26
May

Recent paper on HIV in Burma/Myanmar

Here is an abstract for a recent paper on HIV and how it is constructed in Burma/Myanmar.

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The cultural queasiness factor: examining intersections of gender, sexuality and HIV prevention in Burma/Myanmar
Gillian Fletcher
Asian Studies Review, Volume 35, Number 2, June 2011 , pp. 189-207(19)

The Ministry of Health in Burma/Myanmar considers HIV the first priority in disease prevention, and HIV prevention represents a significant element of the work of many of the international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) based in the country.

Yet in Burma/Myanmar (as elsewhere in Southeast Asia), there is a ‘cultural queasiness’ around HIV. This queasiness is a dis-ease of the emotions, transmitted through the ongoing linking of HIV transmission with ‘bad behaviour’ (occurring, in part, from HIV prevention’s own repeated use of a ‘risk group’ approach). Indeed, the mere existence of HIV prevention work, in and of itself, sparks waves of cultural
queasiness because it transgresses the norms of which topics are considered appropriate for public airing, and which are not.

Through reference to empirical research involving in-depth interviews and observation of field work practice, this article will demonstrate how the desire to minimise this queasiness can result in disavowal of the experiential and emotional complications so deeply embedded in HIV prevention and HIV transmission. Thus HIV prevention is both affected by, and reinforces, cultural queasiness.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/casr/2011/00000035/00000002/art00004
http:/mc.manuscriptcentral.com/casr

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