The evolution of the AIDS illness and the polarisation of values

This article is based on a study carried out in Sao Paolo, Brazil, from 1983 to 1986 among male homosexuals. It deals with the various practices and life-styles which constitute the homosexual world in Sao Paulo, and questions regarding AIDS. An analysis is made of the contrasting biographies of two patients suffering from the AIDS virus. The emphasis will be placed on the evolution of the illness and the changes in values that occur during this period. The ways in which the sexual life-style adopted prior to the illness influences the individual social course or mobility [i.e., trajectory] of the inflicted person will also be illustrated.