Pandemics, routine death, and pleasure

Southern African studies of the HIV/AIDS pandemic which is endemic in South Africa have been critiqued for being anti-pleasure. Scholars observe that these studies do not account for people's experiences with sensuality, pleasure and desire even while living under a deadly pandemic. In this article we contribute to the subject area of intimacy in the midst of deadly pandemics ('viral times'). We argue for an exploration of young Black people's experiences with desire, pleasure and intimacy under both HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. This requires looking at the intimate lives of young Black people in the public, domestic, private and intimate spheres. As COVID-19 shifted modes of social interaction - limiting touch, embracing and kissing - we explore young Black South Africans' experiences of intimacy, pleasure-seeking and joy-making in 'viral times'. We show that while HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 shifted forms of intimacies, they also both produced new forms of individual and collective intimacies.