[The challenges of otherness: thoughts on gender and sexuality among activists from a Rio de Janeiro AIDS NGO].

The article analyzes the experiences of a group of activists in the AIDS movement who belonged to an AIDS NGO in Rio de Janeiro between 1989 and 2001. It examines the encounter between the various discourses that guided the action of NGOs in their battles against the advance of the disease and against the discrimination of AIDS victims: gender equity, sexual freedom, and experiences with sexuality, gender, and AIDS recounted by the institute's activists. Interviews were conducted with thirteen activists from the NGO known as Grupo Pela Vidda-RJ, nine of whom were HIV-positive. Interviewees comprised eight women, two male heterosexuals, two male homosexuals, and one male bisexual.