Women, Culture & HIV/AIDS:
An Anthropological Assessment
Rose Jones, Ph.D.
Medical Anthropologist/Consultant
TX/OK AIDS Education & Training Center

OBJECTIVE
 Apply an anthropological perspective to women and HIV/AIDS

GUIDELINES
 Stereotype vs. Generalization
 Nomenclature
 “Culture” Concept

BIOMEDICAL PARADIGM
OF CULTURE
 Race/Ethnicity
 Linguistic Affiliation
 “Risk” Groups

BIOLOGY & CULTURE
 Although biology establishes and limits what is possible, it is society and culture that define and give meaning to the human body

WOMEN, BIOLOGY & HIV
 Mucous membrane exposure
 Quantity & content of sexual fluids
 Microtears
 Symptoms & Manifestations

WOMEN, SOCIETY & HIV
 Hx of Gender & HIV/AIDS
 Trauma & Violence
 Economic Dependency
 Gender Roles/Norms

EPIDIMIOLOGICAL TRENDS
 Transmission
 Ethnicity/Race
 Commercial Sex

TRANSMISSION
 1985 – 2002, AIDS for women in U.S.> from 7% to 26%
 60% men are infected through MSM,
25% through IVDU, 15% through HS
 75% women are infected through HS and 25% through IVDU

ETHNICITY
 AA women comprise 13% of U.S. female population, account for 63% of
AIDS cases
 AIDS is the leading cause of death among AA and Latino women 25-44 in
U.S.
 New HIV cases for women in U.S., 64%
Black, 18% White, 18% Hispanic

COMMERCIAL SEX
WORKERS
 Survival Sex
 Sex Trafficking

GENDER & STRUCTURAL
VIOLENCE
 Racism
 Sexism
 Classism
 Poverty

CULTURE & HIV/AIDS
 “…what people with AIDS share are not personal or psychological attributes. They do not share culture or language or a certain racial identity. They do not share sexual preference or an absolute income bracket.
What they share, rather, is a social position – the bottom rung of the ladder in inegalitarian societies…”
» Paul Farmer, MD, PHD

GENDER CULTURES
 Biosocial Orientation
 Gender Roles & Relations
 Political Economy

 “Unless the underlying struggle for millions to survive in the midst of poverty, powerlessness, and hopelessness are addressed, and the meanings of AIDS understood in the context of gender relations , HIV will continue to spread.”
Brooke Schoepf

FINAL REFLECTIONS