THE NIGHT IS YOUNG: Sexuality in Mexico in the Time of AIDS

Carrillo, a researcher for the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at UC–San Francisco, studies changing patterns of sexual identity and sexual practices in Mexican society, carefully elucidating a wide range of gender and sexual arrangements that affect AIDS planning and education there. A man's sexual identity, for instance, is often determined by his being the active or passive partner rather then by traditionally named categories of "homosexual" and "heterosexual." While the common view of a bisexual identity is "overwhelmingly negative," people who sleep with members of their own sex but whose primary identity is heterosexual are seemingly not judged harshly. Using an ethnographic model, Carrillo observes and documents his Guadalajara subjects' physical, emotional and psychological responses to the increasing AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s. The traditional view of the "good" and "bad" woman in Mexican culture, the role of "passion" and a complex culture of machismo all affect how AIDS is perceived and how safe-sex education has been shaped in Mexico. (May)

Forecast:While mostly intended for an academic audience, Carrillo's topic is of primary international interest: how to combat AIDS in the Second and Third Worlds. His focus on the minutiae of local belief and worldview could serve as a model for "think local, act local" responses to the crisis; expect health professionals and pundits to be paying attention across the board (and globe).