The Sojourner Syndrome: An Interpretive Framework for Understanding Poor Black Women's HIV Risk

Abstract

AbstractThis study examines how the intersection of race, class, and gender influence HIV risk among 50 black women living in a poor urban community in Atlanta—the Bluff. The study posits that an intersectional approach to examining the dynamic interaction of race, class, and gender tells us more about disproportionate HIV rates among Black women than do statements about lifestyle choices. The study also applies an interpretive framework, the Sojourner Syndrome, to examine how these marginalized Black women resist, disrupt, and/or transform these intersecting obstacles to find resilience. The theory reframes the issue of HIV risk and poor Black women to make the role of social oppression more transparent.