The Invisible Epidemic: The Story of Women And AIDS

by Gena Corea

A report on women and the AIDS epidemic uncovers the growing population of women infected with the virus and describes the many female activists, scientists, and caretakers who are working to keep the disease in check

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction

356 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Genoveffa "Gena" Corea is the author of several feminist nonfiction works analyzing the treatment of women within the medical industry. Her writing has dealt with reproductive technologies, disease and malpractice. She has also published articles in dozens of anthologies including Contemporary Issues in Bioethics (1994), Radical Voices (1989), Embryos, Ethics and Women's Rights (1988), and Test-Tube Women (1984). Corea has published in both English and German, and she has been featured in a number of documentaries on reproductive technology.

Reviews

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at a free book swap near where I live last summer and picked it up since I’ve been trying to learn more about the AIDs epidemic. I was interested to see what the perspective was in 1992, when this book was published. I was a little worried it would downplay the marginalization of the LGBT community inherent to the AIDs crisis, but the author did a good job of focusing on women, especially women of color, sex workers, and IV drug users, and the specific ways they were ignored and mistreated during the crisis, without diminishing the struggles of gay men. Although many of them were quite sad, I enjoyed reading the personal stories of women who were impacted by HIV during this trying time and want to keep learning more about them. Also, I was surprised to see several references to a local activist I know and interested to read more about her earlier work.