In 1988, due to her former scientific achievements Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg was appointed member of the parliamentary inquiry commission Enquetekommission AIDS that was formed in order to research into the disease's social, cultural, legal, and public health care consequences and challenges.
The book Angst und Vorurteil - AIDS-Ängste als Gegenstand der Vorurteilsforschung was based on the work of the Enquetekommission AIDS, as well as Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg's own final report brought forth in parliamentary hearings and towards the Helmut Kohl administration.
Just when early science dawned, syphilis came from across the ocean to the Old World, perpetuating the ancient cultural notions repressive towards sensuality by seemingly confirming the idea that lose sexual morals resulted in severe epidemics of fatal diseases.
The majority in-group conceives itself, its own role and identity, as direct opposite of these marginalized out-groups down to every detail; filthy sinners and other outsiders or aliens, who are basically regarded as evil incarnate and often tagged with dehumanizing, partly zoomorphic attributes, are contrasted with good, decent, law-abiding citizens, as the most dichotomous, yet most basic socio-cultural and socio-psychological distinction in Western and Indo-European culture and civilization since the beginning of the Iron Age.
Regarding the dehumanizing and zoomorphic attributes given to social out-groups, it is important to remember the influential cultural precursor quintessentially found in the archetype of the non-human, demonic, shape-shifting nithing fiend from Tabu Homosexualität (see the book's own article).
Due to what Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg terms "distorted perception" (verzerrte Wahrnehmung, relating to Altemeyer's compartmentalized thinking) of constructed social reality, the prejudiced aggressor regards themselves as a rectifying, maybe curing agent, as an upholder of "natural order" and "society", and/or as protector of people they perceive as "victims" of the discriminated.
Throughout Western history, particularly factual or putative sexual deviance could only be seen as pathologically and thus counter-naturally motivated, harmful and corrupting in its consequences, criminal according to the laws, heinous and despicable to any decent person's sentience and morals, basically just plain evil.
Such cultural codes for lewdness and sexual deviance particularly included sadism, insidiousness, madness, weakness, cowardice, untrustworthiness, obsessive lying, betrayal, treason, evil sorcery, satanism, witchcraft, intoxicating drugs and poisoning potions, laziness, stubbornness, waywardness, incorrigibility, physical diseases and ailments (especially limping).