Remediated sexuality: the meanings of post- and pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV

Abstract

This article discusses the sexual character of HIV pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP and PrEP, respectively). It derives from a socio-anthropological study on the biomedicalization of responses to HIV that analyzed the offer of these prophylaxes in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro and the experiences of its users in 2019. Based on document analysis, fieldwork observations, and interviews with gay men, we describe how sexuality is addressed in guidelines, clinical protocols, and care forms, and how PEP and PrEP are meant in terms of the sexual concerns of their users. The comparison between these two prophylaxes is one of the methodological resources adopted to recognize the vicissitudes of their sexual character, whether based on the way they are publicly disseminated and offered in health services or on the experience of their users. The analysis suggests that such prophylaxis acts at the intersection between anxieties derived from a biotechnical truth and the search for controllable sexual practices and situations, given their unpredictable nature.