S-T-I-G-M-A through the Eyes of PLHIV: Deconstructing HIV and AIDS Depiction in Batang Poz

Various international serial dramas depict how people living with HIV (PLHIV) struggled in the early years of the disease through the perspective of entertainment media. Despite this, depictions of their stories in the Philippines are not given priority due to our deeply rooted conservatism. Batang Poz (Children with HIV), a local miniseries about teenagers suffering from stigma, has become publicly available online in response to the increasing number of Filipino youths with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, media depictions of this chronic health condition remain understudied in the country. This study sheds light on the mediated view of HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) by analyzing the subjective experiences and situated logic of PLHIV. Moreover, this paper explores the possibility of combining Stuart Hall's Reception Theory with Roland Barthes's Semiotics to surface ideological discourse using the concept of deconstruction while allowing the audience to exercise agency. Thirteen PLHIV were interviewed, and their self-reflexive narratives were analyzed to unravel the hegemonic meanings constructed by the advocacy show. These dominant ideologies that perpetuate stigma include: [s]exual activities among men having sex with men as the sole driver of HIV; [t]esting for HIV as castration of dignity, [i]mmortalization of oppressive LGBTQI hierarchy; [g]lorification of tolerance rather than acceptance, inclusivity, and awareness; [m]agnification of shallow issues; and [a]dvocacy overpowered by capitalism. To summarize, Batang Poz did not present the milestones in HIV treatment but rather oversimplified public health issues and trivialized PLHIV rights. Keywords: HIV/AIDS, reception theory, semiotics, deconstruction, dominant ideologies.