http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/world/americas/07mexico.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=hiv%20mexico&st=cse
The link above is to a NY times article I read about a year ago that I believe pertains to this class, especially the lectures on Latino sexuality and the current lectures on Latino health. The article, titled Vulnerable to H.I.V., Resistant to Labels, discusses how labeling of sexuality in Mexico affects HIV testing and treatment. As we discussed in class and in lecture, the label "gay" is only applied to the "receiver" in a gay relationship. The man who "inserts" does not consider himself gay under the guise of machismo.
The NY Times article continues to discuss the problems that this form of labeling creates in Mexico. Because many men who have sex with other men do not consider themselves gay, they also do not believe that they are at risk for HIV. To address this problem, many believe that the health care system should change it's discourse from describing "gay men" as more susceptible to HIV to describing "men who have sex with men" as being more susceptible to HIV. This issue is very important in Mexico as recent statistics show that around 15% of the population of men who have sex with men have HIV. This problem also exists among Mexican-Americans in the U.S.
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I think changing the health care system's discourse from describing "gay men" as more susceptible to HIV to describing "men who have sex with men" as being more susceptible to HIV is critical. I think this speaks a lot about many people's notion that only homosexuals are susceptible to HIV and it is because of their "sinful" acts that they contract the virus. It is extremely important that it be made clear to people that anyone is susceptible to HIV and protection is crucial. I find it very interesting that in the Mexican community, a sign of machismo is the amount of people with whom a man has sex with, regardless of gender. This goes to show that "machismo" is very present in even the most private matters and dictates so much of peoples lives in the Mexican community.
After reading Stephanie's post about the labeling of sexuality in Mexico, this reminded me of the culture surrounding AIDS in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, the stigma attached to this virus has often increased its own growth. For example, in certain parts of Southern Africa, HIV and AIDS have become taboo and condoms have been looked down upon. Here is an interesting article detailing Nelson Madela's efforts to create a more open society when it comes to discussing the disease: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/01/06/news/nelson.php
The sad thing about HIV in third world countries is that there's a vicious cycle going on. Because of the high poverty levels, most people cannot afford condoms. Because the demand for condoms isn't high enough, the price goes up, and the availability goes down. A lot of people in Malawi have to walk for miles to get to a store that sells condoms. Also, women end up feeling the need to sell their sex to make money for the family. At times, poverty seems like more of a problem to them then the effects of AIDS. I believe that the stigma attached to condoms has started to go away, but it's going to take a while to fix the damages that have come about as a result.
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