The Uses of Culture in the Making of AIDS Neurosis in Japan

Abstract

AIDS Neurosis is an illness phenomenon in which the person suffering is convinced that he or she is HIV positive, despite negative test results, and a range of nonspecific physical symptoms and phobic and neurotic tendencies, are manifested. To explore the relationship between culture and mental illness, this study examines a) the emergence of AIDS Neurosis as a socially recognized clinical entity in contemporary Japan, and b) the claims by activists, psychiatrists, health officials, and others that AIDS Neurosis is a culturally unique illness phenomenon specific to Japan. The data was collected during 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Japan, supplemented by readings in popular and clinical literature. The cultural explanations proferred for AIDS Neurosis clearly inform the meanings and practices surrounding this phenomenon, but such cultural stereotypes are too simplistic and are not sufficient for understanding the development of AIDS Neurosis nor the complex attitudes and practices relating to AIDS in Japan. This study argues for a more critical perspective on culture, which attends to the local contests and practices involved in making an illness category such as AIDS Neurosis.