Michele Tracy Berger is Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has been a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

Winner of the 2005 Best Book Award in Intersectionalities: Race, Gender, Ethnicity and Politics Category; Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association "This work would be a stellar accomplishment by any seasoned scholar. That this is Berger's sociological 'debut' ... is impressive and bodes well for future research into gender, inequality and deviance."--Tammy L. Anderson, Theoretical Criminology "Overall, Berger delivers a promising social science work that creatively challenges political and legal conceptions of stigma."--Lara Eilhardt, Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice "Michele Tracy Berger offers one of the first studies of the development of critical consciousness and political participation of women of color who are HIV positive... Her study is one of the first that I have read that centers on the experiences and political practice of women of color who are HIV-positive and who also face other challenges, such as recovery from drug abuse and sexual trauma... Her accessible writing style combined with the rich analytic framework contribute to the value of Workable Sisterhood for multiple audiences."--Nancy A. Naples, Perspectives on Politics "While this work is situated primarily within the feminist literature, and particularly within the literature pertaining to women of color, it brought new emphasis to the significance of the relationship between social identity and stigma... [T]his research ... points to a possibility for change that resides within many individuals society has written off as lost."--Betsy L. Fife, American Journal of Sociology "Berger's Workable Sisterhood ... demonstrates all the elements necessary to elevate an interview/ethnographic report beyond oral history."--Arthur W. Frank, Qual Sociol "This work ... brought new emphasis to the significance of the relationship between social identity and stigma... [T]his research, which Berger found challenging throughout, points to a possibility for change that resides within many individuals society has written off as lost."--Betsy L. Fife, American Journal of Sociology

• Acknowledgments ix Chapter One: The Politics of Intersectional Stigma for Women with HIV/AIDS 1 An Overview of the Story 2 The New "Face" of HIV//AIDS 6 Women's Community Work: Broadening the Definition of What Constitutes Politics 7 Intersectionality 18 Stigma and Marginality 22 Intersectional Stigma 24 Coming Out of the Shadows: Stigmatized Women and Politics 36 Chapter Two: Women's Narrative Bio-Sketches 37 Advocates 38 Activists 50 Helpers 58 Life Lessons 65 Chapter Three: Capturing the Research Journey/Listening to Women's Lives 68 Section One: Finding the Women 68 Section Two: Why Did She Say That? Creating and Analyzing Oral Narratives 79 Limitations of the Study 85 Chapter Four: Narratives of Injustice: Discovery of the HIV/AIDS Virus 87 Narratives of Injustice 88 Consequences of the Discovery of the HIV/AIDS Virus 99 Intersectional Stigma as a Contributing Factor 102 Chapter Five Life Reconstruction and the Development of Nontraditional Political Resources 105 What Is Life Reconstruction?105 The Role of Resources 106 External Resources 107 Chapter Six: Life Reconstruction and Gender 119 Aspects of Respondents' Gender Identity before HIV//AIDS and Life Reconstruction 119 Redirecting HIV-Stigma Related to Sex Work 121 Sexual Self-(Re)Education and Empowerment 129 Development of a Public Voice: What It Means to Be a Woman with HIV 133 Consequences of Not Developing a Public Voice 139 Chapter Seven: Making Workable Sisterhood Possible: The Multiple Expressions of Political Participation 143 The Women's Distrust of Conventional Politics 143 Blended and Overlapping Roles 150 Narrative Features of Participation 180 Chapter Eight: Looking to the Future: Struggle and Commitment for Stigmatized Women with HIV/AIDS 186 Collective Stories 186 Policy, Prevention, and Treatment Implications 190 Appendix 193 Notes 195 Bibliography 209 Index 225

Michele Tracy Berger is Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has been a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

Winner of the 2005 Best Book Award in Intersectionalities: Race, Gender, Ethnicity and Politics Category; Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association "This work would be a stellar accomplishment by any seasoned scholar. That this is Berger's sociological 'debut' ... is impressive and bodes well for future research into gender, inequality and deviance."--Tammy L. Anderson, Theoretical Criminology "Overall, Berger delivers a promising social science work that creatively challenges political and legal conceptions of stigma."--Lara Eilhardt, Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice "Michele Tracy Berger offers one of the first studies of the development of critical consciousness and political participation of women of color who are HIV positive... Her study is one of the first that I have read that centers on the experiences and political practice of women of color who are HIV-positive and who also face other challenges, such as recovery from drug abuse and sexual trauma... Her accessible writing style combined with the rich analytic framework contribute to the value of Workable Sisterhood for multiple audiences."--Nancy A. Naples, Perspectives on Politics "While this work is situated primarily within the feminist literature, and particularly within the literature pertaining to women of color, it brought new emphasis to the significance of the relationship between social identity and stigma... [T]his research ... points to a possibility for change that resides within many individuals society has written off as lost."--Betsy L. Fife, American Journal of Sociology "Berger's Workable Sisterhood ... demonstrates all the elements necessary to elevate an interview/ethnographic report beyond oral history."--Arthur W. Frank, Qual Sociol "This work ... brought new emphasis to the significance of the relationship between social identity and stigma... [T]his research, which Berger found challenging throughout, points to a possibility for change that resides within many individuals society has written off as lost."--Betsy L. Fife, American Journal of Sociology

• Acknowledgments ix Chapter One: The Politics of Intersectional Stigma for Women with HIV/AIDS 1 An Overview of the Story 2 The New "Face" of HIV//AIDS 6 Women's Community Work: Broadening the Definition of What Constitutes Politics 7 Intersectionality 18 Stigma and Marginality 22 Intersectional Stigma 24 Coming Out of the Shadows: Stigmatized Women and Politics 36 Chapter Two: Women's Narrative Bio-Sketches 37 Advocates 38 Activists 50 Helpers 58 Life Lessons 65 Chapter Three: Capturing the Research Journey/Listening to Women's Lives 68 Section One: Finding the Women 68 Section Two: Why Did She Say That? Creating and Analyzing Oral Narratives 79 Limitations of the Study 85 Chapter Four: Narratives of Injustice: Discovery of the HIV/AIDS Virus 87 Narratives of Injustice 88 Consequences of the Discovery of the HIV/AIDS Virus 99 Intersectional Stigma as a Contributing Factor 102 Chapter Five Life Reconstruction and the Development of Nontraditional Political Resources 105 What Is Life Reconstruction?105 The Role of Resources 106 External Resources 107 Chapter Six: Life Reconstruction and Gender 119 Aspects of Respondents' Gender Identity before HIV//AIDS and Life Reconstruction 119 Redirecting HIV-Stigma Related to Sex Work 121 Sexual Self-(Re)Education and Empowerment 129 Development of a Public Voice: What It Means to Be a Woman with HIV 133 Consequences of Not Developing a Public Voice 139 Chapter Seven: Making Workable Sisterhood Possible: The Multiple Expressions of Political Participation 143 The Women's Distrust of Conventional Politics 143 Blended and Overlapping Roles 150 Narrative Features of Participation 180 Chapter Eight: Looking to the Future: Struggle and Commitment for Stigmatized Women with HIV/AIDS 186 Collective Stories 186 Policy, Prevention, and Treatment Implications 190 Appendix 193 Notes 195 Bibliography 209 Index 225