'Panic bodies': discourses on risk and HIV antibody testing.

While several recent sociological studies have sought to examine the reasons why people tend not to perceive themselves at personal threat of HIV infection, few have been explicitly directed at understanding the reasoning behind the decision to seek HIV antibody testing. This paper presents the findings from semi-structured interviews carried out with adults living in Sydney who had had one or more HIV tests. Aspects relating to the socio-cultural dimensions of the HIV test for those who have experienced it are discussed, including representations of HIV/AIDS in mass media education campaigns, assessment of partners and notions of HIV risk and contagion in the context of embodiment in the age of epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]