Aids And The Sexuality Of Law: Ironic Jurisprudence

AIDS AND THE SEXUALITY OF LAW This page intentionally left blank AIDS and the Sexuality of Law Ironic Jurisprudence Joe Rollins AIDS AND THE SEXUALITY OF LAW © Joe Rollins, 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-0-312-24006-6 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published 2004 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-38713-7 ISBN 978-1-4039-8122-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781403981226 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rollins, Joe Neil, 1961– AIDS and the sexuality of law : ironic jurisprudence / Joe Rollins. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-349-38713-7 1. AIDS (Disease)—Law and legislation—United States. 2. Sex and law—United States. I. Title. KF3803.A54R65 2004 344.73⬘04369792—dc21 2003054935 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First Palgrave Macmillan edition: January 2004 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to the Garner sisters, those indomitable women who taught me that irony is also a strategy for survival. For Cecil, Mabel, Jean, and Babe, but most of all, Evelyn. This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1 CHAPTER ONE Ironic Jurisprudence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 CHAPTER TWO The Implicated Homosexual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 CHAPTER THREE Secondary Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 CHAPTER FOUR Unusually Indifferent Cruelty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 CHAPTER FIVE Impossible Burdens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 CHAPTER SIX Valuable Uncertainties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 CASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments AIDS and the Sexuality of Law was inspired by a series of events that began in 1990. That year, my first in graduate school, one of my closest friends, Donald Tichy, was diagnosed with AIDS. He died in August of 1992. Within six months of his death, my sister, Ronda Rollins, was diagnosed with cancer; she died in October of 1995. Although I certainly would have preferred otherwise, I spent my time in graduate school struggling to stay afloat as a student while simultaneously coping with the harsh spectacles of medical treatment, the politics of disease, sexuality, and grief. Like many other people who write about disease and politics, these events sparked the imagination, outrage, and curiosity that kept me working on this project. If not entirely ironic, death itself is certainly a mixed metaphor. The intellectual debts that I have accumulated in the writing of this book are many. I am especially grateful to the faculty wi