AIDS AND ACCUSATION

Paul Farmer is quite the inspiration. Reading his book has put countless ideas concerning Haiti's relationship with the US in perspective for me. I have read up on the history of Haiti before, but never in the context of the issue with HIV/AIDS. His background information and history on the oppression of a whole country since its creation explains many questions frequently asked when Americans think of Haiti. Our discussion on Thursday about the importance of including history of a culture and the importance that culture plays in an epidemic made me even more appreciative of Farmers writing style for this piece. When you only look at a demographic, you see numbers. Every number is a person. Farmer, with his focus on medical anthropolgy, does well not to forget this. When we forget that each number is a life and that each life had a history, our problem changes from just an epidemic to an epidemic of blame and ignorance.

NOTORIOUS

Today's discussion on Shevory's Notorious HIV was extremely interesting to me. I love to hear the class get excited about a topic, and especially argue with how an author does things. I feel when this happens we get more out of the assignment. Nushawn Williams was a sticky situation and reminded me of the case I have been reporting on Twitter about lately. Phillipe Padieu, 54, has been sent to prison after transmitting HIV and infecting at least 11 past girlfriends. After it was proven that he knew he was infected and continued to have unprotected sex, Padieu was convicted in a TX courtroom of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and later sentenced to 45 years in prison. Like Dr. Orvis said, it is hard to come to a definite answer when dealing with the issue of transmission, denial, and knowledge of infection. There are so many "what if"s, so many "but..."s it is hard to decide how to go about this within the means of the law--or if it should be brought into this spectrum at all.

href="http://abcnews.go.com/2020/women-contracted-hiv-speak/story?id=8594640"

The Education of Shelby Knox.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but this documentary brought an immense sadness to my heart. How do we combat ignorance and those desperate to turning a blind eye in hopes of keeping up mindless "appearances"? Though I agree with some of my classmates about the reliability of Shelby Knox as a narrator and leader for such daunting topics--especially for such a young girl--I also agree with Dr. Orvis in saying that these huge events can be jarring for one who has been taught certain things her whole life. I have never had to go through the let down of religion vs. personal convictions, but I absolutely have an appreciation for those who have and had to choose the path that may disagree with those of the people they love and respect. I found updates on Shelby Knox on the Lubbock, TX town website, www.lubbockonline.com. These days she is dealing with addressing the issues of the LGBT community and the process of "coming out". I found it interesting that she is still so passionate and continuing to push forward. http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/100209/fea_500173584.shtml

reflecting on the midterm

Our discussion in class for the oral portion of the exam was interesting and beneficial for me. Getting feedback in class discussions/debates always helps me keep my opinions and real views in perspective and in check. I appreciate arguing and admitting when I've spoken too broadly or unfairly. I learn the easiest when it comes to relating to others, especially those whose opinions I value, such as my classmates. Maddi especially touched me with her story of her mother and the horrors she deals with while living on medicare. I said, "It's weird because I completely agree with what Maddi says." I've always believed that everything is relative and there is no such thing as a black and white subject. The midterm class proved this true with every turn around the table and, though I might not have agreed with everything said, I enjoyed every minute.

come together

I like to think that we have come so far, but in reality, there is so much to still be done. Though there are stigmas out there against different groups at high risk for HIV, we must still remember that we are trying to address everyone, not just the LGBT community. That is the whole point of our class, is it not? I know I am feeling a little left out of the loop in class when we discuss the struggles of the people that aren't "average" as some in class have put it. We have to realize our own stigmas. We can't assume everyone is out to judge and shun and turn a blind eye. Like we discussed during our image presentations, it is all in how you present your arguement. It depends on how you word things and the point you are trying to get across. We have to think in terms of "maybe this person is accepting and wants to help this cause if they just get the right information", as opposed to combating problems by out-ing others who may be LGBT or HIV positive. This doesn't help the cause for the individual, who is the real concern. Every group is made up of different "one"'s.

Treichler talk.

Paula Treichler's article, AIDs, Homophobia, and Biomedical Discourse: An Epidemic of Signification", was extremely eye-opening and in some cases humorous. However sad, I love the part on pg. 17 describing how doctors in the early years of the epidemic thought that missionary position was a safe bet. They continue to delve deeper into the real issues like, "[AIDs]is a gay disease: how can a virus carry a disease from one man's body to another man's? Where would it get in?" Genius. I especially loved the part about my rugged vagina being more capable of handling trauma. Illustrations included? No thank you.

a common thought

There are many ideas and beliefs that trascend culture and situation. It was mentioned in class the a couple of weeks ago that it is common for many people (whether they are gay, straight, monogamous, or a seller of sex) to equate using a condom, or not using one, to an issue of love. Prostitutes are famous for charging extra for kissing or hugging, something one would expect to be related to a romantic feeling..but using a not using a condom? I guess it can make sense. Maybe it is just an excuse for clients who are trying to convince them to do otherwise. It is so important to count every group, every individual, in the "war on HIV", but the list is so extensive. I just feel like it is such a daunting task that sometimes it feels like a losing battle. I am still completely up to talking with the school board, or whoever is in charge, and getting more condoms in the residence halls on campus, and hopefully in the student union. If a group could make light of an issue like sex and give prizes (like the sex festival last year that only lasted two days) every other week, imagine what we could do in spreading the word and helping the fight!

waria...continued

I wanted to share this quote I found on href="http://insideindonesia.org/content/view/624/47/">.

As Shuniyya says in her softly spoken, decidedly feminine voice: ‘People see the waria as sex workers on the side of the streets at night, dressed in mini-skirts, with silicone-inflated breasts as large as watermelons. They see the show business drag queens who perform on stage and on television. They see these waria and think that they know what a waria is. They don’t. The waria they see are just the most obvious and easy to identify, and the ones the straight community are most likely to meet.’

I really enjoyed this article. Though I know it doesn't count as one of the blog posts, I would suggest it to anyone in the class. I wanted to share it with everyone and will be posting it on Twitter.

waria

I found the waria from Pisani's book so interesting. One of the reasons I love to read is you can travel the world and live in people's shoes by just sitting down and expanding your mind. I find it extremely significant that Pisani chose to mention this demographic in her book--one which westerners, such as myself, might have never considered or even heard about. It's interesting how they define themselves neither as gay or lesbian and have intercourse with both males and females. The term for transgendered people is derived from the words "WAnita" (woman) and "pRIA" (man) as seen on page 47 of The Wisdom of Whores. Two off the biggest surprises for me, however, were found when I read how sex changes are considered cheap and looked down on, and how some waria are even homophobic in a sense. It's such a refreshing eye opener to read about these different groups around the world. It heightens my curiosity as to what other kinds of people are out there and makes me wonder, will we ever be able to pinpoint and control such varying demographics?

Photograpy and AIDS article

I really loved Simon Watney's Photography and AIDS article. His 8 page address on the problem with spreading information through visual images really opened my eyes. I had never thought about what was being communicated through photos of dying AIDS victims in a HIV positive mindset. What hope would these photos give me if I was living with this deadly virus? What about if I had infected friends--would this help progress the fight to find a cure and raise awareness, or just encourage others to feel sympathy in which nothing is done? I am in the process of changing my major from English to Technical Photography. I truly appreciated reading Watney's take on the intent of photography in the fight against AIDS. I am always taking in images and their meaning as a serious form of communication--as it should be. I loved that this article made me think in a point of view that was alien to me, but not the world around me. It is important to be aware of the messages being sent and, if they do not suit the need of the environment, being strong enough to stand up and change them.

Blog: one.

testing 1, 2, 3...