultural Models in Coming Out Positive
According to Sander Gilman (1988:7), the individual infected with a disease is a ‘complex text…read within the conventions of an interpretative community that comprehends (it) in the light of earlier, powerful readings of what are understood to be similar or parallel texts.’ In this paper I have argued that the ways such texts are constructed and read within different cultures depends not just on cultural models regarding disease, but are contingent on more basic and fundamental ‘theories’ regarding the relationship between the individual and society and the role of communication the that relationship. The degree to which the parties negotiating the construction share such ‘theories’ can influence how the diseased person is presented in the media and perceived by the public. Constructions which situate identity within already existing cultural boundaries of the self and communication are more likely to create a harmonious role for the public PWA in the society. Those in which identity is situated outside of familiar or acceptable boundaries are likely to reinforce stereotypes of the PWA as ‘different’, ‘deviant’, and ‘dangerous’.
The contrast between the relatively positive media presentations of J.J. Chan and the less positive portrayals of Mike Sinclair cannot be seen simply as the result of ‘racism’ or attributed only to changing attitudes in Hong Kong regarding HIV and AIDS. Although these factors may have contributed to the differences in the construction of these two ‘AIDS celebrities’, analysis of the media texts suggests that more important reason for the differences lies in the interactional dynamics between the media, the government, the public and the PWA himself as they negotiated the construction of identity based on similar or varying cultural conceptions of the self and communication.
Such an observation has important implications both for cultural critics, as they seek to understand the ways AIDS is constructed in different societies as well as how these constructions are reinforced or contested, and for health educators as they seek to develop more ‘culturally sensitive’ ways to slow the epidemic’s spread. It also has implications for the global movement for PWA rights which seeks to improve the lot of people living with HIV and AIDS in cultures with widely varying norms and traditions.
Future work on the intercultural construction of the identities of PWA’s should not just take into account varying ‘theories’ for the self and communication, but go further in examining the link between such ‘theories’ and the larger issue of power relationships between negotiators in the construction and the types of strategies they use to assert their ideological agendas. Particularly notable, for example, is the extremely pro-active strategy of the Hong Kong government in regard to its role in the construction of the ‘AIDS celebrity’, a strategy which, in both the cases of Chan and Sincalir, sought to ‘co-opt’ the identity of the PWA by making him a spokesperson for government policy. The extent to which the government of the new Special Administrative Region will continue to adopt this strategy is yet to be seen.
The stories of Mike Sinclair and J. J. Chan are tributes to the positive affects ‘AIDS celebrities’ can have on public awareness of AIDS and public tolerance of those who have it. They, however, also show the limitations and difficulties that can result when public constructions of public PWA’s are negotiated among parties with different values and preconceptions, not just about the disease, but also about language and the self.
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Appendix 1
Media Sources Used in this Study
< > (denotes translation from the Chinese)
* authored by Mike Sinclair
Newspapers
DF (Dong Fong Yat Pao)
EE (Eastern Express)
HKS (Hong Kong Standard)
LH (Lun Hap Pao)
MP (Ming Pao)
SCMP (South China Morning Post)
SMP (Sunday Morning Post)
SP (Sun Pao)
SGP (Sing Pao)
ST (Sing Tao Jih Pao)
TG (Tin Gong Pao)
TT (Tin Tin Yat Pao)
WK (Wa Kiu Pao)
WW (Wen Wai Pao)
DF, 6/1/95, <Governors wife visits AIDS dentist and encourages public to care about AIDS patients>
DF, 15/7/95, <AIDS DJ J.J. is dead>
EE, 21/7/94, Laughing in the face of Aids.*
EE, 5/8/94, The cruelty of no comfort. *
EE, 15/9/94, Thank God he didnt have a bell.*
EE, 21/6/94, Aids activist decides to go independent
EE, 2/12/94, Activist hits out at weak Aids work.
EE, 30/1/95, Aids sufferer weaker, seeks lower profile.
EE, 15/2/95, Aids activist dies peacefully
EE, 15/2/95, The victim who became a brave hero.
EE, 21/5/95, Disc jockey focus of Aids campaign.
HKS, 16/11/92, Dentists do utmost to protect their patients from infection.
HKS, 26/11/92, AIDS group set to hire HIV-infected dentist.
HKS, 9/12/92, Health club throws out HIV dentist.
HKS, 10/12/92, Gym chain boss says no place for HIV in clubs.
HKS, 19/2/93, HIV dentist denied visa to Vietnam
HKS, 1/10/93, AIDS man wins pneumonia battle.
HKS, 21/6/94, Sinclair leaves foundation to pursue personal goals.
HKS, 22/7/94, AIDS victims merely people with illnesses.
HKS, 22/11/94, AIDS victim recommends rival group to Westerners.
HKS, 6/1/95, Pattens wife visits AIDS sufferer.
HKS, 15/2/95, Activist put human face on deadly disease.
HKS, 15/2/95, Sinclair helped break barriers
HKS, 15/2/95, Sinclair to be cremated as he wished.
HKS, 28/2/95, Sinclair focuses on patients
HKS, 20/5/95, Courageous disc jockey gives AIDS campaign a friendly spin.
LH, 6/1/95, <Governors wife visits Sin Ga Wai and promotes non-discrimination for AIDS patients>
MP, 1/11/92, <Can dentists pass on AIDS to their patients?>
MP, 2/12/94, <AIDS dentist, carrying virus, insists on attending public activities>
MP, 11/12/94, <AIDS dentist expresses two nos to killer of the century>
MP, 6/1/95, <AIDS dentist changes misconceptions about AIDS>
MP, 15/2/95, <AIDS dentist passes away>
MP, 15/4/95, <J.J. succeeds in publicizing AIDS message>
MP, 20/5/95, <With no regrets and reputation intact, the first Chinese AIDS patient fearlessly speaks up>
MP, 11/7/95, <AIDS patients strive for longer life>
MP, 14/7/95, <One hundred thousand think about AIDS MTR tickets sold>
MP, 16/7/95, <Great contribution to promotion of AIDS message>
SCMP, 11/11/92, Action over dentist with HIV.
SCMP, 13/11/92, Ban ruled out for dentists with HIV.
SCMP, 16/11/92, HIV dentist offered pioneer role.
SCMP, 28/11/92, HIV dentist surprised by support.
SCMP, 29/11/92, Casting off the shackles of HIV shame and fear.*
SCMP, 2/12/92, Dentists destiny to act as educator.
SCMP, 9/12/92, Tom Turk gym bans HIV dentist.
SCMP, 12/12/92, When society adds to the strain.
SCMP, 6/1/93, HIV study expected in two months.
SCMP, 8/3/93, Asian countries bar HIV carriers.
SCMP, 17/4/93, Treat me as a human, I will settle for no less.*
SCMP, 27/6/93, Cameras roll as row splits AIDS groups.
SCMP, 3/8/93, Fears over hygiene at HK dentists.
SCMP, 8/8/93, Secret AIDS test for job seekers.
SCMP, 5/9/93, Hospital bed for AIDS pioneer.
SCMP, 10/9/93, Pneumonia setback for AIDS activist.
SCMP, 25/9/93, Hospital discharges AIDS activist Sinclair.
SCMP, 21/6/94, Activist Sinclair quits AIDS group.
SCMP, 10/9/94, AIDS activist wins big grant.
SCMP, 27/11/94, AIDS patients may break silence to back Sinclair.
SCMP, 6/1/95, AIDS educator takes campaign to Mrs. Patten.
SCMP, 15/2/95. "AIDS activist Sinclair dies.
SCMP, 15/2/95, Battler of the AIDS myths.
SCMP, 18/2/95, AIDS activists final message.
SCMP, 26/2/95, AIDS activists hospice dream may come true.
SCMP, 20/5/95, Love of family helps victim.
SCMP, 21/5/95, DJ Chan focus of new AIDS campaign.
SCMP, 20/5/95, AIDS man comes out to assist campaign.
SCMP, 51/7/95, Campaigning disc jockey loses AIDS battle.
SMP, 15/11/92, Dentist with HIV speaks out for AIDS victims.
SMP, 15/11/92, AIDS virus dentist tells his patients: Im sorry distress that has been caused.
SMP, 15/11/92, Hongkongs Magic Johnson?
SMP, 15/11/92, AIDS fear prevails in medical circles.
SMP, 26/6/94, Making light of a killer.
SMP, 6/11/94, My moment of truth.*
SP, 6/1/95, <Mrs. Patten and AIDS patient talk up close>
SP, 20/5/95, <The first Chinese AIDS patient expresses AIDS message>
SGP, 6/1/95, <A weak AIDS dentist stays in the hospital>
ST, 12/11/92, <Medical workers chances of contracting AIDS increases>.
ST, 12/11/92, <Health department keeping it a secret>
ST, 20/5/94, <MTR educates staff about AIDS>
ST, 5/1/95, <Mrs. Patten visits AIDS dentist, famous people remind us to take care of victims>
ST, 6/1/95, <Mrs. Patten sets good example for taking care of AIDS patients>
ST, 12/2/95, <AIDS dentist waits quietly for death>
ST, 20/5/95, <I am a person with AIDS: J.J. fearlessly speaks out and advises young people not to be promiscuous>
ST, 6/7/95, <Chinese AIDS Patient not afraid of standing before public and promoting message>
TG, 15/2/95, <AIDS dentist dies>
TT, 6/1/95, <Mrs. Patten hopes public will beware of the killer of the century>
WH, 9/5/93, <Dentist transmits AIDS virus to six patients>
WH, 6/1/95, <Governors wife visits AIDS dentist>
WW, 20/5/95, <AIDS patients need care and concern>
Magazines
Eastweek, 1/3/95, <Devil and Angel: the story of two AIDS patients>
HK Magazine, 23/11/92, Is Hong Kong safe from AIDS?
M Magazine, May 93, Yes I have considered suicide.
Next, (11/1/95), <Dying AIDS dentist doesnt give up having sex>
Next, 20/11/95, <The AIDS dentist and outdated laws>
Television and Entertainment, 23/11/92. Fit for laughs
Window, 13/11/92, HIV--should that dentist tell?
Broadcast Media
A Painful Message: Tribute to Mike Sinclair (English and Cantonese versions).
The Story of J.J. (Cantonese and subtitled versions)
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Francis Leung and Annie Knibb for their insights into the Chinese texts, Dr David Li, for his comments on face in Chinese culture, and Mr. Tim Boswood for his comments on the nature of the self. An earlier version of this paper was presented at Transmission '96: HIV and AIDS in the Media, University of Salford, Manchester, July 2-5, 1996.