AIDS in Differing Cultural Contexts

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that in the case of sexually transmitted diseases, which includes AIDS, the historical media representation of behavior, causal concerns has been relatively poor, as the initial limitations of who and why people are infected play a part in media coverage as well as lack there of. The writer points out that in the case of the HIV virus, or the virus that causes AIDS the media takes center stage in creating frenzy as well as reducing public concern over the matter as a result of it being a behavior based infection, and what many consider illicit behavior at that. The writer maintains that creating a dialogue where real issues, such as what it means to be gay, what it means to be from the third world, or the first world for that matter and what STDs really are, must replace preconceived notions about the right and wrong of human behavior and even existence. The writer concludes that the human animal is a victim of a naturally occurring epidemic that must be controlled and hopefully someday eradicated, without prejudice.

From the Paper:

"The readership and follower-ship of such alternative resources was frequently limited to those who had been personally affected by the disease, until such media grew a voice strong enough to make others understand that they needed to demand from the popular press a realistic representation of the disease and its far reaching potential as a scourge of devastation, not unlike many other epidemics of the past.
"The idea that because a disease is an STD it deserves less attention, was so pervasive that the perception of STDs in general was in need of change, as STDs, had up to this point been seen as annoying but hardly deadly, and created a causal situation, even when the victims where unaware of their own infection and unknown ability to spread the disease. STDs were given little press, and even less public information was developed and accessible, outside health clinics that had been established in a feminist demand for equality in health care."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arnold, D. (1997). 2 Sex, State, and Society: Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS in Modern India. In Sex, Disease, and Society: A Comparative History of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, Lewis, M., Bamber, S., & Waugh, M. (Eds.) (pp. 19-32). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Juhasz, A. (1995). AIDS Tv: Identity, Community, and Alternative Video. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
• Kasun, J. R. (1994). Condom Nation: Government Sex Education Promotes Teen Pregnancy. Policy Review, (68), 79.
• Treichler, P. A. (1999). How to Have Theory in an Epidemic: Cultural Chronicles of AIDS. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

More papers on AIDS in Differing Cultural Contexts:

• Analytical Essay # 130277 : "AIDS in South Africa"
• Comparison Essay # 38727 : "AIDS in Africa and India"
• Research Paper # 27249 : "Impediments to Health Care Access for Low Income Visible Minorities"

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