A review by sariandtherevolution
Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

It is insightful to learn about the history of illness metaphors to be able to unlearn culturally and socially acquired harmful thought patterns that lead us to act and react in extreme ways: totally disregarding prognostics and medical advice due to fatalistic framings of illnesses. The book limits its analysis to the (white Christian) European and North American contexts throughout different historical periods. The author only briefly mentions a generalized idea of "the" (and not "an") African metaphorical framing of certain viruses and illnesses such as AIDS, syphillys, TB and cancer; failing to underline a variety of culturally contextual and relevant responses to deseases. It would have also been interesting to read about how the infected/ill patients resist(ed) such metaphors. For example, I think Susan Sontag should have spent time explaining how queer communities organize(d), mobilize(d) and educate(d) people (and each other) to free them(selves) from metaphors that contribute to "othering" which then leads to slow death.