Functionalist Perspective Analysis

The functionalist perspective addresses the functions of society, both the function and the dysfunction prevalent in America. The AIDS epidemic, however, acts as a dysfunction. In the same relationship that the upper class require a lower class to maintain their social status, so does the functioning of a society need dysfunction to maintain its current role in American culture. This apparent inequality and large disparity with AIDS prevalence in low income, homosexual communities, and minority groups, reflects the latent function of the American social institution. This latent role which the AIDS epidemic plays on society is the unconscious and unintended protagonist with a hidden agenda. This functionalist theory stirs increased conflict
with the homosexual lifestyle and creates stigma and discrimination among homosexuals and individuals living with HIV and AIDS.