Banning Queer Blood : Rhetorics of Citizenship, Contagion, and Resistance
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| Title: | Banning Queer Blood : Rhetorics of Citizenship, Contagion, and Resistance |
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| Description: | Frames blood donation as a performance of civic identity closely linked to the meaning of citizenship In Banning Queer Blood, Jeffrey Bennett frames blood donation as a performance of civic identity closely linked to the meaning of citizenship. However, with the advent of HIV came the notion of blood donation as a potentially dangerous process. Bennett argues that the Food and Drug Administration, by employing images that specifically depict gay men as contagious, has categorized gay men as a menace to the nation. The FDA's ban on blood donation by gay men served to propagate the social misconceptions about gay men that continue to circulate within both the straight and LGBT/Queer communities. Bennett explores the role of scientific research cited by these banned-blood policies and its disquieting relationship to government agencies, including the FDA. Bennett draws parallels between the FDA's position on homosexuality and the historical precedents of discrimination by government agencies against racial minorities. The author concludes by describing the resistance posed by queer donors, who either lie in order to donate blood or protest discrimination at donation sites, and by calling for these prejudiced policies to be abolished. |
| Authors: | Jeffrey A. Bennett |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | Male homosexuality, Sexual orientation, Medical policy, Medical care, Group identity, Homosexuality, Organ donors, Blood--Collection and preservation--Social aspects, Blood donors, Gay men, Human behavior, Social sciences, Sociology, Philosophy, Social control, Humanities |
| Categories: | SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / Gay Studies, MEDICAL / Hematology |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| Abstract: | Frames blood donation as a performance of civic identity closely linked to the meaning of citizenship In Banning Queer Blood, Jeffrey Bennett frames blood donation as a performance of civic identity closely linked to the meaning of citizenship. However, with the advent of HIV came the notion of blood donation as a potentially dangerous process. Bennett argues that the Food and Drug Administration, by employing images that specifically depict gay men as contagious, has categorized gay men as a menace to the nation. The FDA's ban on blood donation by gay men served to propagate the social misconceptions about gay men that continue to circulate within both the straight and LGBT/Queer communities. Bennett explores the role of scientific research cited by these banned-blood policies and its disquieting relationship to government agencies, including the FDA. Bennett draws parallels between the FDA's position on homosexuality and the historical precedents of discrimination by government agencies against racial minorities. The author concludes by describing the resistance posed by queer donors, who either lie in order to donate blood or protest discrimination at donation sites, and by calling for these prejudiced policies to be abolished. |
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| ISBN: | 9780817316648 9780817358518 9780817389635 |
