VOICES FROM THE UNHEARD: PERCEPTIONS OF HIV AMONG MIDDLE CLASS BLACK WOMEN IN ATLANTA

Black women have higher HIV risk than women of other ethnic groups. While literature on Black women and HIV risk is extensive, it mostly focuses on "traditional risk groups" like low-income, low education, or drug users. Little research exists on HIV risk in college-educated, middle class women. Based on ethnographic research in Atlanta, Georgia, this study explores middle class Black women's HIV risk perceptions, knowledge, and sexual behaviors. Using a womanist framework, this article explains how race, gender, and class interact to shape HIV risk in this underrepresented population. Some middle class Black women perceive their HIV risk as low based on social status, whereas structural factors related to Black women living in urban settings' weaken the protective influence of class and increases HIV risk. Research findings inform prevention strategies for Black women who fall outside "traditional risk groups'' and contributes to our knowledge of anthropological HIV research. [womanist theory, Black women, HIV /AIDS, middle class, risk perception]