Risky Subjects: Public Health, Personal Narrative, and the Stakes of Qualitative Research

Abstract

Facing the failure of 'one size fits all' HIV prevention messages, progressive public health researchers are attempting to localize and humanize prevention strategies for men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). In order to better understand individual motives, beliefs, and behaviors, recent efforts have centered on collecting personal narratives from men who engage in risky sex. This article offers an epistemological critique of this so-called 'narrative turn' in qualitative research. Specifically, it analyzes the complexities of the conceptual relationship between narrative and sexual subjectivity.