Messages about AIDS in Mario Bellatin's Beauty Salon Although Mario Bellatin's short story Beauty Salon is set in an unnamed town whose inhabitants suffer from an unnamed disease, is commonly interpreted as an allegory for AIDS. The story was originally published in 1999. During that time, Mexico was feeling the full brunt of the AIDS pandemic. According to Castro and Leyvas' essay, approximately 116,000-174,000 cases of AIDS were reported in Mexico at that time. (138) The disease, together with the social stigma it entailed, constituted a serious social problem. Bellatin's short story addresses this social problem by providing an allegory that helps readers understand the mindset of those who suffer from the disease. The novella touches on the social stigma associated with the disease which is related to the social stigma faced by those suffering from AIDS. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Bellatin's novella, the narrator is a gay transvestite who transforms his beauty salon into the Terminal, a place for those who are dying to go, in the midst of a terrible plague of disease. “In the Terminal they were guaranteed a bed, a bowl of soup and the company of other dying people.” (Bellatin 38) The narrator is apathetic throughout the novella, often discussing his hobby of caring for fish rather than the suffering people around him. The fish serve as a further allegory for those facing illness. When the beauty salon flourished, the fish matched the beauty of the salon. However, when the hall transforms into the Terminal, the narrator often neglects the fish. The narrator struggles with his feelings about death along with the fish. At times, the narrator neglects the fish and allows them to die. This can be interpreted as a kind of power that the narrator possesses. By controlling the life of the fish, the narrator is able to gain a kind of control over death. This is important since he has no control over those who die from the disease and his own impending death. The narrator refers to the dying as his “guests” and does not allow them many comforts or the chance to interact with the outside world. It also does not allow any medicine or other attempt at cure. The people it welcomes go to the Terminal exclusively to die. There is no cure for this disease just as there is no cure for AIDS. Readers learn that the narrator once tried to help his first patient with medical care. However it was a useless trip. “After having subjected the first “guest” to the torment of useless palliatives, he decides to ban the medicines from the place”. (Hollander) This correlates with the thinking that many have expressed due to the AIDS crisis. In the documentary “How To Survive A Plague” the group Act Up is shown fighting to obtain the legalization of drugs linked to the treatment of AIDS in the United States. However, in many moments of the documentary the desperation linked to the cause is expressed. No matter how many drugs were tested, especially during this time it seemed that AIDS was simply a death sentence. There were also many stigmas associated with those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS that made the struggle to gain access to medications even more difficult. (France)In the novel, as in real life, there was a great stigma around the disease. The narrator and the guests in the story are dying from this disease and must deal with a society already against them. Sometimes, the physical suffering of the disease even seems to overwhelm the sufferingmental imposed by a heartless society. Since the disease mainly affected gay men, it became associated with an immoral lifestyle. While this was not the cause of the disease, it led to the unfair treatment of an already marginalized group. In the novella, this can be seen as the Terminal becoming a resource for those who would otherwise be left to die on the streets. The narrator also mentions attempts to destroy the Terminal. “Neighbors tried to burn down the beauty parlor, claiming that the place was a breeding ground for infection and that the plague had spread to their homes.” (Bellatin 24) This is very reminiscent of the way the United States government responded to the AIDS crisis. Because in real life and in the story the disease affected a group of people who were considered immoral from the beginning, their lives were not given value. Although the stigma has led to tighter-knit gay communities similar to that of the Terminal, the majority of the public has failed to treat those suffering with basic human respect, much less attempt to help them. Many also did not realize that the disease could affect anyone. In the novella, women and children are removed from the Terminal. Although they also suffer from the disease, the narrator does not want them there. The narrator explains his reasoning by stating, “The beauty salon was once dedicated to the beautification of women, and I was not willing to sacrifice so many years of work. That's why I never accepted anyone who wasn't a man, no matter how much they begged. (Bellatin, 24) However, it can also be deduced that since women were not part of the gay community, despite sharing a common suffering, they could not be welcomed in the same way as gay men. This exclusion, although perhaps justifiable, has led to a feeling of further marginalization for women affected by the disease. Similar marginalization for women existed in real life, as explained in Castro and Leyva's essay, “there are a number of gender expectations and conditioning that influence this group's vulnerability to disease.” (145) Particularly in Mexican culture, women are expected to remain virgins until marriage while it is “approved” for men to have sex with multiple partners. (Castro 146) This led to a strong stigma against women with AIDS as the mere fact of having the disease led to the perception of their promiscuity. Women like those in the novel were also excluded from many AIDS-related communities as the communities were typically tied to gay identity. patients who cannot overcome social stigma, not even in their minds." (Hollander) The novella also references several effects of the unnamed disease similar to the effects of AIDS. One effect of the disease is marks on the face similar to lesions associated with AIDS. The narrator describes these signs as one of the first symptoms of the disease stating, “There were a couple of pustules on my right cheek. I didn't need to check my glands to see if they were swollen. I had enough experience to immediately recognize the smallest symptoms." (Bellatin 41-42) The reference to the side effects of the disease reinforces the connection to AIDS in the readers' minds. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Bellatin succeeds in telling the story of AIDS and the many who suffer from it without ever addressing AIDS itself. In the novella, “social injustices are presented with an impassive voice, increasing their power: the dying patients who don't know where to go, the mother's rejection of her son's homosexuality, the handsome boy involved in sex trafficking.